Burkina Faso could not have asked for a better man to usher the nation to prosperity. In Captain Ibrahim Traore, the country got the right man for the job. As a trained geologist, Captain Traore espouses the principles of evolution and relations between all components of the earth.
As the earthly elements highly prone to soft and hard manipulation, it has been interesting to watch Traore recreate and restructure the Burkinabe psyche and restore it to its original factory settings. The same way that rocks have a special relationship with the ground is the same way that humans’ relations are intertwined with the earth.
The truth is that Burkina Faso was separated from its earth by the French at the Congo Conference of 1884 held in Berlin, Germany. The Europeans took a unanimous resolution to relegate Africans to the sidelines of their own land, their own existence – and reduced them to being white supremacy service providers.
The restoration of Burkina Faso started with Thomas Sankara in 1983 until the process was reversed by colonial merchants through a coup in 1987. It is Sankara who changed the country’s name from Upper Volta to Burkina Faso, the land of upright men. He followed that program of self-determination, instilled discipline, put land utilization through agricultural and agro-processing activities at the core of the country survival. He practically took a stand against colonial domination and positioned citizens for benefit from land and minerals. He had a policy of ensuring that women do not play second fiddle in community development, a phenomenon common in western culture.
Today, Captain Traore has inherited Captain Sankara’s shoes, at a time when the social and global dynamics have changed and present even bigger challenges.
Thomas Sankara is the ancestor Ibrahim Traore borrows inspiration from – and this will always be the case for the future leaders who are governed by the principles of being of service to the people of Burkina Faso. Ancestral ‘debt’ alone is not enough to propel a nation to greater heights, Captain Traore is his own man who must prove himself in navigating the complex waters of the current world order.
The Captain is so far excelling by using methods of his predecessor Sankara, not the reprobates in between, and also adopting new approaches. He has forged international alliances of substance with Mali, Niger, Russia, Iran, and China. This positioning is a geopolitical masterpiece as it has put Burkina Faso in good books with the other enemies of western imperialism thereby forming meaningful partnerships. Each of the partners presents its own strengths that act as a necessary harvest for the country. Russia is providing its experience in military strategy and prowess in dealing with the west, China and Russia are also selling military logistics equipment to Burkina Faso while Iran is providing surveillance techniques. Mali and Niger are providing geo-strategic brotherhood necessary for the maintenance of this new Burkina Faso.
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The western critics are quick to accuse Captain Traore of auctioning Burkina Faso to Russia and China. This must be treated as propaganda of the highest orders; these same critics also purchase weapons from the same countries for their own ends. For Captain Traore, all countries are geological components to be exploited for valued adding relationships – and therefore the countries that Burkina Faso has partnered with provide value towards the realization of self-determination ideals.
There has been multiple western assassination and coup attempts on the life of the Captain – and it is these value adding partnerships combined with active citizenry that have thwarted the evil missions. As the enemy continues to try new avenues, Captain Traore has a duty to continue beefing up his intelligence and military component. The attacks on Traore are attacks on the people of Burkina Faso, they are an attempt to replace freedom with captivity, an attempt to put Burkina Faso back into the custody of the French, Americans, and British.
Captain Traore’s battle is that of statehood, and just like Sankara, he is not a product of western democracy that produces puppet leader through EU and USAID funded elections. He has disrupted the modus operandi, and for that – the west is unleashing armed terrorists on Burkina Faso soil. The Captain has a bigger task of overseeing local development while at the same time thwarting attacks on the sovereignty of Burkina Faso. He is dealing with both military and psychological hostilities in a world where the television has become a tool for the corruption of young minds through pornography and gender confusion programs.
NGOs are being used to propagate these ills and package them as human rights, and the Captain has responded well by banning such activities. Corrupt minds have no power to stand upright, corrupt minds are symbols of political erectile dysfunction, and that is how countries get lost without even the use of guns and bombs. Of course, the West as the executive producer of this PSYOP is not impressed with Captain Traore’s response and now uses it to package him as a dictator. What the people of Burkina Faso ought to know is that when the West refers to your leader as a dictator, then that leader must be doing something right for his people.
What is even more inspiring about Captain Traore is that in the public platforms he has taken, he has always highlighted the importance of African unity, self-determination, and putting the people first. He has invited and hosted different members of the African diaspora to Burkina Faso to identify areas of cooperation.
Together with Mali and Niger, he pulled Burkina Faso out of the western funded ECOWAS block and formed the AES – the ultimate blueprint for an independent Africa. The French controlled African Union found it sagacious to suspend Burkina Faso for daring to break away from the claws of colonial domination. It is safe to say that in Captain Traore, the people of Africa have a leader to emulate – his movements are not only in words but in deeds to.
Burkina Faso now owns its title deed, and this is something worth celebrating by all Africans. For those Africans with a penchant for touring, Burkina Faso is a perfect destination for value adding tourism – compared to western travels that breed misplaced consciousness.
~ This opinion piece was first published on Substack by Steve Writer on 22 July 2024.
