Yesterday, October 15, 2018, we commemorated the unfair assassination of Thomas Sankara; the President of Burkina Faso, an icon in the Panafrican struggle for freedom and independence. Fascinated by this tremendous personality, Ethno News traveled to Westafrica, in order to explore the heritage of a charismatic man who died for his ideas. And there, we were cordially received by his family that allowed me to film in his house! Nevertheless, by announcing the news of our upcoming short film on Facebook, we noticed that many people in Europe do not know much about him.
Hence, here is an overview of what he achieved being only 4 years in power (1983-87):
He vaccinated 2.5 million children against meningitis, yellow fever and measles in a matter of weeks.
He initiated a nation-wide literacy campaign, increasing the literacy rate from 13% in 1983 to 73% in 1987.
He planted over 10 million trees to prevent desertification.
He built roads and a railway to tie the nation together, without foreign aid
He appointed females to high governmental positions, encouraged them to work, recruited them into the military, and granted pregnancy leave during education.
He outlawed female genital mutilation, forced marriages and polygamy in support of Women’s rights
He 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.
He reduced the salaries of all public servants, including his own, and forbade the use of government chauffeurs and first class airline tickets.
He redistributed land from the feudal landlords and gave it directly to the peasants. Wheat production rose in three years from 1700 kg per hectare to 3800 kg per hectare, making the country food self-sufficient.
He opposed foreign aid, saying, “He who feeds you, controls you.”
He spoke in forums like the Organization of African Unity against continued neo-colonialist penetration of Africa through Western trade and finance.
He called for a united front of African nations to repudiate their foreign debt. He argued that the poor and exploited did not have an obligation to repay money to the rich and exploiting.
In Ouagadougou, Sankara converted the army’s provisioning store into a state-owned supermarket open to everyone (the first supermarket in the country).
He forced civil servants to pay one month’s salary to public projects.
He refused to use the air conditioning in his office on the grounds that such luxury was not available to anyone but a handful of Burkinabes.
As President, he lowered his salary to $450 a month and limited his possessions to a car, four bikes, three guitars, a fridge and a broken freezer.
A motorcyclist himself, he formed an all-women motorcycle personal guard.
He required public servants to wear a traditional tunic, woven from Burkinabe cotton and sewn by Burkinabe craftsmen. (The reason being to rely upon local industry and identity rather than foreign industry and identity)
When asked why he did not want his portrait hung in public places, as was the norm for other African leaders, Sankara replied “There are seven million Thomas Sankaras.”
As an accomplished guitarist, he wrote the new national anthem himself.
Source: Africa facts
