04-05-2025
Why Captain Ibrahim Traore dey popular wit young Africans?
Thousands of pipo gada for di Place de la Révolution for Ouagadougou on Wednesday 30 April to show dia support for di President of di transition, Captain Ibrahim Traoré.
Di demonstration happun afta di US commander of AFRICOM, General Michael Langley, tell di US Senate Armed Services Committee for early April say di military regime wey dey power for Burkina Faso dey take advantage of di resources for di kontri, particularly di gold reserves, for im own protection instead of di population.
Wetin General Langley tell di US Senate provoke pipo to react for Burkina Faso and throughout di ESA kontris and even beyond di region.
Di goment of Burkina Faso bin condemn di statement wey di US military command, make wit di 'aim to spoil di kontri image.
Hundreds of messages and publications to support Captain Traore don full social networks in recently.
For X platform, artists, activists, young African leaders and even African-Americans bin dey para sake of di statements wey di US General Langley make.
Dis massive support for Burkina Faso military leader, Captain Ibrahim Traore, dey come at a time of growing tensions wit Western powers.
Di accusations of corruption wey General Langley make against di President of di transition, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, instead of am to weaken di regime for Burkina Faso, e reinforce di status and aura of di young military leader, wey im popularity extend beyond national borders.
For several years, Burkina Faso bin dey suffer from jihadist violence wey bin don claim thousands of lives and displace more dan two million pipo.
Wen im bin take power for September 2022, Captain Ibrahim Traoré bin promise to make di fight against terrorism im priority.
Im bin launch massive recruitment campaigns for Volunteers for di Defence of di Fatherland (VDP), im step up military operations and strengthen di capabilities of di armed forces.
Dis offensive stance against armed groups win di support of a large part of di population.
However, Traoré popularity go beyond civilian acceptance of di military regime. Im don make radical reforms wey dey sweet large sections of di population.
A sovereignist and outspoken voice
Traoré quickly adopt anti-imperialist stance, wia im bin strongly criticise di interference of Western powers, particularly France.
Dem see im decision to draw closer to new partners like Russia and Iran, and to leave certain regional cooperation frameworks (G5 Sahel, ECOWAS) as stamping of im sovereignty.
Dis geopolitical shift dey make young pipo wey dey seek political and economic independence happy.
President Ibrahim Traoré popularity wit young pipo na mainly due to im anti-imperialist stance and im sovereigntist discourse, according to journalist and writer Seidik Abba, associate researcher and President of di Centre international d'études et de réflexions sur le Sahel (CIRES).
'First of all, im his anti-imperialist stance dey. Di fact say im dey position imsef as pesin wey no want any foreign interference for im kontri affairs dey go well wit young Africans, wey don tire of di old system whereby African kontris dey take orders or dem dey go seek orders from dia former colonial powers or di international order.
Dis nationalist, anti-imperialist stance don make am dey veri popular wit young pipo', Abba tok
Di new Sankara?
Captain Traoré don becom a symbol of resistance to Western influence, particularly French influence, and dis dey go positively wit di predominantly young population.
Im revolutionary stance and commitment to African unity dey appeal to many Burkinabè, especially young pipo.
'A third element dey for me: di fact say Ibrahim Traoré youth, im outspokenness and his imperialist stance dey inline wit anoda Burkinabe president, Captain Thomas Sankara, wey im popularity for almost 40 years afta im death no dey in doubt' Seidik Abba, President of di Centre international d'études et de réflexions sur le Sahel (CIRES) tok
Di military regime in power for Burkina Faso dey multiply symbolic and even populist acts to boost im image. Di decision to forgo di presidential salary and opt for di modest income im dey receive as army leader also make am popular wit di public.
For Daniel Eizenga, a researcher for di Centre for Strategic Studies for Africa based in Washington D.C. di United States, even if di comparison dey based on certain points, na more on dia feelings.
'Na true say both captains enta power at di age of 34. But comparisons stop for dia rank and age.
Sankara enta power for di 1980s, against a backdrop of di end of di Cold War and ideological divisions inside di army.
Officers sympathetic to Sankara bin lead coup d'état for 1983. Dem regard am as a Marxist revolutionary, Sankara bin try to implement political reforms: increase political participation, empowerment of women, di fight against deforestation and di reduction of inequalities.
Traoré, on di oda hand, dey govern in a much more dangerous situation wia im dey likely to fall.
Im coup, like Damiba own, show say dia army get different factions: most military officers no put hand for part im own or Damiba own coup.
By di regime own acceptance, di junta don face plenti attempts to destabilise am. Dis highlight di mago-mago means wey power take change hands and di instability wey dey for di junta regime.'
Since im take power for 2022, Captain Ibrahim Traoré don undertaken a series of reforms wey go strengthen di state control over mining resources, particularly gold, for di kontri main export.
In October 2024, im bin announce di withdrawal of certain mining licences wey dem bin give foreign companies, as im declare: 'We know how to mine our gold, and I no understand why we dey let multinationals do am for us'.
Dis decision na part of a wider drive to bring back di mining sector to pipo for di kontri wit di aim to make sure say di population benefit more from di natural resources wey di kontri get.
Di goment don also take ova di management of two gold mines, Boungou and Wahgnion, for around $90 million, wey end di dispute between di mining companies Endeavour Mining and Lilium Mining.
Traoré's actions neva improve di security situation, wey don worse since im enta power for October 2022, Daniel Eizenga of di Centre d'études stratégiques pour l'Afrique add.
'Di junta for Burkina Faso dey under serious pressure. Di security situation don worse dramatically since Traoré took power in 2022, and di death toll from militant Islamist violence don almost double during im tenure.
Di armed forces don pay a heavy price, wit hundreds of soldiers killed for attacks in 2024.
Di number of pipo forcibly displaced by insecurity bin rose to more dan 10% of di population.
Thousands of schools dey forced to close due to insecurity, leaving a generation of children witout education.
These trends bin occur at a time wen military spending bin rise by almost 70% in di last two years to almost one billion dollars, or almost 18% of public spending.
Dis represents an increase of more dan 10% for goment spending since Traoré military coup for 2022.
E dey diafore, difficult to understand how di defence budget fit rise without gains wey match wit am for di battlefield or improvements for humanitarian situation.
Di simplest explanation na say Traoré bin use dis funds primarily to protect di regime.'
Breaking wit di West and geopolitical repositioning
Captain Ibrahim Traoré dey express concern about attempts of foreign interference for Burkina Faso affairs evritime.
In particular, im bin don accuse certain imperialist powers say dem dey seek to exploit di kontri wealth by using terrorism as a tool for destabilisation, wia im tok say: 'We be victims of our wealth, wealth wey di imperialists want to take back at any cost in order to keep us in slavery.
'Di States of di ESA dey engaged in a process to recover dia full sovereignty', na wetin im tok for di summit of ESA kontris for July 2024.
Against dis backdrop, Burkina Faso don strengthen ties wit non-Western partners, like Russia, as e dey comot imsef from certain traditional allies.
Im start wen im turn im back against France, di former colonial power, im bin tell di sojas wey dem send go di kontri to comot from dia land wen 2023 start and im order di diplomats to comot too.
Dis geopolitical reorientation dey reflect a desire to diversify international partnerships and strengthen national sovereignty.
For analyst Daniel Eizenga, however, downside to dis diplomatic strategy dey on di part of di transitional military regime, wey dey under increasing pressure.
'Traore don end di security cooperation and partnerships wey Burkina Faso dey get wit many Western kontris.
Dis security cooperation partnerships no get any financial costs for Burkina Faso citizens.
Dis is no be di case wit Russia. Mr Traoré efforts to strengthen ties wit Russia don make am give mining concessions to Russian companies.
Similarly, plenti tok-tok dey about how a stronger Russian partnership fit help solve di security and humanitarian situation wey dey worsen for di kontri.
Yet for 2024, Burkina Faso bin suffer some of di worst attacks by violent extremists on military and civilians for dia history, wen dem kill more dan 100 sojas for one attack on dia military base for Mansila for June 2024.
Dem bin kill hundreds of civilians for one attack just outside di town of Barsalogho for August 2024.
Since Traoré enta power and strengthened ties wit Russia, we don also see how security forces dey target civilians.
