The Winds of Change in Burkina Faso
In the Footsteps of Thomas Sankara?
Maybe you had not yet heard of Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in West Africa. That is about to change. The country of the upright people, is stepping out of the shadows once again. I have been intrigued by the country since I first read about it in a guidebook, and have since had the privilege to set foot on its soil quite a few times. You may know that feeling of stepping into a different atmosphere, the moment you cross a border. To me crossing from Mali into Burkina Faso was like that. It always fascinated me. The people spoke a different language, not just with words. From the outside, their way of life looked like in Mali, yet the attitude of the people was different.
In 1984, changing the name of the country from Upper Volta to Burkina Faso was part of a shift in mentality. The year before army officers had successfully staged a military coup against the government, that had imprisoned Thomas Sankara while he was the Prime Minister. Having been freed by his men, he was chosen to be the new president. Thomas Sankara was a man on a mission. He held a vision of an independent country, where the people would prosper. He may have forefelt that he would not be given much time and worked tirelessly to create opportunities for the people. Not just the country’s name was changed. Among other things, schools were built, the use of bicycles was promoted, healthcare improved, the domestic economy was boosted, female genital manipulation was outlawed and the country’s infrastructure was improved. The shift in the outer circumstances equally created a shift in the minds and hearts of the Burkinabé. In 1987, at the age of 37, the popular president was assassinated in a coup led by his former friend Blaise Compaoré. They killed the man, but Thomas Sankara’s spirit and heritage lived on, generation after generation. In Africa his name is as big – or even bigger – as Che Guevara’s is in South America.
Finally, in October 2014 Blaise Compaoré was ousted after an attempt to change the constitution. The people of Burkina Faso were done with the man, who had reigned over them for 27 years. They had long watched how he filled his own pockets and those of his family members and friends. Enough was enough. The people took to the streets in the capital Ouagadougou. Blaise sent in his elite troops. The people didn’t bend. With every citizen that was killed more people took to the streets and the uprising soon spread to other towns.
I remember how excited I felt. Even though the government in Burkina Faso had instantly limited phone reception, our team members in Bobo Dioulasso and the Banfora area managed to get a message to me every now and then. My phone was always within reach those days. I was hungry for news. I felt the spirit of the people and knew they would succeed. What started with young men taking to the streets on 28 October ended on the 31st after the women joined. In Burkina Faso there is hardly a bigger insult than a woman raising her wooden kitchen tools to her husband. The women went out in droves, waving their wooden spoons high above their heads. There was no stopping them. The army had looked on. They could no longer ignore the change that was happening in the country. They joined the people. The president left the country.
“Monique, don’t worry, if he plays tricks on us, we’ll oust him too”, a friend in Ouagadougou said with a smile on his face, after I expressed my surprise over the election of a man, who had served under Compaoré for twenty-something years.
They didn’t oust him. Seven years later, in January 2022 a coup ended the Kaboré presidency. The new presidency didn’t last long. In September of 2022 a young captain led a second coup.
Once again the winds of change are blowing in Burkina Faso. Ibrahim Traoré, at the age of 34, is clear in what he wishes for his country and for the African continent. This is a man who doesn’t bend. He is not afraid to speak out. He radiates the confidence of Thomas Sankara, who like him was a captain in his early 30s when he took charge of the country after a military coup. Is it just a striking coincidence? Was Ibrahim Traoré inspired by the legacy of Thomas Sankara? Or did the soul of Thomas Sankara reincarnate to continue a mission started in a previous life? In fact taking his mission to a whole new level. Either way Ibrahim Traoré is already a source of inspiration and hope for his fellow countrymen and for people around the world. His speech to the IMF last month went viral. He not only names unjust systems, he also calls on the people of Africa to unite.
His speech gives me goosebumps even after having watched it several times. Often have I told people in West Africa that change is possible when people unite and stand strong with a true and honest leader. Back then most of them were of the belief that they didn’t have a choice. That has changed.
I wish for Africa to rise and shine. And I wish for this brave man to be a messenger and inspiration for change, for people around the world. Let’s take it a level further. It is time for all of us, beyond tribes, beyond countries and beyond continents, to unite, rise and shine. We are the change.
If you have not yet seen Ibrahim Traoré’s speech, you can watch it here:
Photo credits go to Catherine Campbell – June 2025: painting on the old Berlin wall.