MAURITANIE : Les hommes et les mobiles du remaniement (Par Babacar Justin Ndiaye)
The reshuffling of the Mauritanian government requires a dual interpretation, focusing on the individuals affected by the change and in light of the unstated but perceptible motives.
Indeed, ministers who had long held high positions were dismissed by President Ghazouani.
Personalities from diverse backgrounds were co-opted and thrust into the spotlight, in a context imbued with a pre-electoral scent and tainted by social tension.
A major surge of fever stemming from a hard-won energy disaster and, above all, punctuated by a series of rapes, crimes, cyber-scams and drug trafficking strongly denounced by citizens.
It is therefore hardly surprising that the heads of the two most exposed ministers – the Minister of Energy and the Minister of the Interior – were cut off under pressure from public opinion.
There remains, of course, the case of the minister and no less General Hanana Ould Sidi, the unshakeable head of National Defence, who is widely regarded as having the full confidence of the Head of State.
A “mystery” surrounds him, according to Soumaïla Aïdara, director of Confidentielafrique. Our sources have pierced this mystery, revealing that European Union (EU) funds were allegedly used unorthodoxly by the Ministry of Defense.
Added to this is the arms trafficking discovered on September 4, 2026, at the border of Mali, whose perpetrators – hardened terrorists on board two pickup trucks loaded with rifles and ammunition – live in the twin hamlets of Bassiknou or Bassikounou and M'Bera, that is to say, the native land of General Hanana.
It is unnecessary and unwise to say more! Moreover, one can temper the heated explanations by highlighting the age, fatigue and health of General Hanana Ould Sidi, who was a short-lived Commander of the Joint Force of the famous and defunct G5 Sahel.
In any case, the mobility of the people appointed and/or dismissed hardly masks the motives for the reshuffle, inevitably linked to President Ghazouani's thirst for a third term.
In this regard, the electoral map speaks volumes and the electoral calculations are evident in view of the privileged profiles and beneficiaries of the presidential decree.
Thus, with Ousmane Ba at National Defence and Aïssata Lam at Fisheries, Ghazouani makes a visible nod to the city of Boghé which represents a large electoral reservoir on the scale of Southern Mauritania.
As a side note, the new minister, Aïssata Lam, is the daughter of a Mauritanian officer; just as her hometown (Boghé) is the birthplace of many emblematic officers of the Mauritanian army: Colonel Dia of the National Guard, Generals Ndiaga Dieng and Félix Négri. This is significant in terms of influencing the vote among the families and widows of former military personnel.
That's not all. By appointing El Moktar Ould Ahmed Ould Bousseif to the Ministry of the Interior, Ghazouani is electorally targeting the warrior tribes of Kiffa.
With even more real chances since the new Minister of Administration is the son of Colonel Ould Bousseif (one of the heroes of the Sahara War) and former Prime Minister who died off the coast of Dakar, in the crash of his BUFALO plane, in May 1979. In short, President Ghazouani is counting on the posthumous aura of Colonel Bouceif.
Along similar lines, we can note the appointment of Ms. Aïssata Ba Yahya as Minister Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic. Here, the Mauritanian President kills two birds with one stone. On the one hand, Ghazouani rewards the head of his intelligence services, in this case, General Sow, Director of External Intelligence and husband of the new Secretary General. On the other hand, he broadens his electoral base within the Fulani community.
In short, the Ghazouani Plan, or Scheme, which brought about this reshuffle, is well-crafted and meticulously refined. But, in Mauritania as in Algeria and Guinea-Bissau, "the state does not have its army, the army has its state," to paraphrase Hocine Aït Ahmed. Since July 10, 1978 – the fall of President Moktar Ould Daddah – the army has ruled the country's political life.
Consequently, observers are monitoring the atmosphere in the barracks and watching for the slightest signs of unrest. For it is in the garrisons, and not in the political parties, that President Mohamed El Ghazouani's barely veiled ambition to secure another term could encounter a setback or even a major accident.
Apparently, President and General Ghazouani is aware of this, since he continually shapes the military command by promoting his trusted men and granting lucrative positions to retired generals. These latter are showered with privileges but strictly forbidden from approaching the political scene.
Thus, the National Gendarmerie is headed by General Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Taya, who is none other than the son of the older brother of former President Maouiya Ould Taya, now living in exile in Qatar. The primary benefit of this appointment is to curry favor with the influential Smasside tribe, based in Atar and Ouadane (Adrar).
The second effect of this promotion is to insidiously counter the actions of General Lebatt Ould Mayouf, a fierce military opponent (a rare occurrence in Mauritania) who is currently imprisoned. This iconoclastic general is a Smasside of the "big tent" and the son of the first Chief of Staff of the Mauritanian Gendarmerie after independence.
Finally, what about the stalwart Ould Merzoug, firmly entrenched in his position as Minister of Foreign Affairs? He belongs to the group, or clique, of three: Ghazouani Merzoug and Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Cheikh. The latter is the Minister of the Interior who was recently dismissed.
The secret to Merzoug's entrenchment – a brilliant intellectual and high-profile executive who has proven himself at the OMVS – therefore lies in an extraordinary closeness with President Ghazouani.
Indeed, the three men mentioned above (Ghazouani, Merzoug, and Ould Cheikh) are from the Assaba region, with its capital Kiffa. During their adolescence, they shared the challenging yet strengthening ritual of circumcision in a Muslim country. This experience, in turn, strengthened the relationship between Ghazouani and his Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Commentaires (18)
Mr Ndiaye le monde change profondément et rapidement. L'avenir est plus complexe et incertain qu'on ne le croit ou espère. Continuer à lire l'Afrique comme un monolithe où les mêmes histoires se répètent inlassablement c'est penser que la littérature de Victor Hugo seule suffirait à comprendre la vie politique française actuelle.
Le monde change et la Mauritanie aussi. Les jeunes aspirent à mieux que ces concepts de clans et familles, et ils sont largement majoritaires.
C'est extra ordinaire de voire que beaucoup d'analystes politiques sénégalais sont dépassés par les événements dans leur propre pays où ils vivent. Et ainsi ils excellent à vouloir analyser les faits politiques extérieurs. C'est audacieux mais pas assez courageux.
La France assure à la Chine un climat des affaires stable pour les entreprises chinoises, et espère que cela incitera les chinois à venir en masse investir en France. Le ministre français Emmanuel Bonne, qui dirige la délégation française, a plaidé pour l'annulation de la dette française.
Voilà le genre d'informations dont il suffirait qu'elles soient données ici à chaque fois qu'il y en a pour que le peuple sénégalais se réveille à jamais. Mais, l'AFP et tous les médias français ne le feront jamais, les sénégalais ne le feront donc pas. L'ignorance des peuples africains, c'est la seule arme par laquelle ils nous tiennent.
NB: Même donner une pareille information, ils ont leurs idiots qui appellent ça "complotisme ".
C'est pourquoi il n'a pas le droit de se taire, on a besoin de ses sorties même si elles sont rares...
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