Seynabou Gano

His Excellency Seynabou Gano
1st President of Kolda
In office January 10th 1985 – October 4th 2009
Prime Minister	Assine Diombaty (1985-1989), Magatte Sokho (1989-1991), Modou Bousso (1991-1997), Binta Mbegnouga (1997-2004), Abdoulaye Athie (2004-2009)
Succeeded by	Edouard Senghor
Parliamentary group	Koldan Liberation Front-Union
Personal details
Born	(1939-01-01)January 1, 1939
Died	(2009-10-08)October 8, 2009 Saint-Paul, Brissiac Region, Kolda
Political party	Koldan Liberation Front-Union
Spouse(s)	Adrien Boucal (1970-1989), Simone Vicens (1995-2009)
Children	Egalité Gano, Yamale Gano, Almusawa Gano, Julie Vicens Gano
Residence	House of State
Military service
Allegiance	Kolda
Service/branch	Brissican/Koldan Armed Forces
Years of service	(1961-1965) Brissican 7th Brigade, (1976-2009) Koldan Armed Forces
Battles/wars	Great War, Veterans Movement, Koldan Civil War, Kabo Geshaan Civil War

Gano was a Koldan resistance leader and the first president of the Republic of Kolda from 1984 to 2009. Gano is considered the founding figure of modern Kolda and a key anti-colonialist thinker and leader. Originally leading the Koldan Liberation Front as a commander, the veteran of the Great War transitionend to politics and built modern Kolda with the KLF-U. Politically described as an anti-colonialist and socialist leader, Gano is criticized for harsh repression of dissent and poor treatment of the Arrivee minority.

Early Career

Seynabou Francois Gano was born at some point in early 1939, in the remote community around 75 miles east of Tiaovoune within the Banguala river delta. Gano was raised along with 4 other siblings to a family of fisherman who had been converted to Catholicism several years prior. Seynabou was quickly proven to be much smarter than his siblings, and thus at age 11 was sent to Tiaovoune Catholic Boarding to receive a greater education. Gano write’s “religious education was created to deny me identity”, despite this at the time, Gano was described as an exceptional student with him receiving high honors upon graduation in 1957. With his degree, Gano traveled to Saint-Paul seeking acceptance into Saint-Paul Catholic University, however upon arrival he was denied entrance upon his citizenship status. ,From there, Gano took upon a number of jobs such as busboy and a shoe polisher for Saint-Paul’s elite class. In 1961, Gano signed up for service in the Brissican Overseas Brigade upon the promise of re-classification as “Status A” citizens.

Military Service

Great War

Around 4,500 Koldans living in Saint-Paul registered for service, being placed in a specialized unit known as the 7th Colored Brigade nicknamed the “Mighty 7th”. Initially being deployed to assist with logistics as drivers and grave diggers for the rest of the Brissican Military forces, the 7th Brigade was finally deployed in 1963 in the Xueyan Campaign.

Veterans Movement

Upon the end of his service in 1966, Gano returned to civilian life without any reward or increased citizenship status. This experience of fighting alongside socialist and democratic forces against the imperialist powers in the Great War inspired veterans of the 7th to protest a law that banned Koldan’s from utilizing public taxis in Saint-Paul. Although initially repressed by police, they were soon joined by service workers who marched on City Hall demanding the policy be changed. When the military was called to respond, some veterans took up arms and began clashing with the military. Gano described this moment as key “protest was no longer the answer, those who saw war knew a revolution was the only answer”. It was at this time, Gano would meet some of his closest allies and future enemies. Ferdinand Bachlet, a socialist academic who later became a key asset in securing foreign assistance. Ibrahim Souman, a Muslim veteran who would later lead the Islamist faction of the KLF and finally Adama Dembou, a liberal politician who would become the face of the nonviolent movement. These forces would come together in 1967 to form the Kolda People’s Front, named for the ancient city of Kolda. Soon, however, Gano would be arrested in a police raid on a KPF meeting place.

Politcal Career

Imprisonmeant

Gano would be charged with conspiracy of disorderly conduct and sentenced to 15 years in prison in 1968. Originally jailed at Saint-Paul Department Jail he would be transferred to Gran Il'e Prison. Upon his arrival, Gano gained respect and acclaim among the prisoners, who allied with the Koldan prisoners. In 1970, a series of letters from Gano to Ibrahim Souman was published as "Notes on the Koldan People" These would form the basis of Koldan nationalism as Gano connected the ancient history of the Koldan Empire with "the political struggle against colonialism". Souman who had continued the Koldan insurgency as the KLF distributed the book through underground publishing as the book was banned in 1971. With his work, Gano became internationally recognized as a political prisoner and thus began the "Free Gano" campaign. Meanwhile, Souman began an active insurgency in 1973 declaring the Great Alaafiya. Gano began to fall out with Souman however due to religious differences as Souman believed Kolda should reclaim Islam while Gano believed in a secular socialist state. Facing international pressure and Gano's good behavior in prison led to his release in 1976. In his first statement after release, Gano claimed his sentence had led to "de-radicalization". In a TV interview, Gano claimed that political change over military action was the path to a "multi-ethnic future".