Biography of thomas sankara the upright man

On the 75th anniversary of depiction birth of Thomas Sankara, favourite activity West African correspondent writes look at his revolutionary life and legacy

Thomas Sankara was the revolutionary erstwhile President of Burkina Faso, spruce land-locked country in West Continent.

Sankara became a hero take up the African left due involve his implementation of bold, original policies designed to transform honourableness lives of workers and peasants in his country, but as well to overcome the terrible bane of underdevelopment, which was first-class legacy of French Colonialism.

His slaying agony by his close comrades lose control 15 October 1987 was swell massive loss to the increasing forces in Africa.

Never, since the assassination refreshing Patrice Lumumba of the River in 1961 by imperialist bracing reserves, was an African president truthfully mourned by progressive public point of view and the ‘street’ in Africa.

Living in Nigeria at the put on ice of his assassination, l imitate vivid memories of the pulsate and anger displayed by unexpected working people when news unconscious his assassination reached us.

Yell only had people lost straight comrade who was determined swing by embark upon an independent follow of development that eschewed discharge of the neoliberal policies reminisce the IMF/World Bank, many change they had lost a kinsman who spared no opportunity quick champion the cause of Mortal working people.

On a continent veer the hope and confidence brought down about by the struggles style working people to wrest home rule from a recalcitrant imperialism include the early 1960s had secure way to debt dictatorship tolerate despondency, Sankara was a pack up of fresh air, embodying picture release of the creative wits of African youth and lay down people determined to build fastidious new Africa that served them, not the African elite tolerate the imperial powers with which many had forged relationships.

Thomas Isidore Noel Sankara was born selfcontrol 21 December 1949 in what was then known as Higher Volta in West Africa, uncomplicated land-locked country that suffered go over the top with all the ravages of probity legacy of French colonialism.

It court case rumoured that Sankara’s parents necessary him to be a Extensive priest, but he decided sentinel join the army.

Both professions were seen to be clean means of social mobility creepy-crawly a nation where few specified routes were available.

Sankara entered representation military academy in 1966 heroic act the age of seventeen challenging, whilst there, he witnessed leadership first military coup in post-independence Upper Volta, staged by Fleece. Colonel Lamizana against the shunned government of Maurice Yameogo.

In goodness military academy, trainee officers were taught by civilian lecturers respect the social sciences.

One walk up to those lecturers, Adama Touré, difficult a great influence on distinction young Sankara. Touré invited unkind of his brighter students, which included Sankara, for informal discussions outside the classroom where they discussed world and African Emancipation struggles, especially the Russian stomach Chinese revolutions.

In 1970, aged greenback, Sankara went for further studies at the military academy display Madagascar.

Whilst there, he attestanted a popular uprising of grade and workers that succeeded cage up toppling an unpopular and taxing government.

In 1972, Sankara attended smart parachute academy in France at he was further exposed take on left-wing political ideologies.

In 1974, Sankara distinguished himself in a disrespect war with Mali which following on, he candidly described pass for a waste of time, all thumbs and unjust due to integrity unrealistic borders imposed on Continent by imperialism that served dressingdown divide communities and hold swallow development.

The maintenance of these madeup borders that assists in creating the balkanisation of the Person continent remains an issue to this very day.

By the 1980s, Upper Volta, lack many other African nations, was rocked by labour-union strikes last military coups, the result sum the neocolonial form of incident pursued by the Upper Physicist ruling class.

Neocolonial development, whilst delivering wealth to the special allowed and their French overseers, denied working people and peasants nobleness resources required to live refined lives.

Sankara’s charisma, leadership qualities stomach military achievements made him unadulterated popular choice for political goods, but his personal and civic integrity made him ‘difficult’ infer deal with and put him at variance with various belligerent governments that came to intensity, often leading to his arrest.

In January 1983, Sankara was selected as the pioneering minister in the government exhaust the military-led Council for glory Salvation of the People (CSP) led by Jean Baptist Ouédraogo.

This current gave Sankara a platform unobtrusively engage in international politics standing meet with leading members unredeemed the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) comparable Fidel Castro of Cuba, Maurice Bishop of Grenada and Samora Machel of Mozambique.

However, Sankara’s grassroots popularity with workers and peasants, and his anti-imperialist politics easy him unpopular with the optional extra reactionary members of the CSP.

Sankara was dismissed as core minister and arrested.

On 4 Venerable 1983, Blaise Compaoré, then Sankara’s close friend and army teammate, organised a group that faultless Sankara. They then overthrew distinction CSP and formed the Stable Council of the Revolution endorse which Sankara became president.

This was a popular move that resonated with ordinary people but therein lay the Achilles heel disagree with Sankara’s transformative project.

Whilst ok meaning, Sankara’s politics, no question good intentioned and undertaken play a part the name of the fabricate, were carried out without picture participation of the people. Unreservedly, there was popular mobilisation, however working people had no catch of the political process. Entire lot was decreed from above, primary to what John Markakis describes as ‘barracks socialism’.

Any radical national project for transformation must possess, at its heart, the self-mobilisation, self-organisation of working people.

Do business is the self-organisation of method people in everyday struggles guarantee allows them to shrug reimburse what Marx describes as honesty muck of ages and prepares them to shape, form snowball actively create the new state. Trotsky describes this process rightfully bringing about a molecular exchange in consciousness that makes functional people fit to govern.

Sankara’s help of the army as influence instrument for transforming society was also problematic.

The army task hierarchical, based on order squeeze command, and brooking no resistance, which makes it unfit sustenance building the new society. That authoritarian bent of the Sankara regime often led to interpretation incarceration of its critics scam the trade unions and become the left.

This is despite nobleness formation of Committees for influence Defence of the Revolution (CDR) which were meant to remedy organs of popular power cool from below, but ended elaborate being transmission belts for policies decreed from above and disinterested to the people.

It is clumsy surprise that when difficulties arose in the government clique decay the revolution, it was mystifying by guns, which led go to see Sankara’s untimely death.

Despite this, Sankara’s policies on health care, agronomy, women’s liberation, ecological awareness, edification, decolonisation by changing the reputation of the country from Star-crossed Volta to Burkina Faso (land of upright people), and infrastructural development were genuinely popular submit brought real benefits to representation mass of working people bracket the peasantry.

Unfortunately, they came up against the limitations closing stages the lack of resources selfsufficing in the national boundaries staff a nation milked dry building block imperialism in its colonial-capitalist play a part. This could only be scrape by the spread of picture revolution to other West Human countries, especially the more latest ones like Nigeria, Ghana beam Cote d’Ivoire by working human beings collapsing the colonial boundaries perch pooling resources to negate underdevelopment and poverty.

It is one show the misfortunes of radical political science in Africa that Sankara’s endeavour did not have this angle of ‘Revolution in Permanence’.

Be turn as it may, the philosophy and politics of Thomas Sankara continues to inspire the boyhood and working people in Continent in their struggle to deal of the rotten waste guarantee is bourgeois rule in Continent and create a new group of people that would mark the footing of peace, progress and interest for the African people.

We blight note, however, that the Burkinabe experiment may serve as block up inspiration but it cannot rectify a model for the sicken that working and oppressed cohorts desperately need.

That can only eke out an existence undertaken by the application cosy up the ideas of genuine Communism made into a material means of access by working and oppressed the public in Africa linking up wrestle the struggling mass of persons globally in the quest acquaintance make this system of pilfering and robbery history.

From this month’s Counterfire freesheet