Exemplary Leader Par Excellence
This article will be in several parts. The first part tells the story of the country before Captain Traoré took power. The next 4 cover his fantastic achievements. The last part is a comparison of leaders and leadership.
The beginning. Burkina Faso is a landlocked country, extremely rich in natural resources with plenty of land for cultivation. Yet it is one country that is ranked in UN reports as a poor, impoverished nation year after year. Despite this, it is not self-sufficient and has to import huge quantities of foodstuffs to feed its population.
Over 80% of its population lives below the poverty line, of which 50% are in the critical poverty bracket.
About 75% of the country has no electricity or running water, which is very sad. As it possesses large deposits of uranium, an element that can be turned into an energy source that can light up the whole country. Instead, this uranium is exported to France and contributes to some 70% of France's electricity needs.
Outside the main towns, there is little development or job opportunities. The lands are almost arid and desert-like in nature.
The security situation was deteriorating fast, with more and more attacks by insurgent groups which were being funded, armed, and even trained by foreign powers who wanted to keep Burkina Faso impoverished so that they could keep control over it.
The French were supposed to help in defending the country and providing security for the population. They failed miserably.
There was a very dirty reason for this. Firstly, instead of concentrating on defeating the insurgents, they were protecting French interests, companies, and businesses.
Secondly, they called the shots on what strategies, what targets the Burkina Faso forces could attack, and how and what military weaponry could be used.
The third reason was the most vile and dirtiest. They were supposed to defend the country. That was the reason they were there.
The real truth was that the French were in cahoots with many of the insurgent groups. They were providing these groups with information regarding Burkina Faso's attack plans, troop locations, funding them, and even training them in their own military camps. This was proven beyond doubt when Burkina Faso's troops under Captain Traoré's leadership, after he came to power, captured French military personnel in the enemy camps.
No wonder that the insurgents were winning and France seemed unable to defeat them.
Even when the UN gave France $40 million in support to fight and defeat the insurgents, it failed to achieve any results. How could it when it was in bed with the very group it was supposed to fight against? Plus, it was growing rich by smuggling gold, diamonds, etc. out of Burkina Faso using UN helicopters and military vehicles.
As a result, the insurgency grew more dire. Whole villages were wiped out. Even major towns were being attacked, resulting in over 2 million people being displaced (roughly 18% of the total population).
As for education, medical, and social services, they were almost nonexistent in the rural areas. The people had to make long journeys (a day or two-day trip) for medical treatment, which was expensive and unavailable to most of them.
As for the currency and revenue of the country, it was being stolen legally by the French under very unfair terms of an oppressive agreement that favored the French.
Among which was the French colonial tax, which forced Burkina Faso and 13 other former French colonies to remit to the French Treasury 50% of the country's GDP earnings. This amount could not be utilized by Burkina Faso to help improve itself without the French Parliament's consent.
This was a most vile act of highway robbery. To make matters even worse, these very same funds of Burkina Faso were loaned out to them at very high interest rates, thus ensuring that Burkina Faso ended up in a debt trap from which it could not escape. This led to more borrowing from the IMF, the World Bank, and other institutions at the same high usury rates, ending in the country giving over control of its natural resources, lands, mines, etc. to foreign entities and still left with crippling debts it could not pay off.
The national currency was the CFA franc, which was tied to the French currency. This gave France an unfair and greedy control of Burkina Faso's currency value, one that it could manipulate to its advantage.
This currency was itself limited in its circulation value. It could only be exchanged for currency and trade dealings with the other 13 former French colonies in Africa and France itself. Any payments to any other country had to go through France, which allowed France to impose surcharges and gain from it.
At the same time, the printing of Burkina Faso's currency was regulated. Only France was allowed to print this currency, a policy that brought in millions for France through this unfair and restrictive policy.
A very good example of how France monopolized and controlled the economy and lifeline of Burkina Faso is this: Imagine a Burkinabé making a phone call from his home or business center to another person in the same town. The cost of his call would be minimal and fast. Yet that was not the case. Due to French control, his call would be directed to a French satellite hovering over France or Europe, then the signal is transferred back to Burkina Faso. As a result, his simple call would cost him about 6 French dollars, which was ridiculous and too pricey for ordinary people.
As for trade, a very restrictive trade practice was enforced, mainly benefiting France, America, and the western European nations. Trade with others was discouraged, which was injurious to Burkina Faso's growth and advancement.
As a result, raw materials including cotton, gold, oil, tomatoes, and many more items were exported to France, America, and the Western European countries at dirt-cheap prices. In return, those countries sold back to Burkina Faso processed goods made from its own raw materials at exorbitant prices, causing a huge drain on its foreign reserves, unemployment, and a country that was labeled a poor nation when it was rich - and I mean rich in so many minerals.
How did this happen? Firstly, it was the cruel and vile policies of France, which were horribly exploitative. Secondly, it was due to the previous corrupt leaders of Burkina Faso (excluding Thomas Sankara, who was a very honest and forward-looking leader assassinated by his own friend, who had been bought over by the French). These scoundrels were only interested in enriching themselves and their families and living a lavish lifestyle. They did not care for their people, so the country and its people were sold out.
The end result was the mess that Captain Ibrahim Traoré inherited when he took power. He was the leader that Burkina Faso needed. His achievements are so spectacular and impressive that it's almost unbelievable. See the next few articles to understand why I have become a big fan of his and why his people love and adore him so much.
© Vijaya Ratnam
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