Mechanics, carpentry, masonry, electronics, animation, photography, telephony, communication... El Hadj Yaya Sery (80 years old) was the living example of truly self-taught. The founder of radio Lotamu, whom the Banwa and Boucle du Mouhoun mourn, was of great use to his community.
The populations of the Banwa have been mourning since August 22, 2023, the disappearance of the CEO of Lotamu radio, El Hadj Yaya Sery, the generous man of many professions
Born in 1943 in Borogo in the Kassoum department, Sourou province, Yaya is the eldest son of a respectable family of blacksmiths.
His father El Hadj Sidiki Sery introduced him very early to the manufacture of San peasant tools.
In the quest for better well-being for his family, old Sidiki migrated first to Gninani, Barani department in Kossi, then to Gnônô in the Republic of Mali around 1952.
Sensing the beginnings of the first Mali-Upper Volta war, he decided to return to his native country around the 1970s, passing through Nouna, Guiédougou, Lanfiera in Sourou and finally in Kouka among the Bôbôs in the Banwa where the family is settled since 1972.
Although he did not have the chance to go to the white school, Sery Yaya, endowed with unparalleled ingenuity, knew how to do everything and do it very well.
He practiced, among other things, sewing, mechanics, carpentry, masonry, especially electronics, animation and communication.
After photography, Sery Yaya became a cameraman.
We will also remember that he was one of the first promoters of telephone booths and telecenters in Kouka and even in Solenzo.
In the fervor of his youth, Sery Yaya introduced dance evenings to the Banwa province.
Great passion for audio-visual
Having trained alone in the repair of radio sets, Sery Yaya began operating an FM radio frequency in 1978 where he played nothing but music.
However, this “clandestine radio” was shut down due to interference with the administrative network system of the command of the military detachment based in Kouka at the time.
As the radio-television project was close to his heart, Sery Yaya initiated procedures with the competent authorities. Authorization was obtained on November 19, 2002. He then officially founded radio Lotamu (the voice of the village) in Solenzo, a real lever for the development of the Banwa province.
The television project remains a challenge for his Heirs, Sery Aly in the lead.
A man useful to his community
A man of conviction, moral uprightness, generous and humble, Sery Yaya strived to find the best solutions, each time he was consulted for the resolution of problems and crises within the community.
He has always responded favorably to various requests, whether from the populations or from the authorities (especially during the Sankarist Revolution).
In recent years, consumed by illness, Sery Yaya was more and more absent from Kouka, the village he loved so much and gave everything.
Morally strong, despite illness, he assumed almost all his obligations and responsibilities.
Sery Yay fought. No support missed him. His family gave everything. The health workers played their part. But as they say, his day has come. It was on the night of Tuesday August 22, 2023 that he passed away, leaving behind three wives, three daughters and eleven boys.
El Hadj Yaya SERY was a large baobab, a library, a watering hole. Great men never die. His immeasurable legacy, his actions and his deeds will survive him.
Source: Burkina Information Agency