Striking parallels: How Traoré's vision for Burkina Faso mirrors Sankara’s legacy

History, as it so often does, has come full circle in Burkina Faso.

Nearly four decades after an assassin’s bullet extinguished the pan-Africanist torch held aloft by Thomas Sankara, another young military officer with a revolutionary streak has emerged from the barracks with strikingly similar ambitions as the late Burkinabè President.

Captain Ibrahim Traoré, the West African nation’s current president, oozes the spirit of defiance that made Sankara a continental icon. And like his illustrious predecessor, he is now capturing hearts across Africa while erasing the last vestiges of Western hegemony.  

The parallels are unmistakable. Maybe even deliberate.

Sankara, regarded as the "Father of the Burkinabè Revolution", took power through a coup d'état in 1983 and governed the country until his assassination in October 1987. His widow accuses France of orchestrating his killing.

The manner of Sankara's rise to the highest echelons of the hierarchy, his leadership style and philosophy are being compared to that of Traoré, who, at 37, is currently the world's youngest head of state and already a popular figure dominating social media discourse.

It helps that his customary attire – military fatigues, a holstered pistol at his waist, and a red beret – is part of the carefully cultivated persona.

Traoré's manoeuvres on the international diplomatic scene have put followers across Africa under a spell, mainly due to his efforts to rid Burkina Faso of Western influence.

Africa's young were looking for someone to push the envelope, and they seem to have found one in Burkinabè’s military ruler.

"Thomas Sankara set a political direction years ago that is as relevant today as it was. Traoré is building on it while taking into account the current geopolitical context," Osibi Johan, a Burkinabè musician and civil rights activist, tells TRT Afrika.

Sankara's legacy

As a visionary leader with a pan-Africanist outlook, Sankara had insights into the public mood that few others did.

He is credited with orchestrating the renaming of Upper Volta to Burkina Faso, meaning "Land of Upright People", to symbolise the nation’s rebirth.

During his four-year tenure, strictness and discipline were the hallmarks of his administration. He reduced fiscal profligacy in governance to create a larger pool of resources for public spending.

Literacy rates soared from 13% in 1983 to 73% in 1987, millions of children were vaccinated, and the size of Burkina Faso’s forest cover increased despite the dry tropical climate.

Sankara redistributed land to help poor farmers, resulting in higher cotton harvests.

"He who feeds you, controls you," the late President would famously say, reflecting his disdain for foreign aid.

He consistently called for pan-African unity against imperialism and was a vocal campaigner for self-reliance among African nations.

"Thomas Sankara, in just the four years that he governed Burkina Faso, paved the way for economic, military and geopolitical development," says Johan.

The inheritor

The standards by which Traoré is judged are partly determined by the circumstances he had to contend with after the 2022 putsch.

Burkina Faso then consistently ranked among the world's poorest nations. Decades-long insurgency was another challenge, having already displaced over two million people.

While neither problem has disappeared, things are looking up.

Since coming to power, Traoré has distanced his country from Western powers, particularly the former colonial ruler France and forged stronger military and economic ties with Türkiye and Russia.

He met President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in May during a visit by African leaders to mark WWII Victory Day, and expressed his desire for exponential growth in bilateral relations.

Some analysts say the shifting alliance has helped in Burkina Fado's fight against terrorism.

"Internally displaced people are gradually returning to their villages. Security is improving," says Johan.

Traoré projects himself as a leader whose priority is the uplift of his country’s poor. Going by what the public says, the effort is paying off.

"There is real, tangible and verifiable development. The government has acquired agricultural equipment for farmers. There are now subsidies for various sectors. Everything is going well," Johan tells TRT Afrika.

Whenever he is asked about it, Traoré acknowledges Sankara's influence and commits himself to following the late President’s blueprint to fulfil his administration's goals.

"His (Sankara) struggle and his vision remain a benchmark that guides our actions and nourishes our commitment and determination to reclaim our national territory and build a new Burkina Faso of peace, security, prosperity and progress for all Burkinabé," he said in a tribute to the late revolutionary leader last year.