Ousmane Diallo, the challenge of dialogue September 11, 2026

He arrives with a clear roadmap and an assumed method: listen before acting. At 42, Ousmane Diallo will soon take charge of the Regional Center for University and Social Works of Ziguinchor (CROUS-Z) at Assane Seck University, with the ambition of calming down the university space and placing the student at the heart of the action. For this professor turned director, proximity will not be a slogan, but a way of governing.

ZIGUINCHOR- Appointed this Thursday, September 10 by the President of the Republic, following the Council of Ministers, Ousmane Diallo discovers a new responsibility, but not an unknown world. A secondary education teacher, trained in History and Geography, he holds a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from the Gaston Berger University of Saint-Louis and a CAES obtained from the École Normale Supérieure (FASTEF). His career also bears the imprint of the associative movement. Former president of the ASC Néma Sapeurs, he learned contact with populations, people management and above all the art of dealing with sometimes contradictory expectations.

An experience that he now wants to transpose to a campus where student demands can quickly turn into tensions. “I fully appreciate the weight of the mission that the Head of State has entrusted to me. I am a man of challenges and I know the university environment well, with all its complexity. In this sometimes tense environment, listening must be our first instinct. It is by collecting grievances and seeking to smooth out the angles that we will be able to prevent tensions and bring peace,” he confided in an interview with “Le Soleil”.

The student at the heart of the system

Ousmane Diallo does not want to sit in an office and wait for problems to come to him. He promises to go to the students, to see their realities and to measure their difficulties himself. Catering and accommodation are its primary concerns. “Students simply want to live and study in better conditions. Their primary aspiration is well-being. We must therefore improve their catering and accommodation. The poor quality of meals cannot be inevitable, especially when these meals are subsidized by the State. As soon as I take office, I will meet them to listen to their needs. We will not resolve everything in one day, but we must guarantee them the best possible conditions,” maintains Ousmane Diallo.

His concept of authority can be summed up in a few words: proximity, dialogue and trust. He even wants to push this proximity to the point of sharing the daily lives of the students. “I believe deeply in dialogue and compromise. The students are my brothers and sisters. I want to be a director close to them, even capable of sharing a meal with them. It is this proximity that makes it possible to understand their concerns and better meet their expectations. I will fight for their well-being,” assures the new director of CROUS-Z.

A personal touch

Consolidate the achievements, correct the inadequacies and make his mark: this is the equation that the new director intends to resolve. “I want to establish a real relationship of trust with the students. No one should feel inferior or discredited. We will preserve what exists, while adding our personal touch, with the ambition of building a university environment where it is really good to live and study,” insists Ousmane Diallo.

Taken to the head of CROUS-Z, the new director intends to transform his experience as a teacher and associative actor into a local force. His first challenge will be to convince. He has already chosen his first weapon: dialogue.