Xala

Simply called “El Hadji,” he is a 50-year-old former primary-school instructor who was dismissed from his role after becoming involved with “trade-union activity during the colonial period” (2). He then entered the grocery business in which he involved himself in property transactions, running an import-export shop in Dakar. His relationships with Lebanese and Syrian businessmen resulted in him gaining access to their monopoly in the rice trade. After Independence, he tried to import dried fish from the Congo, but a wealthier competitor edged him out of that business. El Hadji then decided to act as a front for overseas investors in West Africa. He served on the boards of several companies. Despite being corrupt, he never faced any legal charges, though the public understood what he was up to.

El Hadji has three wives, which is a sign of his prosperity. He is “a good, albeit non-practising [sic] Muslim” (3). He earned his title after taking his first wife on a pilgrimage to Mecca. “El Hadji” is an honorific title given to men who have made the pilgrimage to the holy land. Altogether, El Hadji has 11 children—six with his first wife, Adja, and five with his second wife, Oumi N’Doye.