Senoufou, in the case of Ali Farka Touré it is not 'hard to decide who influenced whom'. Some French engineers were working near the Touré homestead and, in the evenings, they played John Lee Hooker LPs. When I met Ali after a gig at the Hackney Empire (a long way from Mali!)he was quite happy to say that he had picked up Hooker's guitar style by listening to these recordings. Of course, when he was 'discovered' by the outside world most people thought that they had discovered the original 'roots of the blues'.
Having said that, I must say that I love Malian music and was quite happy to see Ali and band included in the program.