Today in African history May I reminisce small? Thank you. 27 years ago today, on 15th October 1987, the young Burkina Faso revolutionary leader Capt Thomas Sankara was overthrown and murdered in a coup led by his ally Blaise Campaore. He had been in power for little over 4 years, having overthrown the Oudreogo regime and was a close ally of our own revolutionary Chairman JJ. The man is still in power, and is supposed to reach the limit of his two five-year term presidency in November 2015, following a constitional provision (Article 37) introduced in 2000 when democratic reforms took place. However, the Burkinabe government is calling for a referendum on Article 37, which it obviously intends to rig. Another African leader who wants to rival Mugabes tenure, perhaps? Now the reminiscing bit... I spent a full academic year (1990/91) at Universite de Ouagadougou as part of my French undergraduate studies as one of 23 students from Legon, including Barnes Georgette, Peter Boampong and Gladys Annan . I still have fond memories of the wonderful people we met, and who made our stay enjoyable, including Alpha Adama Diallo, a regular visitor to our hostel on the Avenue Independence, just before the airport. At a time we could only boast of Novotel Hotel, they had a 5-star hotel, LHotel President. They had metered taxis, and their central market was a roofed, modern red-bricked affair, with no open gutters. Lunch break was from midday to 3pm, when the whole city would go quiet. The heat was unforgiveable, and in the harmattan, a freshly washed pair of jeans would be completely dry within an hour. At 3pm, however, one could hear the mass revving of motorbike engines as the streets became crowded again. At the time, we were told that the country was only second to China in terms of per head ownership of motorbikes and bycicles. All 23 of us were given an allowance for transport. All the guys (15 of us) bought bicylces and moved around the city on them. The ladies pocketed the cash and hitched rides to and from campus. The local students, especially the men, were too glad to offer them lifts on their Yamaha and Suzuki motorbikes. To mention Sankaras name openly was haram and could get you into trouble. To visit his unmarked grave was an act of bravery and foolhardiness, for the regime was still jittery. And yet there seemed to be a warm undercurrent of affection for the man on whose watch the countrys name was changed in 1984 from Upper Volta to Burkina Faso, which means Land of Honest Men. I must plan a return pilgrimage to the city I once resided in and loved so much. La Patrie Ou La Mort, Nous Vaincrons!!
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 10:53:55 +0000
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