al African leaders to the mournful ceremony. The street-renaming project is expected to prominently feature the Tirailleurs.

However, some Senegalese say that while they appreciate this remembrance of history, the project could also be a distraction. Faye and Sonko not only promised a stronger Senegalese identity, but they also pledged to improve and boost the economy, which has been hit by a combination of pandemic aftershocks, supply bottlenecks in the wake of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the global economic downturn.

Thousands of young people, especially men, in recent years have abandoned the declining fishing industry in search of a better life in Europe. Hundreds have died attempting the deadly crossing across the Atlantic to the Spanish Canary Islands.

“For me, changing street names is not a priority at all,” Mouhamadou, a young Senegalese in Dakar who said he has unsuccessfully attempted the Atlantic crossing, told Al Jazeera.

“The priority should be lowering the cost of living. We’re tired. The prices of rice and cooking oil have risen again. Yet Sonko promised to change our condition within three months of their arrival in power. It has now been over 10 months since their arrival. I don’t see any real change,” he said.

Faye’s Senegal 2050 plan promises to raise average wages by 50 percent over five years, focusing on local production and investments in the energy sector. In the months since he took office, the economy has rebounded somewhat. The International Monetary Fund projected that Senegal’s economy grew by 7 percent in 2024 and growth would reach 10 percent in 2025. Much of that expansion is fuelled by new oil drilling projects signed by Sall but renegotiated and started under Faye’s watch.

However, for many Senegalese like Mouhamadou, those proceeds have yet to translate into real job opportunities or physical money. The young job seeker said he is close to giving up and would rather the administration prioritise economic results first.

“I fought for President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Ousmane Sonko, but right now, the situation in the country doesn’t reassure me at all,” he said. “They have to lower the cost of living before they do anything.”