allAfrica.com: Burkina Faso: Compaore, 20 Years After (Page 1 of 1)

BY tomorrow, a young military paratrooper captain who hit headlines 20 years ago as the new Head of State of Francophone Burkina Faso, would have spent one score and eight years in the saddle. How time flies!

From what looked like a bumpy beginning which witnessed a few suppressed uprisings, this former colonial Upper Volta nation has transformed beyond imagination, making a steady progress in a relatively peaceful atmosphere under the leadership of President Blaise Compaore. Since democratizing, Burkina Faso has become a success story not only among the Francophone nations but also a key economic player in the sub region of West Africa nay Africa.

Perhaps, more than ever is the physical transformation of the country with erection of several monumental structures and provision of basic facilities hitherto unavailable in the country. As a modern builder, Compaore has left a legacy in all the provinces including Ouagadougou, the capital city. In such regions as Bobo-Dioulasso, Fada Ngourma, Kaya, Koudougou, Ouahigouya and Po, there are visible economic developments including economic indices which have impacted positively on the average populace.

Bobo- Dioulasso, the commercial nerve centre is as boisterous as ever. The president has changed the former rural looks of Ouagadougou into a bohemian modern city with all the basic facilities to make life comfortable for the city dwellers. He has empowered Burkinabe; there are lots of nouveau-riche in the society. There is zero tolerance for crime. Indeed one can drive throughout the length and breadth of the country even at the wee hours of the night without any attack by armed robbers or gangs of bandits.

Since becoming the president after winning elections thrice, Compaore has practised religiously the true principles of democratic system, allowing for free speech, fairness, justice and non-interference with other arms of government. In order to give credibility to the electoral system, he has put in place a truly independent National Electoral Commission called CENI, a 27-member body which has representatives of the opposition, religious bodies, traditional rulers, trade unions, the civil society and human rights' groups. Every organization has freedom to choose who they prefer to be on the CENI, and because of this unique and unprecedented electoral commission, any result from the commission is never disputed.

Compaore once told me during an interview in Ouagadougou that 'Burkina Faso has one of the best electoral laws in Africa and indeed the Third World. The electoral law allows for freedom to elect members of the National Assembly and the laws give strong voice and special number of representatives reserved for the minorities, deputies and the opposition in general." In the provision of amenities, he has made tremendous achievements in road construction, health facilities, education and water.

No country within the Francophone belt can equal the gigantic water project sited at Ziga. Many international visitors have marveled at the Ziga Water Scheme, often referred to as a "Wonder Water Project'. It is to the credit of the president that he has shot his nation up the ladder as the number one chief exporter of cotton in Africa, a no mean feat which has catapulted yearly production quota from 100,000 tonnes to over 600,000. The president had also told me in an interview several years back that Burkina Faso no longer imports flour/wheat to produce bread.

There is also the new city which he built away from Ouagadougou. Every Burkinabe is proud to take a first time visitor to the popular City Deux Mille otherwise called City 2000. It is a sight to behold and accommodates all strata of the Burkinabe society. Mapped out into zones A-E, a minimum of 1,000 square meters was laid out for prospective buyers and developers. Today, the new city boasts of structures and facilities that compete favorably with any city in Europe. In order to buttress Compaore's Africaness, most houses are built as reminder of the true African setting portraying the Anglophone, Arabic and francophone cultures, ethos and values. It is in this vein that history has been kind to the Burkinabe president as having headed the then Organization for African Unity (OAU).

Highly respected by France, the old colonial masters, Burkina Faso had played host to several Franco-African summits and, because of its serene and peaceful nature, Ouagadougou continues to be the cynosure of all eyes as the choice of conferences.

Before becoming the current chairman of the Economic Community for West African States, he had single-handedly brokered peace in crisis-torn Togo leading to all warring groups agreeing to a parliamentary elections coming up later this year. He also recently brought to bear his many years of experience as a statesman in finally resolving the long-drawn war and hostility in neighboring Cote D'Ivoire and an agreeable election time table is now on the cards. For Compaore, these many years in review as the Burkina Faso leader has been a watershed in the annals of that country, having begun as a revolution, now with a thriving democracy, a key player in international trade, a giant stride in international diplomacy and of course an astounding transformation. His place in history, no doubt, has been secured!

(*) The author is a journalist who has written many books on Burkina Faso

web allafrica.com	Enter your search terms	Submit search form
OR subscribers use AllAfrica's premium search engine


Use our pull-down menus to find more stories

Today's Most Active Stories