Baye El hadj Djily Mbaye: A vision, a faith and a heritage
An emblematic figure of Louga, Baye El Hadj Djily Mbaye (1926-1991) was at the same time a great entrepreneur, a man of faith and a humanist recognized for his generosity. The sumptuous palace that he had built in the heart of Ndiambour was not a simple symbol of wealth, but the culmination of a vision: to offer Louga a residence capable of welcoming the highest dignitaries in the world and to place the city in the diplomatic, religious and cultural history of Senegal.
Baye Mbaye, son of one of El Hadj Djily Mbaye’s big brothers, notably Serigne Ibra Mbaye, recalls, however, that Baye Djily did not simply have an economic dimension. On a religious level, he also had depth and even a divine gift. “It is said that his wealth hid his other qualities, notably in religion. His father Mame Cheikh Mbaye was a unifying scholar who did not distinguish between brotherhoods.
Baye Djily had special relationships with African heads of state of the time such as Houphouët Boigny, Denis Sassou Nguesso and Mobutu who all came to visit him at the palace in Louga,” notes Baye Mbaye. It was the same for the kings of Arab countries. The latter specifies, on the reasons for the construction of the palace, that El Hadj Djily Mbaye who had friends across the world wanted to build a residence that could accommodate any head of state in Louga.
A cost estimated at 18 billion CFA francs before devaluation
So El Hadj Djily Mbaye did not hesitate to put a lot of money into the construction of this magnificent palace. According to Baye Mbaye, the building was valued at 18 billion Cfa francs before the devaluation of the Cfa franc in 1994. “As he went to the palaces of Arab princes and kings and African heads of state, he wanted them to be able to come and visit him in Louga and find a home commensurate with their rank.”
El Hadj Djily Mbaye also had another objective. He was planning to receive dignitaries who will come to Senegal for the needs of the summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in 1992 in Louga. His nephew Baye Mbaye even remembers that at the time, he had T-shirts made for the event and to welcome King Fahd of Saudi Arabia. “Even within the palace, in the conference room, he had planned three large royal seats for King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, King Hassan 2 of Morocco and King Hussein of Jordan in view of the OIC summit,” reveals Baye Mbaye. Unfortunately, he died in 1991, before the OIC summit held in 1992 in Dakar. His nephew regrets that Louga was not able to receive guests who came for the said summit.
The construction of the grand palace was completed in 1987. Work had started a few years earlier. In addition to the palace, there are also more than 15 residences in the approximately 30-hectare estate. Note that there was an old small palace, built in 1977.
On the origins of his fortune, many did not want to comment. However, according to certain confidences from those close to the family, El Hadj Djily Mbaye had an entrepreneurial mentality very early on since he was at Daara de Koki. According to some versions, he started with the chicken trade between Djolof and Saint-Louis. He took the train to sell chickens in Saint-Louis and on the way back, he bought fish which they resold in the Daara-Lingère area. Afterwards, he also settled in the sub-region, in Guinea, Ivory Coast, among others. A great friend of Félix Houphouët-Boigny, first President of Ivory Coast, he also invested in the coffee trade and had coffee and cola nut fields, according to Mamadou Gueye Sam, English teacher at Malick Sall high school and close to the family. The latter confesses that before the appearance of his wealth, he spent difficult times, notably in Guinea where he was evicted from a building that he had sublet with Senegalese people. Mr. Gaye recalled that according to several versions, it was during these difficulties that he saw his father Mame Cheikh Mbaye in a dream who reassured him by saying: “this is the end of your financial difficulties”.
These other achievements of El Hadj Djily Mbaye
El Hadj Djily Mbaye did not simply build a palace in Louga. He has carried out many projects in this city. “50 to 60% of the tarmac roads in the town of Louga were built by Baye Djily. It was he who built the Malick Sall high school in Louga, the Amadou Sakhir Mbaye regional hospital, the Alboury Ndiaye stadium; it was also he who built the housing of the governor of Louga,” informs Baye Mbaye. It is still El Hadj Djily Mbaye who set up the Industrial and Agricultural Products Company (Spia) to provide employment to the young people of Louga, the HLM of Louga. All the cities around the El Hadj Djily Mbaye palace, including the Bagdad City, were also built by El Hadj Djily Mbaye who offered the houses to hundreds of families.
Oumar KANDE
