 Why the new president of Burkina Faso is compared to Thomas Sankara. 38 years ago, Burkina Faso was led by Thomas Sankara, an exceptional and revolutionary leader who shook the region's national security imperatives and challenged Paris' role and control. Known as Africa's Chigavara, Sankara was an icon to many Africans because of his revolutionary programs for African self-reliance. A true Pan-Africanist, his foreign policies were anti-imperialist, refusing funding from organizations such as the International Monetary Fund. Unfortunately, Sankara was assassinated by forces led by Blaise Kampara, a former friend of his. It is now 38 years later and Burkina Faso is once again governed by a young military leader, Ibrahim Troare. Throughout his acts and remarks after taking office in 2022, Ibrahim Troare appears to be mirroring Thomas Sankara's regional politics and geopolitics. People can't help but compare the two presidents because they appear to have certain similarities. But can Ibrahim Troare truly be compared to Thomas Sankara? Let's take a look. Thomas Sankara took power at the age of 33 in 1983, following a coup organized by Blaise Kampara and a few other junior military officers to depose then President-Major Dr. Jean Baptist Oedrago. Sankara was arrested at the time by the Burkina Faso regime for his anti-imperialist attitude and advocacy for more progressive reforms in the country. His arrest enraged the military regime's younger officers, and his imprisonment provided enough impetus for his friend Blaise Kampara to conduct another coup that brought him to power. Ibrahim Troare, like Thomas Sankara, also rose to power in a military coup at the age of 34, making him the world's youngest president. Ibrahim Troare and other military officers organized the coup in 2022 because they were unsatisfied with the junta's leader, Paul Henry Sandalgo de Miba, and his inability to quell the Islamist insurgency. Prior to this, Troare was part of the group of army officers who had supported the January 2022 Burkina Faso coup de Tatt, bringing Paul Henry Sandalgo de Miba into power. According to Troare, he and other officers tried to persuade de Miba to refocus on the uprising, but that he eventually chose to remove him because his ambitions were diverting away from what they set out to do. Following the coup, Troare announced himself the new leader of the patriotic movement for safeguard and restoration, and on October 6, he was appointed interim president as head of state, supreme head of the armed forces. Apart from taking power through a military coup, both Thomas Sankara and Ibrahim Troare were competent and exceptional military leaders. Sankara joined the military at the age of 19, and a year later was deployed to Madagascar for officer training at Ansarib, where he witnessed public apprisings against the government of Filibur Tsirinana in 1971 and 1972. It was here that he first read Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin's books, which likely shaped his political ideas for the rest of his life. When he returned to Upper Volta in 1972, he engaged in a border battle between Upper Volta and Mali by 1974, garnering him reputation for his performance in the conflict. Although years later, he renounced the fighting as useless and unjust, a reflection of his growing political consciousness. Ibrahim Troare, for his part, joined the Burkina Faso army in 2009 after graduating with honors from university. He was promoted to lieutenant in 2014 and assigned to the Mali USMF, a United Nations peacekeeping unit involved in the Mali conflict. Four years later, he was mentioned as one of the Mali USMF soldiers who showed courage amid major rebel attacks in the Tombowchi region. He later went to Burkina Faso to help in operations against the increasing jihadist insurgency, where he was appointed to captain in 2020. Another reason Ibrahim Troare has been likened to Thomas Sankara is that like Thomas Sankara, Ibrahim is an anti-imperialist and anti-neocolonialist. When Sankara took power, the first thing he did was change the country's name from the French colonial name Upper Volta to Burkina Faso, which means land of the upright. His international policies were anti-imperialist, and he refused funding from organizations like as the International Monetary Fund, claiming that he who feeds you controls you. Although he welcomed foreign funding from various sources, he attempted to lessen reliance on aid by increasing domestic earnings and diversifying aid sources. Between 1983 and 1985, French economic aid was cut by 80%. During forums like the Organization of African Unity, Sankara spoke out against continuous neocolonialist invasion of Africa via Western trade and finance. He also advocated for African nations to band together to repudiate their foreign debt, arguing that the poor and exploited had no need to repay money to the rich and exploitative. In keeping with his anti-imperialism stance, Troere evacuated French military, assisting in the fight against the local insurrection in 2023. He later stated, we really want to look at other horizons because we want win-win partnerships, indicating his support for the diversification of Burkina Faso's international partnerships, which do not include France. In response to continuous claims in Western, particularly French, media that Ibrahim Troere is a pawn of Russian President Vladimir Putin, he declared, I know that France cannot interfere directly in our affairs. We now have American partners, and we can also have Russian partners, so it is no longer about France. In a speech during the second Russia-Africa summit, Ibrahim Troere emphasized the importance of African sovereignty and the fight against imperialism. He stressed that African countries have been subjected to a barbarous and violent kind of colonialism and imperialism that may be described as a modern form of slavery for decades. He also questioned why, despite its wealth, Africa remained the poorest continent on the planet. However, he said, we have the opportunity to build new relationships that will help us build a better future for Burkina Faso. Like Thomas Sankara, his speech at the Russia-Africa summit elevated him in the eyes of the world, earning him applause and respect. During his five years as President of Burkina Faso, Thomas Sankara was famous for his quotes during speeches. One of his famous quotes was, you cannot carry out fundamental change without a certain amount of madness. In this case, it comes from nonconformity, the courage to turn your back on the old formulas, the courage to invent the future, just like Thomas Sankara, Ibrahim Troere has also dropped several quotes. In his speech at the Russia-Africa summit, he said, a slave who does not rebel does not deserve pity. In addition to their common fight against neo-colonialism, both Ibrahim Troere and Thomas Sankara stand for service to the people. Throughout Thomas Sankara's stay in office, he was completely dedicated to service to the people. His domestic policies included famine prevention, agrarian self-sufficiency, land reform, and suspending rural poll taxes. He also focused on a nationwide literacy campaign, increasing the literacy rate from 13% in 1983 to 73% in 1987 and a vaccination program, where 2.5 million children were vaccinated against meningitis, yellow fever, and measles in a matter of weeks. His government also focused on building schools, health centers, water reservoirs, and infrastructure projects. He also combated desertification of the Sahel by planting over 10 million trees. As president, he lowered his salary to $450 a month and forced civil servants to pay one month's salary to public projects. He also sold off the government fleet of Mercedes cars and made the Renault 5, the cheapest car sold in Burkina Faso at that time, the official service car of the ministers. Indeed, Thomas Sankara was truly an exceptional leader. Currently, Troere is still at the early stages of his presidency, but from his speeches, we can deduce that he has a heart for his people. He said, We did not come to continue. We did not come for a particular purpose. All that matters when the level of security returns is the fight for development. His policies may also include army reform and ties to new international partners such as Russia, which could alter politics in West Africa and change how Burkina Faso fights an Islamist insurgency that has killed thousands and forced millions to flee. So, based on this analysis, we can say to some extent, Ibrahim Troere seems to walk the path of his predecessor, Thomas Sankara, because he is still at the early stages of his presidency. Hopefully, he would be able to transform Burkina Faso into a great country even better than it was during Thomas Sankara's time without getting assassinated. What are your thoughts? Do leave your comments down below, and don't forget to subscribe and put on the notifications button, so you will be the first to know when we upload more videos like this.