26/05/2025
๐๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ต๐ถ๐บ ๐ง๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ผ๐ฟรฉ โ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ'๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น
As the echoes of Africa Day still resound across the continent, one name rises with quiet thunder, a figure towering as a bold reminder of African resilience and defiance: Captain Ibrahim Traorรฉ, the interim President of Burkina Faso. At just 37, he stands not only as the second-youngest head of state in the world, but as a living echo of the revolutionary legacy of Thomas Sankara and Muhammad Gaddafi.
Since seizing power in September 2022 through a popular coup against Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba, Traorรฉ has waged a war not only against insurgents but against neocolonialism itself. Rejecting the suffocating grip of France, he has worked to reclaim Burkina Fasoโs autonomyโeconomically, militarily, and ideologically. His role in founding the Alliance of Sahel States alongside Mali and Niger marks a historic stand for regional unity and anti-imperialist sovereignty.
Traorรฉโs leadership has not come without dangerโsurviving no fewer than 21 assassination attempts. Yet he remains unwavering, embodying the kind of leadership Africa desperately craves: principled, unbought, and unafraid.
In contrast, too many African leaders remain beholden to foreign interests, enriching themselves while their people starve and flee. These are the faces of betrayalโpuppets of global power, content with crumbs in exchange for the soul of their nations.
May we honour not just a man, but a movement. As in him, the continent glimpses something rare: courage forged in fire, and a will to liberate. With pride, may we salute not just his defianceโbut the future Traorรฉ dares us all to believe in.
Written by Ms GG Gwainyane
