It is heartening to see and read about the ordinary African’s unequivocal support for Capt Ibrahim Traoré, the president of Burkina Faso, in West Africa.
The outpouring of pro-Traoré sentiment, especially on media platforms, on the continent and the diaspora bears testimony that people have had enough of the exploitation Africa has endured for what seems like an eternity.
Traoré came to power in a military coup in 2022 and has, in a very short span of time, proved to be the kind of revolutionary Africa so desperately needs.
He kicked out the French military from Burkina Faso, nationalised mines for the benefit of his people, the Burkinabe. And this is not just the usual hot air spewed by Africa’s rulers.
He has turned the impoverished, yet mineral-rich country into a construction site, building new roads and other infrastructure. The president also seeks to industrialise the country, and started off by building a refinery that ensures that Burkina Faso does not export raw gold to the West, particularly former colonial master, France.
It is the type of leadership that underdeveloped Africa has long yearned for but was denied at every turn with more than a little help from our ‘friends’ in the West. Every African leader who dared dream of leading their nation on the kind of path Traoré has taken was assassinated or forcefully removed from power and replaced by pliant strongmen whose primary duty was to ensure that the African dream stays indefinitely deferred.
Kwame Nkrumah, the man who led Ghana, the first nation to attain independence from a colonial master, was the first to feel the wrath of those who always want to keep Africa under their thumb.
Soon to follow were Patrice Lumumba in the Congo, Samora Machel, Traoré’s predecessor and the man who no doubt inspires him, Thomas Sankara. Muammar Gaddafi (Libya) and Anwar Saddat (Egypt), to name a few.
The common thread among these great men was that they dared to make Africa better, one nation at a time, but with overarching Pan-African ideals. They had to die.
The assassinations have also been indiscriminate, targeting even visionaries who were nowhere near state power but qualified nonetheless to take the bullet. Think of Robert Sobukwe, Steve Biko, Chris Hani and Sabelo Phama, South African examples of heroes sacrificed for working towards a better Africa.
France, has maintained a suffocating grip on its former colonies, who are made to pay what amounts to endless reparations for God knows what, and has thus been shaken by what is unfolding in Burkina Faso and her sister Sahel countries of Mali, under Gen Assimi Goita, and Niger, led by Abdourahamane Tchiani.
There has reportedly been no fewer than 20 assassination attempts on Traoré (no prizes for guessing who is behind them all.) Worryingly, that self-appointed policeman of the world, the US, has joined the fray and is now overtly calling for a regime change, accusing Traoré of using the gold for personal gain.
On the contrary, the good work being done by the young man is there for all of to see, and may we add, seek to emulate.
Traoré is the lodestar of a brave new Africa, strong and uncompromising in reaching for its dreams. We salute him.
