Burkina Faso: Captain Ibrahim Traoré, the man who chose dignity and who needs his people to triumph over imperialism
There are men whom history chooses. And there are men who choose history. President Ibrahim Traoré appears to belong to the second category. Since taking the helm of Burkina Faso, the young leader has displayed an ambition that many in Western chancelleries still struggle to digest: to make Burkina Faso a truly free country. Free in its choices, free in its alliances, free in its destiny.
This project, as noble as it may be, cannot be decreed. It must be built, stone by stone, through pain and determination. For the chains of colonial servitude are not merely symbolic.
They are economic, monetary, military, and cultural. They have been woven over decades, meticulously, to keep entire peoples in a dependency that proved comfortable for those who profited from it.
Breaking free demands an iron will and, above all, a united people behind its leadership.
This is the true challenge of moment of Burkina Faso. Ibrahim Traoré can multiply diplomatic ruptures, redirect strategic partnerships, assert monetary and security sovereignty and he does so with remarkable consistency. But no struggle of this magnitude can be won alone.
History teaches us that lasting revolutions are those that the people make their own, those in which every citizen feels both actor and guardian.
The Burkinabe people are today called to a historic role. Not that of a spectator applauding from the stands, but of a combatant engaged on the field of sovereignty. This field is not only military.
It is also economic: consume Burkinabe, produce Burkinabe, invest Burkinabe. It is cultural: resist narratives imposed from outside, value indigenous knowledge and languages. It is civic: support national efforts, denounce internal saboteurs, remain vigilant against destabilisation manoeuvres.
President Traoré has chosen the difficult path , that of dignity rather than comfort. He has understood that the radiance of Burkina Faso will not come from the favour of former colonial powers, but from the strength and cohesion of its own people. Burkina Faso deserves to shine. But this light together, we must ignite it.
Maurice K.ZONGO
