[alternatetwo]

The "out of nowhere" is a bit unfair, since Akon is Senegalese-American and has spent a significant amount of time as a child in Senegal - his father is from Senegal, not sure about his mother:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akon#Early_life

He (and his mother) have been doing philanthrophic work in Senegal for over 10+ years.

All the other things you say make sense of course, but he's not some random person coming to Senegal.