The renowned Senegalese female star, Coumba Gawlo Seck, has applauded President Yahya Jammeh for going back to his roots and promoting traditional medicine.

She was speaking in an interview with the Daily Observer at her suites in the Paradise Suites Hotel. The musical star, who was in The Gambia to help raise funds on behalf of the Ebo Town flood victims, decried the fact that African culture is gradually being dominated by foreign ideologies and practices.“There are many good things that Africans can do. We need to promote that. I am very happy that President Jammeh has taken the lead by venturing into traditional medicine. This proves that good things can come out of Africa. We do not need to rely too much on foreign medication which, unfortunately, is often the case,” she enthused.

The Mbalax star, who has her own label – Sabarr, which produces all her albums and those of other Mbalax stars, said that although she is not as frequent a visitor to the country as she would wish to be, she would take the opportunity to say that she was impressed by the massive infrastructural developments in the country. “You have more modern buildings, and your roads are becoming better and better,” she said.

It could be recalled that the Senegalese diva descended from a long line of griots (praise singers), and has continued to pursue the tribal roots of her music. A graduate of Martin Luther King College (in Dakar), Coumba Gawlo Seck has provided music for several productions by Theatre National Daniel Sorano. Her performance at Telefood 98, in Dakar, was broadcasted globally in 1998. The following year, she received a New Talent/Singer award at Kora '99.

As her musical career was going crescendo, she bagged a Kora award in 2001. To her fans she had this to say: “Always expect the best”.