Burkina Faso’s 35-year-old leader fighting Western neo-colonialism in Africa

By Mohammad Saani

The recent turn of events in Niger in the wake of the military coup against the West-friendly regime has triggered tectonic shifts and realignment of power dynamics on the continent.

It has also encouraged young and assertive African leaders to chart a new course for their countries, breaking the shackles of Western domination and putting an end to the exploitation of resources.

One of them is the President of Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Traoré, who has publicly launched a no-holds-barred fight for complete independence of Africa from Western neo-colonialism and exploitation.

“Africa’s time of slavery to Western regimes is over, and the battle for full independence has begun: either homeland or death,” the 35-year-old leader of the landlocked West African nation said last week.

Issuing a joint statement, the leaders of Burkina Faso and Mali extended their solidarity with the people of Niger and welcomed their decision to take control of their political destiny and sovereignty.

The statement warned that “any military intervention" against Niger would amount to a "declaration of war against Burkina Faso and Mali,” with potentially “disastrous consequences for the entire region.”

They also slammed "illegal, illegitimate and inhumane sanctions against the people and authorities of Niger,” after the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) slapped sanctions on Niger coup leaders and demanded that Bazoum be reinstated within a week.

The youngest head of the state in the world, who sports fatigues and red beret, has earned plaudits at home for standing up to the Western regimes and forcing France to withdraw its forces from Burkina Faso, while also ending the loot of uranium resources by France and the US.

Traoré rose to power last September following a military coup in Burkina Faso, one of the former French colonies in West Africa, after he dislodged Lt Col Paul-Henri Damiba on 30 September. 

Since coming to power, the young Burkina Faso leader has followed a pragmatic foreign policy, distancing his country from its former colonizer – France – and coming closer to non-Western nations.

During the recent Russia-Africa summit, the 35-year-old thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for pledging free grain to African countries while urging his African counterparts to strive for self-reliance.

“My generation does not understand this: how can Africa, which has so much wealth, become the poorest continent in the world today? And why African leaders travel the world to beg,” he asserted during the summit in Saint Petersburg.

“A slave that does not rebel does not deserve pity. The AU (African Union) must stop condemning Africans who decide to fight against their own puppet regimes of the West.”

He said the region has been “shaken up by the desire for change”, which has led the countries in the region to turn their backs on traditional partners (West) and embrace new friends (in the East).

“We African leaders must stop behaving like puppets who dance every time the imperialists pull the strings,” Traoré was quoted as saying, cautioning the African leaders against Western plots.

His speech focused on Western colonialism in Africa, saying his questions haven’t been answered.

“For more than eight years we’ve been confronted with the most barbaric, the most violent form of imperialist neo-colonialism. Slavery continues to impose itself on us,” he asserted, blasting the West.

“Our predecessors taught us one thing: a slave who cannot assume his own revolt does not deserve to be pitied. We do not feel sorry for ourselves; we do not ask anyone to feel sorry for us. The people of Burkina Faso have decided to fight, to fight against terrorism, in order to relaunch their development.”

He hastened to add that the independent African nations have an “opportunity to forge new relationships” that will help them build a better future for themselves while describing Western colonialism and imperialism as “a form of modern slavery.”

On the coup in Niger, Traoré said other African countries want the same thing … “a multipolar world towards sovereignty … and a complete change of partners.”

Importantly, the 35-year-old Burkina Faso leader’s staggering rise has catapulted him to international fame. According to media reports, Traoré joined the military in 2010 and got first stripes in 2012.

As a second lieutenant, he served in the country’s central-north Kaya region, before being promoted to lieutenant in 2014 and captain in 2020. In 2022, he took over the command of the artillery regiment.

In September last year, he played a central role in the overthrow of Damiba and became the youngest world leader and a bulwark against Western meddling in Africa.

Mohammad Saani is a Ghana-based writer and commentator on African political affairs.

(The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Press TV)

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