"While revolutionaries as individuals can be murdered, you cannot kill ideas"
These words are forever entrenched in the hearts of every Burkinabé. A quote from their former leader, revolutionary, humanist and Pan-African: Thomas Sankara. Famous for his stand-up to foreign influence and aid, Sankara was a man of principle who preached hope and equality among his people. Undoubtedly one of the continent's finest, Sankara was an exemplary leader who always had the best interest of his people at heart. This is why we choose this iconic and mesmerizing figure, popularly regarded as "Africa's Che Guevara", as our fist focus on this new series known as: African Leaders.
EARLY LIFE
Thomas Isidore Noel Sankara was born on 21 December 1949 in Yako, French Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) to Joseph and Marguerite Sankara, as the third of ten children. Sankara attended primary school at Bobo-Dioulasso, excelling in mathematics and French. After completing his secondary education at Ouezzin Coulibaly, he decided to join the military. He entered the military academy of Kadiogo in Ouagadougou at the age of 17.
In 1970, at the age of 20, he decided to go to the military academy of Antsirabe in Madagascar to further his military studies. The academy allowed soldiers to explore beyond military subjects, allowing Sankara to study agriculture. In 1976, Thomas met a very significant person in his life, Blaise Compaoré, with whom he formed a secret organisation called, the "Communist Officers' Group".
BUILD UP TO POWER
A coup d'etat on the 7th of November, 1982 saw Major Jean Baptiste Ouédraogo ascend to power. He made Sankara Prime Minister in January 1983. But due to disputes in political ideologies between Ouédraogo and Sankara, he arrested Sankara and other important officials on May 17, 1983. On the 4th August 1983, at the age of 33, Thomas Sankara became the President of Burkina Faso, thanks to a coup organized by his friend Blaise Compaoré.
IDEOLOGY
Sankara believed heavily in anti-imperialism and was a hardcore pan-African. He held a revolutionary perspective, taking hints from the Soviet and Chinese revolutions. He was inspired by the likes of Fidel Castro and Che Guevera in Cuba, as well as Ghana's Jerry Rawlings. Sankara also incorporated aspects of Marxism in his government.
Sankara was also one of the first few Francophone leaders that pushed for the need for African countries to achieve a complete state of self-sufficiency, detaching itself from all forms of colonial ties and involvement. This gave birth to one of his popular sayings: "he who feeds you, controls you". The 1960s saw a surge in the continental trend of anglophone African countries seeking independence from colonial powers, and French colonies followed suit. Although, for the French colonies, there was a need to pay what was regarded as "colonial debt" to the French government. Asides from this, the countries were required to sign a "Cooperation Accord", which entailed very ridiculous demands that still ensured an unnecessary reliance on the French government. Sankara identified the different clauses that were attached to accepting financial aids from foreign governments, and declined offers from these governments, thus pushing for self-sovereignty.
WORKS & LEGACY
The Emancipation of Women's Right
“Comrades, there is no true social revolution without the liberation of women. May my eyes never see and my feet never take me to a society where half the people are held in silence. I hear the roar of women’s silence. I sense the rumble of their storm and feel the fury of their revolt.”
Sankara was known for his pursuit for the emancipation of women's right in the society. Sankara appointed women to high governmental posts, ensuring a large number of women were in governmental roles. This was quite unprecedented on the continent, especially for a military government. He also prohibited all forms of female genital mutilation, forced marriages as well as polygamy.
Ideals, and Attempts at Equality
Sankara sold off the fleet of Mercedes cars owned by the government and made the Renault 5( the cheapest car sold in Burkina Faso) the official service car of the ministers. He prohibited the use of government chauffeurs, first-class airline tickets for government officials and reduced the salaries of well-off public servants. He refused to use air conditioning in his office because such luxury was not available to everyone. He also lowered his salary as president to $450 a month and had a car, four bikes, three guitars, a refrigerator, and a broken freezer to his name.
ASSASSINATION
On 15th October 1987, Thomas Sankara was overthrown and killed by a coup d'etat organized by his best friend Blaise Compaoré. Compaoré had formerly helped Sankara ascend to power through a coup, four years before. Compaoré's claim for the coup was that Sankara had endangered the relationship with France and other neighbouring francophone nations. Compaoré went on to rule Burkina Faso for 27 years, before being forcefully removed from office in 2015, due to his attempt to change the constitution to pursue more than four terms in power.
Thomas Sankara will always be a hero, and a role model for young Africans, as his life highlights the form of patriotism and selflessness that is needed for the advancement of the continent. He will certainly never be forgotten as his ideals, uprightness and courage are some of the qualities that drove the Burkinabé's to seize power from Compaoré in 2015.
Personally, what intrigues me about Sankara are his soul-moving quotes and words of wisdom. Below is a link to some of his most famous quotes:
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This is amazing, Afolabi! I really learnt a lot!
My French teachers did a lot of work, with the way I was reading through the french names😁