But what is Gamal Abdel Nacer still doing in Conakry... 8945

Aziz Daouda, 2 y.

- Politics - History - Society -

3.1 min read.

What was my surprise when I was told that for my stay of only 3 nights in Conakry, I was going to stay at the « Hôtel de L'Université » which is in fact called Gamal Abdel Nacer University. We must return to both the recent and distant history of Guinea Conakry to understand what Gamal Abdel Nacer is doing, or rather was doing, in this region of Africa. The University is now some 60 years old. It has no less than 35,000 students and some 620 teachers. The students represent nearly twenty countries. It is a university that aims to be innovative and competitive in the service of socio-economic development and environmental balance in Guinea, in the region and in the world. Built with the support of the Soviet Union in 1962, it was known until 1984 as the Polytechnic Institute of Conakry. The University was then named in honor of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser. It served for a long time to provide the country with its elites. Here Gamal is honored, elsewhere he was named Paper Tiger or even Tiger of Falouga, so much so that he puffed out his chest and suffered a series of defeats and disasters that his country continues to pay till today. An excess of "philosophical" vision undoubtedly misguided, meaningless slogans, based on an ideology without anchor, neither social nor even less cultural or historical, if not just a dream. The Officer who called himself free had, with a group of friends, overthrown the very young egyptian Monarchy as a Kingdom. Previously, Egypt had Sultans. Fouad II overthrown by Gamal and his barracks friends, acceded to the throne in July 1952, aged only 7 months and 10 days, after the abdication of his father Farouk. Farouk thought that by abdicating, leaving the throne to his baby with a regent who seemed to be accepted, he would calm the ardor of the officers and thus save his young monarchy. It didn't work. Farouk ended up leaving the country with honors, thus avoiding a bloodbath and confrontation between the military and pro-monarchist forces. The free officers will then name Mohammed Naguib president of the Arab Republic of Egypt in June 1953. An Arab Republic in Africa, heir to the greatest civilization that the African continent and the world had given birth to. Gamal was appointed prime minister in April 1954 but not for long...A few months later, on November 14, 1954, poor Naguib was kindly thanked and Gamal succeeded him quite naturally. Naguib born in Sudan will then go and write books...At the time it should be remembered, Sudan was part of Egypt but under shared sovereignty with the United Kingdom. Sudan will be declared an independent state in January 1956. The free officers of Egypt in fact, carried a project of national independence, believing that Egypt was not in fact free and that the English still had an ascendancy over the monarchy. There was also there, and above all an air of revenge of the common people, who were the young army officers, on a Cairo bourgeoisie or even nobility, speaking mostly in French, moreover, of Turkish or very close. The officers naively promised and no doubt dreamed of rapid economic development for the benefit of all...A somewhat special vision of communism and a socialism which was sought for a long time without ever succeeding, based on the doctrine of the Baathist Michel Aflak, a Syrian which skillfully combines socialism and pan-Arabism. Michel Aflak is a fan of secularism and freedom from Western interests. The Baath subtly opposed socialism to Marxism, a way of satisfying the deeply religious populations, predominantly Muslim and not only, and for whom Marxism was synonymous with atheism. We are here in the Middle East, the cradle and heart of all monotheistic religions... The Baath found in Gamal the ideal tribune. His inflammatory speeches met with an immense echo in Egypt and the Arab world: the army then appeared as the savior of an enlarged nation. The Arab Nation… Nacer's speeches mobilized and inflamed crowds at home and beyond. Its Cairo Radio, then received on short wave throughout the so-called Arab world, would play a capital role in propaganda that would restore pride to populations who had not yet emerged from the yoke of colonization in the region. Mohamed Abdelwahab will add a nice layer with the song Douae Echark (Call of the Orient) to the words of the great poet Mahmoud Hassan Ismail. It is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful pieces of music by the Egyptian virtuoso. Oum Kaltoum will do his part in 1964 with Ala Bab Masr (At the Gates of Egypt); words by Kamal Echanaoui and a composition once again by Mohamed Abdelwahab. She will also sing among others Ya Gamal ya Mital Alwatania (Gamal Example of nationalism or patriotism...). But the one who sang the most on the occasion of the July 23 celebrations was the young singer of that time, Abdel Halim Hafez, notably with his famous song Ihna Chaab (We the people). In fact, we are here faced with an extremely well-oiled system serving a cause that wanted to be pan-Arabist in the service of a military regime that wanted to be exportable to all countries with the Arabic language as the common denominator. The revolution was intended to be Egyptian but was to extend to the entire Arab world. It will succeed in overthrowing regimes almost everywhere, in Iraq, Libya, Syria... it will settle in Algeria and fail to make Hassan II of Morocco bend for example... The war of sands (Guerre des sables) was imposed to him but his solidity and his political sense will surprise them...

Aziz Daouda

Directeur Technique et du Développement de la Confédération Africaine d'Athlétisme. Passionné du Maroc, passionné d'Afrique. Concerné par ce qui se passe, formulant mon point de vue quand j'en ai un. Humaniste, j'essaye de l'être, humain je veux l'être. Mon histoire est intimement liée à l'athlétisme marocain et mondial. J'ai eu le privilège de participer à la gloire de mon pays .

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Football: When Passion Kills the Game in Impunity and Tolerance.. 539

Football (Soccer for Americans) is first and foremost a matter of emotions. By its very essence, it is an open-air theater where human passions play out in their rawest, most primal form. It generates joy, anger, pride, humiliation, and a sense of belonging. From the stands of Camp Nou to those of the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, through the fervor of the Mohamed V sport Complex in Casablanca, the vibrant enclosures of Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor in Dakar, or even the Parc des Princes in Paris, the Vélodrome In Marseille, and the Bernabeu In Madrid, football transcends the mere framework of the game to become a total social phenomenon. But this emotional intensity, which makes football's beauty, also constitutes its danger. For without rigorous regulation, it quickly tips into excess, then into violence. Today, it must be acknowledged that the rules exist, but they are too often circumvented, stripped of their substance, or applied with disconcerting leniency. On the pitches as in the stands, excesses are multiplying: insults toward referees, provocations between players, systematic challenges, physical violence, projectile throwing, pitch invasions, xenophobic remarks, racist offenses. What was once the exception is tending to become a tolerated norm. Astonishingly, we are starting to get used to it. Recent examples are telling. In Spain, in stadiums renowned for their football culture, racist chants continue to be belted out without shame, targeting players like Vinícius Júnior. Most recently, it was the Muslim community that was insulted. And yet, Spain's current football prodigy is Muslim. An overheated crowd that has doubtless forgotten it wasn't so long ago that it was Muslim itself. Among those chanting these remarks, and without a doubt, some still carry the genes of that recent past... In Dakar, just a few days ago, clashes escalated, turning a sports celebration into a scene of chaos. In Italy, incidents involving supporters who invaded the pitch, during a friendly match, no less, endangered players and officials, recalling the dark hours of European hooliganism in the 1980s. These episodes are not isolated; they reflect a worrying normalization of violence in and around stadiums. Even at the highest level of African football, behavioral excesses are becoming problematic. The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final left a bitter taste. What should have been a moment of celebration for continental football was marred by behaviors contrary to sporting ethics. Pressures on refereeing, excessive challenges, and game interruptions have become commonplace. When a coach manipulates a match's rhythm to influence a refereeing decision, it is no longer strategy but a challenge to the very foundations of the sport. Despite international outrage, the sanctions imposed on teams, clubs, or players involved remain often symbolic, insufficient to eradicate these behaviors. A very surprising phenomenon: rarely have clubs or federations clearly distanced themselves from such crowds. They accommodate them, and when they condemn them, it is half-heartedly, in a muffled, timid tone with no effect. The problem is twofold. On one hand, disciplinary regulations exist but lack firmness. On the other, their application suffers from a lack of consistency and political courage. Bodies like FIFA, continental confederations, and national federations hesitate to impose truly dissuasive sanctions such as point deductions, prolonged closed-door matches, competition exclusions, or even administrative relegations. Yet without fear of sanction, the rule loses all effectiveness. It suffices to compare with other sports to measure the gap. In rugby, for example, respect for the referee is a cardinal value. The slightest challenge is immediately sanctioned. In athletics, a false start leads to immediate disqualification, no discussion. Football, meanwhile, still tolerates too many behaviors that should be unacceptable. This permissiveness has a cost. It undermines football's image, discourages some families from attending stadiums, and endangers the safety of the game's actors. More gravely, it paves the way for future tragedies. History has already taught us, through catastrophes like the Heysel Stadium disaster, that violence in stadiums can have tragic consequences. It is therefore urgent to react. Regulating football does not mean killing its soul, but rather preserving it. It is not about extinguishing passions, but channeling them. This requires strong measures, exemplary sanctions against offending clubs and players, accountability for national federations, increased use of technology to identify troublemakers, and above all, a clear political will from national and international governing bodies. Football cannot continue to be this "market of emotion" left to its own devices. For by tolerating the intolerable, it risks losing what makes its greatness and its ability to unite rather than divide. If FIFA does not decide to act firmly, the danger is real: that of seeing football sink into a spiral where violence triumphs over the game, and where, one day, tragedies exceed the mere framework of sport. The long-awaited decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in the 2025 AFCON final case should confirm rigor and integrity in the application of rules, at least at this level, thereby strengthening the credibility of the pan-African competition and football in general.