Thomas Sankara

Sankara (1949-1987) was a Marxist Revolutionary (for you who don't understand; commie), who seized power in Burkina Faso in popular coup 1983. They called him African Che Guevara and experts agree that his communist policies are the most ambitious ever attempted on the African continent. So let's see, summarize and criticize his work:

- Rename Upper Volta (French colony) to Burkina Faso (Land of Upright Man)
- Stopped UN/IMF aid thus reducing debt
- Nationalized all land and mineral wealth, making IMF and WB powerless in Burkina Faso
- Prevented famine by land reform
- Nationwide literacy campaign
- Vaccinated 2.5 million children (100% i think) against meningitis, yellow fever and measles
- Planted 10 million trees to halt desertification
- Doubling wheat production by taking the land from landlords and giving to peasants
- Created a medical dispensary and school in every village and community
- Started road and railway construction
- Created women rights and stopped female genital mutilation, forced marriage and polygamy, encouraging women to go to school and seek career, appointing women to high government positions




Burkina Faso became popular for the Africa's poor, but he created many enemies by doing so:

- Middle class (bourgois) which didn't had free market anymore to create cartels and fix prices
- Tribes who couldn't use slaves and rape children anymore
- France which lost a colony and a sadistic pleasure to torture Africans

Thomas Sankara was killed by his best friend who was backed by France and their allies in 1987. That friend became a dictator after that event, reverting communist policies of Sankara and ruled the country for 30 years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Sankara

What do you think about this, could Sankara create a stable and prosperous country, able to defend against external threats? Or was it doomed to fail from the start and he was just fanatical ideologue?

Ura for his friend

Be the change ♥