On July 30, PACP held an event in Mali’s capital city, Bamako, in the morning. It was held at “La Maison Des Jeunes De Bamako.” It was attended in huge numbers, mainly consisting of the youth. It is very rare to attract large crowds, especially young crowds, to political based meetings on a Saturday morning but about 1500+ people gathered to greet the presidential candidate, Niankoro Yeah Samaké. The event was started with speeches by Garba and Fomba. Garba pumped the crowd up before welcoming Yeah to speak.

Yeah was presented with a Ciwara, a symbol of excellence, that had the inscription: “Civisme et Patriotisme”. In Mali, the Ciwara symbolizes excellence. Yeah was honored by his party PACP for his strong commitment to his people and his return to Mali to make a difference. When Yeah got up to speak, the electricity went off. Rather than being deterred, Yeah, without a mic, rose to the occasion and addressed the crowd of 1500+ in a loud commanding voice. He spoke of what was possible for his people. He talked about how Mali is not poor but rather has been made poor leadership. The youth of Bamako received the message with rejuvenated enthusiasm. The desire to see change in the generation has come.

The crowds gathered to hear Yeah Samaké speak in Bamako

The youth surround Yeah as he proudly presents his ciwara

Places for Us featured Yeah Samake on their blog. Thank you for featuring Yeah on your blog!

Leadership Skills Will Help Yeah Samake Become Elected President

By Sushinoms

Niankoro Yeah Samake received his leadership development through the school of hard knocks. He was literally born poor in the second poorest country in the world. But his family was happy in spite of the persistent hunger and disease that beset them. Yeah’s father had a vision for his children. He knew that they would never have anything better if they didn’t all get an education. So, even when it meant going without food, which it often did, the children walked the miles to and from school in the desert heat of up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. It was in these years of endurance that Yeah began to form his leadership skills.

Eventually, Samake was able to earn a graduate degree in the United States. After honing his leadership skills as the director of a foundation in the USA, and as a Mayor in Mali, Africa, Yeah announced his bid for president of Mali in the 2012 election. He is currently campaigning in Mali and large crowds are showing up to give their support. He will most likely win if he can raise enough campaign money to help with running a presidential campaign. The most interesting thing to read about Yeah’ is his leadership and bravery.

Yeah and his wife, Marissa, with the Prime Minister of Mali (Middle)

On Thursday, July 28, Yeah and his wife, Marissa, met with the  Prime Minister (PM) of Mali, Cissé Mariam Sidibe Kaïdama. Yeah presented his greetings to the Prime Minister and congratulated her on her post. Yeah presented his qualifications to the PM. The PM was very impressed with all that Yeah had accomplished within the last 5 years. As Mali Rising Foundation (MRF) director, Yeah has been instrumental in bringing roughly 20 students from Mali to the US for college, 5 students on scholarship to Wasatch Academy, medical missions of gynecologists and dentists to Mali, and helping build 15 schools. This was an excellent opportunity for Yeah to network and present his qualifications to the second most powerful person in Mali.

Niankoro Yeah Samaké, 2012 presidential candidate: “Those who have exploited this country for 30 years, do not deserve to lead”

Yeah recently attended the planting of trees in Ouelessebougou to move the community towards the “greenest” city in Mali. Yeah is working to move Ouelessebougou into this “green” spotlight as they have already emplaced a solar field in the Ouelessebougou community.

Here is a piece of an article about Yeah in the LDS Living Magazine. Thank you LDS Living Magazine for your continued support of our campaign.

Faith in Politics: LDS politicians share about their experiences in political office 

By LDS Living Staff

Mayor and Presidential Candidate N. Yeah Samake (Mali)

Yeah Samake currently works as Executive Director at Mali Rising Foundation and serves as the vice president of the Mali League of Mayors. He has a master’s of public policy from Brigham Young University. Samake, a native of mali, serves as the mayor of Ouelessebougou, Mali. He and his wife, Marissa, have 2 children.

Yeah Samake was born and raised in Ouelessebougou, Mali, the eighth of 18 children. Though drought and poverty has ravaged the small West African country since its inception just 50 years ago, Samake’s parents made every effort to ensure he and his siblings attended school. “My father knew the only way to break the cycle of poverty was through education,” he says.

After earning a degree in teaching English, Samake discovered there were no jobs for him. “I decided to go back home to my village, where I offered to teach English for free for three years,” he recalls. “It helped me to deepen my roots with my community, and I was able to afford the admiration of my city.”

Samake had met a couple of LDS families, and after visiting them in the United States in 2000, he decided to join the Church. He went on to earn a master’s degree in public policy from BYU.

Samake says he always knew he wanted to be involved in politics. “For me, politics is the way of solving problems in the community, and I wanted to be in a leadership position to be able to solve problems.” Wanting to improve health care, education, and employment, Samake felt compelled to run for mayor of Ouelessebougou in 2009. “The country is 90 percent Muslim, so I made sure to tell people that I wasLDS. But as I made it an issue, people were asking me, ‘Why are you talking about this? We trust you.’”

Read more »

The campaign was greeted in Ouelessebougou with hundreds of motorcycles. Most people wore t-shirts made for Yeah Samake’s supporter’s club in Ouelessebougou. The event began with music telling the story of Yeah and his lineage followed by another story about the history of Mali and what Yeah could accomplish.

The event continued with speeches from Fomba, the party secretary and Garba, the party 1st attendant. When Yeah stood up to speak, the audience was pumped. They chanted “Yeah Samake” and “President” over and over. Yeah spoke of his purpose for returning to Mali – to fight for opportunities for his people. It was a well-received, spectacular event.

The crowd excitedly greets Yeah upon entrance to the village

The campaign recently held an event in Markala, a large village on the Niger River. Over 500 people attended.

Campaigning in Mali consists of dancing prior to the event, a huge welcome crowd, a visit to the village chief, speeches, and singing. This event was planned primarily by the youth, one of our target populations, as a show of support for Yeah Samaké. The level of enthusiasm was almost overwhelming! The people were so excited about the parties and the goals for Mali. Yeah gave an excellent address. What a great way to start the campaign!

T-shirts made by youth supporters

Yeah with Foumba (left), party secretary, and Garba (right), 1st party attendant

Read another interesting article below about the controversy behind Yeah’s candidacy. It was published in the Malian journal, L’Indépendant, by Abdoulaye Diarra. We have translated it into English below.

The URD mayor of Ouelessebougou, Yeah Samake, candidate in the 2012 presidential election: “I am a candidate to stand in the way of Soumaila Cissé”

Last Sunday, we attended a meeting attended by 30-40 youth (men and women). Yeah spent an hour with these youth addressing the concern of education and jobs. Mali today has an unemployment rate of 35%. The education system is rapidly degrading at the higher level. Many students not completing higher education. And even if they do complete a bachelor’s degree, no jobs are available. This is a vicious cycle that Yeah hopes to break with increasing employment opportunities.

Yeah Samake and Garba Konate

Friday brought villagers from miles around to attend a forum that was held in Ouelessebougou and headed by Yeah. The elder’s quorums of the surrounding 44 villages were in attendance. To explain a little, Yeah has created an elders quorum of advisers and the chief of the village. Who to better know their constituents needs than these individuals. These groups addressed their issues that were currently going on in their respective villages. Afterwards they were presented with spending reports and tax collection totals for the last three months by the mayor’s office. In a way, it was accountability for all parties involved to show villagers how they are contributing to the success and failures of their leadership. An opportunity to witness decentralization on a local level. This is one of Yeah’s primary messages on the campaign trail: returning power from the central government to the lower governments. Citizens were also informed of the services provided by the mayor’s office, the cost involved and the time taken to provide these services. This was a unique opportunity for accountability instituted by Yeah that is singular to the city of Ouelessebougou. The national TV ORTM and 4 major news papers captured this important event and it will be broadcast on news today. It provides an awesome opportunity to broadcast the changes that one section of Mali is enjoying. All in all, a productive week.

Meeting to gain support in Bamako