Saudi Arabia buys Senegal’s support for war on Yemen

Saudi Arabia’s petrodollars are the reason for the Senegal’s decision to send troops to the kingdom and join the ongoing war on Yemen.

Earlier this week, Senegalese President Macky Sall said his country was sending 2,100 men to the "holy land of Saudi Arabia", because of Saudi Arabia’s warning of alleged “serious threats” from Yemen.

Unlike the other African countries that have offered back-up or are involved in Saudi Arabia’s vicious attacks on Yemen, Senegal is not in the Arab League, nor is it an Arab country.

The last time it had a military experience in the Middle East was its deployment of military personnel in the Persian Gulf 25 years ago after the former Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in 1991.

Many in Senegal accuse the president of having an ulterior motive, a financial one, one that he could pocket millions of dollars from if not more.

The South African-based Institute for Security Studies (ISS) think tank said in a recently publication that Senegal’s move to send troops to Saudi Arabia had a strong "mercenary motive" just like similar support and offers of help by Morocco and Sudan to the oil-rich country of Saudi Arabia. 

"Did we go into Mali for petrodollars?" Senegal government spokesman Oumar Youm told AFP on Thursday as outrage over the president’s move is angering many citizens in the impoverished African state.

Saudi Arabia launched airstrikes against Ansarullah Houthi movement and their allies on March 26.

Opponents of the president of Senegal suggested that the government might be acting in the hope of financial payments from Riyadh, the largest economy in the Middle East.

Many critics say that the Senegalese head of state is under rising demands to come up with financial support for the promised projects.

Specifically, observers cite that President Sall, elected in 2012 and hoping for a second term, is banking on the success of his Emerging Senegal Plan (ESP) - a push of tourism, infrastructure, agriculture, and education improvements.

The plan will cost $16.8 billion by its predicted completion in the year 2035.

An activist and leader of the movement "Enough Is Enough", Fadel Barro, said “the government was aware that it needed to get hold of money that does not stink,” for the project.

Political analyst Babacar Justin Ndiay from the Senegal also told AFP, "Saudi Arabia is one of the few places in the world you can go to and return with suitcases stuffed with cash." 

According to Ndiaye, Western institutions have not shown much enthusiasm about investing in the ESP especially because the financial liquidity in today’s market is simply not that available.

The International Monetary Fund which also reported the issue of insufficient investments for Senegal to carry out the ESP urged Dakar to take better control of its in-hand financial resources and broaden its tax base to fund the project.

Sall, according to reports, raised the prospects of sending troops to Saudi Arabia possibly for money to fund his projects at home earlier this year in April.

HDS/HB

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