The reported appointment of Dr. Mamadou Tangara as the new High Representative of the African Union Commission for Mali and the Sahel (MISAHEL) has unleashed a storm of speculation, and not the kind that fades with time. Coming on the heels of a vacancy left cold and cobwebbed since Maman Sambo Sidikou’s quiet exit in 2023, this abrupt reshuffle from Foreign Minister of The Gambia to AU envoy has many of us blinking in disbelief.
Frankly, I believe no one was more shocked by Dr. Tangara’s sudden departure than I was; and, truth be told, I even feel a little cheated. I had hoped for one last opportunity to ask him a burning question before he left: Isn’t it rather puzzling, Doctor, that despite President Barrow’s consistent support for the United States, particularly on the Iran-Israel conflict, President Donald Trump has chosen to invite five West African leaders, Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, and Gabon, to a high-level summit in Washington from July 9 to 11, while The Gambia is visibly absent from the list?
But let me hazard a guess here! Was The Gambia’s foreign policy so obscure that it never even flickered on Donald Trump’s radar? Or did the U.S. president only take notice after Dr. Tangara’s forceful condemnation of Israel’s assault on Iran and its mistreatment of the Palestinian people at the June 21 OIC emergency meeting in Istanbul, an intervention that may have painted The Gambia in a negative light before President Barrow publicly voiced unyielding support for America’s stance in the conflict on June 27?
Let’s however rewind a bit.
Make no mistake folks, the AU High Representative for Mali and the Sahel holds a role of substance, not ceremony. The role was established on December 20, 2012, under UN Security Council Resolution 2085, crafted to bring stability to one of the world’s most volatile regions. Since then, only two men have held the post: the late Pierre Buyoya, the towering Burundian statesman and former president, and Niger’s Maman Sambo Sidikou, a multilateralist par excellence with decades of global experience from the UN to ECOWAS.
In comparison, Dr. Tangara’s résumé, though polished, feels provincial. His entire career has unfolded within the corridors of The Gambia’s foreign service, from his days under Yahya Jammeh to his eight-year tenure as President Barrow’s foreign minister. Is that admirable? Certainly, but not quite exceptional. Unlike his predecessors, Tangara has never steered a major international organization or navigated the muddy waters of multilateral conflict zones. Whether he can rise to the occasion or merely paddle in place remains to be seen.
But what makes this appointment truly puzzling isn’t just who got the job, but how. Different from his well-publicized, though ultimately unsuccessful, bid for Secretary General of the Commonwealth, championed openly by The Gambia government, Tangara’s AU posting appears to have been pulled from a magician’s hat. No public announcement, no shortlist, no vetting process. One day he was in Spain accompanying the Vice President, the next we hear he resigned, mid-mission, no less. And President Barrow, in what now appears to be a familiar move, accepted the resignation with uncharacteristic haste, evoking memories of the mysterious 2020 departure of former Justice Minister Abubacarr Ba Tambadou.
Is this a career promotion, or a politely disguised political purge?
Let’s be honest, the MISAHEL position, while sounding grand, has lost much of its luster in recent years. Since Sidikou’s departure in 2023, the office has drifted in bureaucratic limbo, barely sustained by acting envoy Fulgence Zeneth. No recruitment drive was announced, no deliberations made public. Was Tangara the only candidate? Or merely the most politically convenient?
Even if this was a “headhunted” appointment, one would expect the headhunting to involve a bit more hunting and a few more heads.
The key concern is whether Dr. Tangara comes equipped with the skills and grit for the job.
The Sahel today is a fractured battlefield of ideology, insecurity, and fragile alliances. The G5 Sahel has become an acronym in search of relevance. Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have broken away from ECOWAS, forming their own military axis and slamming the door on regional diplomacy. The African Union’s peace architecture is under visible strain. This is not the arena for half-measures or softly-spoken diplomacy.
So, does Tangara, armed primarily with bilateral experience and a stockpile of generic speeches, possess the courage, creativity, and clout to navigate this scorching terrain?
During his time as Foreign Minister, Gambia’s foreign policy often seemed reactive, muted, and eccentrically detached. As chair of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), we remained deafeningly silent during the Iran-Israel “twelve-days war”. On June 20, 2025, while the UN Security Council met to deliberate on the Middle East crisis, Tangara was instead seen in New York City delivering remarks on Gambia’s 2016 political transition, a side event whose relevance, frankly, escapes me. Was that speech a stepping stone to this new AU post?
If Dr. Tangara brings with him bold plans to mediate between ECOWAS and the estranged Sahel trio, we may indeed see fireworks of a spectacular kind. But if he arrives in Bamako with nothing more than old UN talking points and carefully memorized platitudes, his tenure may be short and forgettable.
Even Senegal’s President Basiru Diomaye Faye, young, bold, and brimming with revolutionary fervor, tried engaging the Sahel alliance and came away empty-handed. The terrain is unforgiving, and the politics unforgiving still. Tangara will need more than protocol and posture to survive there.
To compound the confusion, the entire process surrounding his appointment has been shrouded in secrecy. Neither Tangara nor The Gambia government has offered a timeline for his application or confirmation. As of July 6, 2025-I mean yesterday, Sunday-the African Union’s website remains stubbornly silent. No press release, no photo ops, not even a footnote acknowledging his new responsibility.
This lack of transparency cannot just be an oversight but an insult to public intelligence. Appointments of this magnitude, which affect national image and regional strategy, cannot be treated like backroom chess moves. Gambians and Africans alike deserve clarity. If Tangara earned the role through merit, let us applaud him. But if this was a diplomatic side-exit dressed in AU regalia, we must say so.
In the end, time will tell whether Dr. Tangara was rewarded for excellence or relieved for expedience.
By Retired Lt. Colonel Samsudeen Sarr, Former Deputy Permanent Representative to Dr. Mamadou Tangara at the UN (2015–2017)
