There is absolutely nothing unusual about a former president leaving his country to spend his retirement in another country. However, when the former president leaves a few hours after the inauguration of his successor, we can't help but think that something is fishy. And it is exactly what the former president of Senegal, Mackie Saul, did. In a very beautiful ceremony, presidential candidate, Dio Mifei, who won the election by a landslide, was sworn in as the new president of Senegal on April 2nd, 2024. The ceremony was attended by a dozen heads of state and regional representatives attended the inauguration, including Nigeria's President Bola Tnubu, Ghana's President Nana Akufo Ado, African Union Commission Chair Musa Faki Mahamat, and representatives from the military government of Nigeria, Mackie, and Burkina Faso. During the ceremony he attended with his two wives, face stated that the results of the election showed a profound desire for change. And from now on, Senegal will be a country of hope at peace with an independent justice system and a stronger democracy. The ceremony was beautiful and hopeful. But our focus is on the actions of the former President Mackie Saul. Now, a few days before President Faye's inauguration ceremony, the press reported that Saul intends to spend his retirement outside of Senegal, which, as we earlier stated, is not a bad thing. However, just a few hours after the inauguration ceremony of President Faye, Mackie Saul, who obviously has been preparing for it, left the country. Currently, the destination of Saul's flight has not been mentioned, but based on some reports, it is believed that Saul has fled to France. The question is why the hurry? Who is he running away from? Well, to answer this question, we have to go back to the beginning when Mackie Saul was first elected as President of Senegal in 2012. During his inauguration, Saul promised that a new era of good governance had begun in Senegal with his presidential victory. He said he would address the consolidation of power in the presidency by fostering a more democratic system while also tackling issues of social justice and equity. One of the central commitments to his campaign was that he would reduce presidential terms from seven to five years, reversing an increase that his predecessor weighed had implemented. During his first term, Saul committed to infrastructural development both in the rural and urban areas. He secured 7.5 being in funding for an ambitious economic development plan called Emergent Senegal, which was designed to transform the economy by 2035 through investments in agriculture, infrastructure, and tourism. In fact, Saul seemed to have advanced national development. However, if the infrastructures and investments put in place do not benefit the people, then it's all a waste of resources. Saul may have committed to infrastructural development, but the fact is that proper mechanisms were not put in place to ensure that the benefit reaches the people. Most of the time, developmental projects suffered because some officials who were appointed based on party affiliation rather than competence were more focused on personal gains than good governance. Then came 2019 when Saul was reelected for a second term. It was during this period that his popularity among the Senegalese people began to rapidly drop because another leader was on the horizon, opposition leader, Uzman Sanko. Sanko, a former tax collector and mayor of Zingwichor, gained popularity among the people as a politician who stood against the system and was willing to challenge Saul's relationship with former colonial power France and with foreign companies operating in extractive industries. Seeing that another leader had won the hearts of the people, Saul began to hatch different plots to prevent Sanko from standing in the elections. In 2021, he was arrested on rape accusations, which after much investigation was later determined to be false. In 2023, he was accused of libel against a minister, a charge that subsequently saw him barred from running in the presidential election. It was during this period that he was arrested. Few weeks after Faye had been arrested, the people were angry at these movies by Sal, leading to protests and demonstrations. The majority of the hundreds of thousands of people who protested against Sanko's arrest were young people who were angry at the high rate of unemployment and the high cost of living in the country. But Saul did not just stop there. He also went ahead to dissolve the political party of Sanko, past death, and contemplated running for another term during the 2024 Senegal presidential election. In February 2024, when the presidential election was originally scheduled to be organized, Saul made an announcement that threatened to destroy the stability of democracy in Senegal. He announced that the election was postponed till December and gave a flimsy reason for his decision, saying that the delay was necessary to investigate allegations of corruption among aspiring presidential candidates. However, the people refused, calling it a constitutional coup with some people believing that it was employed to either prepare himself to run another term, or ensure that the candidate from his party, Amidou Baha, won the election. Due to the pressure from the people and as well as foreign observers, the Constitutional Court eventually ruled that it was illegal to postpone the election. Thereby, leading the government to announce that the elections would take place in March 2024. This was how the election was finally conducted and DMA Faye won the election. However, the former president knew that he had made a lot of mess by cracking down on opposition parties, the media, and financial scandals attached to his government, which the new government would make him answer for. So, guess what he did. A few days before the election, it was reported that former president Mackie Saul submitted a draft law to Parliament that allows for a general amnesty for acts related to political unrest from 2021 to 2024. A period during his tenure that includes the violence and chaos caused by his post-ponement of elections. According to Saul, the amnesty was necessary to bring reconciliation to the country, but the truth is that is just a cover. Because if you check the legislation closely, you will notice that it absolves all those involved in the political strife, including himself, of any criminal liability. A move that human rights watch and amnesty international said opens the door to impunity for those involved in the violent repression of protests. In simple terms, Mackie Saul was ensuring that anything that tied him to crimes related to his crackdown on the opposition parties was taken care of. From this action, we can deduce that fleeing the country to France was another way for the former president to cover his base. The fact is, the new government would most likely investigate Saul's administration, and they are sure to find things that would implicate him. Fleeing to another country ensures that even if he is found guilty and tried in absentia, he would still be enjoying himself in another country. The only thing is he would not be able to set foot in Senegal again. The only thing we can say about a man like Mackie Saul is good riddance. After 12 years in power, Mackie Saul left Senegal with the challenge of youth unemployment, which is a pressing issue for the nation's rapidly expanding population, and a feeling among the public that the economy has been badly managed. According to the International Labor Organization, in 2019, 60 percent of the population in Senegal are under 25, but about 35 percent of them are unemployed. About half of the country's 17 million people are living in poverty, and it was during Saul's term that migration to Europe increased by a significant amount. Saul's administration has certainly left a lot of work for President Dio Malfa and Usman Sonco, who was appointed as Prime Minister. Hopefully, this duo is up to the task because the people of Senegal are eagerly waiting to start reaping the benefits of electing Faye as President of Senegal.