ABUJA - As news emerged this week about hundreds of Burkina Faso citizens being killed separately by both jihadi groups and government forces, images of Burkina Faso’s junta leader Capt. Ibrahim...
Traore were plastered over Russian state media speaking about pan-Africanism and liberating the minds of the continent’s youths.
Traore, who was in Moscow for the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, is Africa’s youngest leader at 37, a strong appeal for the continent’s young population that is used to much older leaders.
Since coming to power in September 2022 after the country’s second coup that year, he has dwelt on a rhetoric of self-reliance and independence from the West, particularly former colonial ruler France, a message that often resonates with young Africans and the diaspora.
The latest Traore frenzy reached a new peak late April with a solidarity march in the country’s capital, Ouagadougou, following an alleged coup attempt and comments by Gen. Michael Langley, the head of US military in Africa, accusing the Burkina Faso leader of misusing the country’s gold reserves.
Following the 2022 coup that brought him to power, Traore promised to end the country’s decades-long deadly security crisis and leverage its rich mineral resources for the benefit of its 24 million citizens. (The Gleaner)
