Burkina Faso: Land of Honest People Denies Sankara Honour in Death



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Vanguard (Lagos)

COLUMN
January 14, 2005
Posted to the web January 14, 2005

Funmi Komolaf


The African Union Summit on Employment and Poverty Reduction, hosted by the
government of Burkina Faso, provided an opportunity for many delegates and
journalists to have a feel of the country of late charismatic socialist
leader, Captain Thomas Sankara.

A Nigerian journalist described Ouagadougou, the state capital as similar to
any other city in the northern part of Nigeria. "Oh! Ouagadougou is like
Dutse" he exclaimed. However, there is more to such a description.
Ouagadougou, is quite with only about 500 vehicles on the road at any
particular time.

The streets of Ouagadougou are quite clean and mainly two lane roads. There,
even motor-cycles ( known as Okada ) in some parts of Nigeria are seen on
the roads but not used for public transportation. Those who use such bikes
surprisingly, obey traffic lights. They never disobey traffic rules. Burkina
Faso, is a

landlocked country which shares borders with Mali, Niger, Benin, Togo ,
Ghana and Ivory Coast. The official language is French. For a visitor, who
does not speak French, communication may be difficult but of course you find
some people who speak a little English. The country's population is
estimated at 12 million.

In Burkina Faso, the informal sector booms with most people trading in
agricultural products. However, most of these products are perishable.
Bananas, mangoes, groundnuts are sold in their natural form. Burkina Faso is
reputed to be the world's second -largest exporter of raw cotton. Therefore,
it was not surprising therefore, when the visitors trouped to the markets to
buy African fabrics which the Burkinabes have made into different types of
domestic items of decoration.

The story of the vibrant informal sector of the Burkinabe economy would be
incomplete without a mention of the role of Nigerians. For instance, a
Nigerian Valentin owns a saloon in Ouagadougou. He who said he left Nigeria
during the June 12 crisis as a result of which he terminated his university
education. He employs four Burkinabe citizens. He told visiting journalists
that Burkina Faso is peaceful. No harrassment of foreigners as soon as you
regularise your resident permit.

African Restaurant owned by the Okafor couple of Igbo extraction is popular
in Ouagadougou. Of course while the summit lasted, the Okafors were well
patronized by Nigerian delegates. The couple said they migrated to
Ouagadougou from Katsina state. They also employ a Nigerian boy and about 5
Burkinabe girls.

Nigerian dishes sold by the Okafors whom we reliably gathered cook for
Nigerian embassy guests including heads of state, include, pounded yam,
ogbono, vegetable with dry fish, fish pepper soup etc.

You also find taxi drivers of Yoruba extraction in Ouagadougou. All
Nigerians resident in Ouagadougou are united that the Burkinabes are quite
hospitable. This, they demonstrated by their warm welcome for delegates
right from the airport where they met delegates and entertained us with
snacks.

Mr. Okafor said he brings all his ingredients for his Nigerian delicacy from
Nigeria. He said a trip to Ouagadougou by road through Badagry in Lagos
takes a little over 30 hours. In other words, you leave Lagos on Monday
morning and arrive, Ouagadougou between by evening of Wednesday. He
attributes the duration of the trip to the many checks at the borders of the
countries one needs to pass through before getting to Burkina Faso.

Products of OK plastics the Ilasamja based plastic factory are all over the
markets in Ouagadougou so much that you would think you are in Mushin
market.

In Ouagadougou, it is uncommon to find people carrying loads on their heads.
Rather, they use donkeys and camels.

For hotel accommodation, an average visitor can find his level. From hotels
as cheap as $33 dollars to those as expensive as $400 dollars a night.
Though a developing country, power failure is an unusual occurrence.

For those of us lodged at Hotel Iris, we experienced power failure the night
after it rained heavily. The next day before 6p.m., the electricity
management outfit of Burkina Faso had restored power. Many Nigerians
commended the efficiency of the electricity management outfit.

The claim of the Burkinabes to honesty was put to test when a Nigerian
journalist forget his entire estacode ( travelling allowance in U.S.
dollars) in his room. He rushed back to the hotel and although the hotel
room had been cleaned by attendants behold, he found his money his intact.
We needed no other proof that Burkina Faso is truly the land of honest men.
It is also remarkable that through out stay in Hotel Iris, which hosted
about Nigerian journalists, government officials and delegates from South
Africa , Ghana etc, no body reported the loss of any item to theft. This
however does not mean that once in while some one is not caught stealing in
the market but such a person is severely dealt with. Generally, the people
are contented . Perhaps because their leaders do not flaunt wealth. When
President Blaise Campaore arrived the venue of the OAU summit, he did so in
a very simply manner. Even his wife was modestly dressed.

The currency in Burkina Faso like any other French speaking country in West
Africa is the CFA France. To them, the United States Dollar means nothing.
An average Burkinabe citizen is proud of the CFA and would prefer that you
pay in CFA than the U.S. dollars

For night crawlers, there are night clubs in Ouagadougou. Nigerian
prostitutes are also making brisk business in Ougadougou according to a
Nigerian resident in that city. The people are also quick to invite the
visitor to have a taste of the local meal of pounded plantain with dry fish
in vegetable. Two Nigerian journalists; Mrs. Ekemini Ladejobi of News Agency
of Nigeria and Juliana Taiwo of THISDAY described the meal as very delicious
so much that they invited others to have a taste of the meal.

Though, it seems a long distance, many Nigerians have heard about or visited
Nigeria. A cab driver who gave a ride to a group of visiting Nigerians vowed
that he would never visit Nigeria. Why? His father who had visited Lagos he
was shot by armed robbers on two different occasions. So, the story is told
about how unsafe Nigeria is. Not even the claim of Nigerians that the
country is now safe, could convince the young man to visit Nigeria.

Religion

Burkinabe citizens are Christians, Muslims or African traditional
worshipers. A Nigerian would find branches of the Redeem Christian Church of
God and the Mountain of Fire Ministries in Ouagadougou.

Some citizens are however not happy that the press is not free in
Ouagadougou. The government we are told is very intolerant of press
criticisms but it appears to be worker friendly. When workers staged a
protest march for decent work in Africa, no police men brutalized anybody
and we were not told that they had to apply for a permit 24 hours before
they staged a peaceful protest.

Thomas Sankara's grave

For some of us, the visit to Ouagadougou was incomplete without a visit to
the grave of Burkina Faso's late head of state, Thomas Sankara, a man many
Nigerians loved for many reasons. Some for his ideological position, others
for his charming look in his usual camouflage uniform.

So, to the grave side we went. We were taken aback when we found that the
grave side located in the outskirts of Ouagadougou in a village which our
guide called Sankara's village is only about 100 meters from a refuse dump
site. How could Burkina Faso treat Sankara, this way? we chorused. One of us
insisted that as far as she is concerned, the grave side is in a dump site
because the refuse dump could easily extend to the burial ground.

The grave itself was painted green and red.

On Sankara's grave someone wrote " President du Faso. Militant membre du
Coseil National. De la Revolution. President du Faso , Chef de l'etat.
meaning, ( President of Burkina Faso, militant member of the National
Revolutionary Council , President of Burkina Faso, Head of State ) October
15, 1987 - 15 Oct. 2003, 16th Anniversary. Someone had remembered him on the
16th anniversary of his death.. As we stood by the grave of this great man,
taking notes and photographs, villagers rode their bicycles past without
paying any attention to the tourists at the site.

Sankara was killed by a group of soldiers after what the Burkinabe
government later described as " ideological disagreement". He was succeeded
by the present head of state and his intimate friend, Captain Blaise
Campaore.

Others buried at the same site were, a journalists, Bamouni Paulin who we
understand was also killed by those who killed Sankara. The others were 11
guards who were identified as: Saba Christopher, Zagre Sibiri, Kiemde
Frederic, Campaore Bonaventure, Sove Patenama, Bationo Emmanuel, Ouedraogo
Wallilaye, Somda Dev, Guen Abdoulaye, Jagag Nion, Sawadogo Noufou and
Sawadogo Amade.

The grave overlooks Sankara family home. We were told that his wife and
children have been living in France since he was assassinated. However, it
was not only the visitors that were alarmed at the failure of the Campaore
government to honour Thomas Sankara, by making his grave site a tourist
attraction, 17 years after the present government's loyalists cut short the
life of that promising leader who actually changed the country's name from
Upper Volta to Burkina Faso; land of honest men.

A number of Burkinabes told us that they too were disappointed but are
helpless because even the media dares not express the peoples' feeling on
this sensitive issue.

However, Ouagadougou is suitable for a holiday. For a visitor from Nigeria
however, there is no direct flight to Ouagadougou. The tourist would have to
fly first to Ethiopia or Cameroon to connect a flight to Ouagadougou.

Relevant Links

West Africa
Burkina Faso
Nigeria
Labour



The weather is generally hot as you would find in most parts of northern
Nigeria, so the visitor needs more cotton fabrics except of course during
the rainy season.

Honesty a virtue of the Burkinabes gives one hope that Africa is not all
about fraudulent people.



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