Op-ed: Echoes Across the Border: Parallels Between Faye-Sonko and Barrow-Darboe Tensions in West African Politics

Echoes Across the Border: Parallels Between Faye-Sonko and Barrow-Darboe Tensions in West African Politics

West Africa is no stranger to unlikely leaders rising from political margins, carried by movements larger than themselves. But as we watch Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye navigate his first months in office—with Ousmane Sonko, the movement’s architect, now seated as Prime Minister—many Gambians are watching with a knowing glance. We’ve seen this movie before.

Not too long ago, a similar script played out in The Gambia. President Adama Barrow was plucked from relative obscurity to lead a united opposition coalition in 2016, while the real political heavyweight—UDP leader Ousainou Darboe—was behind bars. After Barrow triumphed against Yahya Jammeh, what began as a story of unity and hope turned into a slow-motion political divorce. The parallels with the current Faye-Sonko dynamic in Senegal are striking—and they’re hard to ignore.

When the Figurehead Becomes the Frontman

In both cases, presidents were chosen not because they commanded political machines of their own, but because they represented compromise and loyalty to a bigger idea.

In The Gambia, Barrow was a stand-in—a trusted UDP loyalist who could serve as a unifier for the Coalition 2016 ticket. In Senegal, Faye was Sonko’s most loyal lieutenant, elevated after Sonko was barred from contesting. Voters understood what was happening; both elections were about change, and the presidents they elected were essentially proxies for larger movements.

But here’s the thing about political figureheads: they don’t stay in the shadows for long.

Once in office, Barrow quickly began to chart his own course. Yes, he brought Darboe into the cabinet and even made him Vice President, but the writing was on the wall. Barrow liked the feel of the driver's seat. By 2019, Darboe was sacked, the UDP was pushed out, and Barrow was building a new political vehicle—the National People’s Party (NPP)—designed to serve one man: himself.

If anyone in Senegal thinks that kind of shift can’t happen with Faye and Sonko, they haven’t been paying attention to the gravity of presidential power in this region.

Power Changes the Equation

Politics is full of talk about loyalty and ideology, but power changes everything. The minute a former proxy becomes president, the stakes change, the pressures multiply, and the calculations become more personal.

Already in Senegal, subtle signs of friction are emerging. Sonko still commands a passionate base and frames himself as the intellectual and moral force behind the current government. Faye, now at the helm of the state, has to juggle diplomacy, bureaucracy, the military, and a long list of impatient citizens waiting for reform.

At some point, these roles will clash. Prime Ministers don’t like being seen as the “real president.” Presidents don’t enjoy being told what to do by someone pulling the strings behind the curtain. Sooner or later, something will have to give.

The Gambia’s Lesson: Movements Are Hard to Govern

The Barrow-Darboe fallout didn’t happen overnight. It came in stages—disagreements over constitutional reform, over term limits, over political appointments. But the pattern was consistent: Barrow was increasingly unwilling to act as anyone’s stand-in. He wanted to be president in his own right. And he made sure of it.

Faye may not have Barrow’s populist instincts, but the incentives are the same. Unless Sonko takes a deliberate step back—and there’s little evidence he intends to—Senegal is heading for a power struggle.

And let’s be honest: most movements are built for protest, not for governance. It’s easier to rally against corruption and injustice than it is to manage ministries, pass budgets, and negotiate with trade unions. Barrow learned this. Faye is about to.

What Comes Next?

If history is a guide, we can expect a gradual distancing, polite at first, then more obvious. Faye will assert more independence. Sonko will resist. Supporters will take sides. And like in The Gambia, the political terrain will shift—possibly with the formation of a new party or the sidelining of old allies.

That doesn’t mean the revolution is dead. But it does mean that revolutions often outgrow their founding figures—or fracture under the weight of their ambitions.

Final Thought

The Barrow-Darboe fallout was once seen as a personal betrayal. Today, it looks more like a structural inevitability—one that may repeat itself in Senegal. The only real question is whether Faye and Sonko can defy the gravity of power, or whether they, too, will become another cautionary tale in the politics of post-transition West Africa.

For those watching from Banjul to Dakar, the writing is already on the wall. It’s just a matter of how loud the echoes will be.

Fakaramo Kanteh is a columnist and political commentator based in Banjul. He writes on democracy, leadership, and political change in West Africa.

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