Development Discourse with Amos Safo: The Captain Traore challenge is a nightmare for Western hegemony

Last week, Captain Ibrahim Traore’s popularity soared worldwide when he donated his entire salary towards the upkeep of orphans, street children, single mothers, and widows in Burkina Faso.

During a visit to an orphanage near Ouagadougou, Captain Traore made an emotional remark, “I sleep in comfort while thousands of my people sleep with hunger. I do not want to live in luxury, while my people sleep with hunger”, he told the children and their caregivers.

Philanthropist

According to news media and social media reports, Captain Traore’s donation is estimated at $800,000 over the next four years of his current five-year mandate.

His donation will provide homes for the homeless, provide school uniforms and food supplies for orphanages. Single mothers and widows will also benefit from small capital to start businesses to take care of their children.

Mainstream and social media reports indicated that tears and celebrations erupted when news of Captain Traore’s philanthropic gesture hit the airwaves. A widow who received her portion of the initial disbursement was reported as saying, “He is not just our president, he is our father. May God protect him from evil liars.”

In his speech alluded to earlier, Captain Traore pointed out that “power means nothing, if it cannot protect the weak. I do not want a statute in my name”, he emphasized.

Traore’s humility and foresight have been described by many social and political analysts as that of a true leader, a rare heart. He is not just the president of Burkina Faso, but also a worthy example to the current and next generation of leaders.

Captain Traore’s monumental and life-transforming achievements in three years is in sharp contrast to some African leaders who have been in power for more than 40 years, yet they have failed to transform their countries. Some leaders have returned from the opposition, and all they can do is plunge their countries further into poverty and degradation.

Silence of Western media

It is not surprising that the Western media have chosen to present Captain Traore as a dictator and a corrupt leader, rather than letting the global community hear about the transformation he is providing to the people of Burkina Faso.

One analyst on social media argued that Western leaders and their media fear that if people get the right information about him, his popularity might embolden other African leaders to revolt.

On the contrary, social media is overflowing with love and praise for the young leader, who has been described as the “President for Africa.” Traore’s visionary leadership is inspiring hope and confidence in many Africans in and outside Africa. For this reason, a “Thank  You Traore”  message is reportedly trending on social media in 12 African countries, including Ghana.

In response, the Kenya Youth Parliament has proposed a Pan-African Humanitarian Award in honour of Captain Traore.

Similarly, a section of South African students are  reported to be contributing money to support Captain Traore’s poverty alleviation initiative, which they titled as the “Traore Challenge.”

Misinformation

In a related speech, Captain Traore accused Western media of always publishing false news intended to destroy African unity. “They used the same method to tear Rwanda apart, and with the same method they destroyed Libya and now Sudan”, he noted.

According to him, Africans, especially the youth, must beware of the Western media manipulation of information to feed a false narrative of a continent without hope and aspirations. He disclosed that some foreign radio, television and newspapers often use various means to extort money from African presidents in exchange for favourable publications.

According to Captain Traore, in 2022 and 2023 some western media and journalists approached his government to pay money in return for positive publicity. But he refused to condone bribery and corruption.

Little wonder that his government and country have become the target of negative publicity in the dominant Western media. He disclosed that even the Heads of State who bribed the Western media still had negative publicity.

Captain Traore appealed to Africans to stop reading Western newspapers or listening to their broadcast media.

Instead, they should focus on the agenda for African unity. “As far as you keep listening to the false news, it eventually becomes a reality. This misinformation and disinformation is very dangerous to Africa’s progress and emancipation”, he warned.

European development

In a related speech on African emancipation, which went viral on social media Dr. Aricana Chinombori-Quao argues that Africa has been the provider of everything for European development.

According to Dr Chinombori-Quao the proceeds of Africa’s natural resources were the biggest contributor to Europe’s recovery after the Second World War.

She wondered why the continent that contributed massively to European recovery is not making economic progress. “Africa no longer needs aid from the West; what we need is for those exploiting Africa to stop the exploitation it”, Dr.  Chinombori-Quao, popularly called Mama Africa, pointed out.

However, Western powers have argued that it would be suicidal for them to allow Africa to pursue an independent economic paradigm. This explains why the pursuit of economic independence by Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger is being aggressively obstructed by France and the United States.

Western blueprint

Another video, which is trending on social media, contains what has been described as the Western blueprint to stop Africa’s economic progress. The video outlines strategic measures Western countries are implementing to keep Africa from attaining peace and stability and economic transformation.

The strategy is to ensure that Africa remains fragmented and never unites. The easiest way to achieve this objective is by keeping the people eternally divided along ethnic, tribal and religious lines.

If Africans realise the need to unite, the Western powers must constantly remind them of their past grievances that divided them. Systems should be activated to stoke old wounds, fund separatist movements and keep border disputes unresolved.

The architects of Africa’s disunity are to ensure that anytime the continent takes one step forward, they must be compelled to take two steps backward, so that they become busy fighting each other.

Corrupt leaders

The second strategy is to install corrupt and illegitimate leaders in power to serve the Western interest, rather than the interest of their countries and the continent.

These leaders are to be offered power in exchange for loyalty. Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire, Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso and Gyansigbe Eyademan of Togo, among others fit this description.

Besides, if any leader realizes the need to care about Africa’s emancipation, they are to get rid of them. If they are too strong, their countries are to be destabilized through military coups.

The leaders who fit this category are Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Patrice Lumumba of Congo, Amical Kabral of Cape Verde, Sekou Toure of Guinea, Thomas Sankara and recently, Muamar Qaddafi of Libya to mention a few. In addition, if they are about to nationalize their resources, make an example out of them.

This strategy, perhaps, justifies why France and the United States are on the heels of Captain Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso, General Assimi Goïta of  Mali and  General  Abdourahamane Tchiani of Niger .

Weak economy

Furthermore, the blueprint states that Western powers need to keep the economies of African countries weak by ensuring that Africa never industrialises.

African countries are to grow raw materials but should never have the capacity to process them into finished products. Africans are to keep selling their raw materials cheaply to Western markets and buy finished products from the West at expensive prices.

Western powers also have a mandate to control the mines and oil fields and the revenue they generate. If countries try to break free and start their own industries, they should be sabotaged.

The commonest strategy is to place sanctions on such countries to destabilize their currencies.  In addition, Western countries are to create and finance local opposition to crush the economy.

Debt shackles

Moreover, a formidable strategy that Western countries used to control Africa is through the debt burden. They are to saddle Africa in debt through loans with harsh conditions that make it impossible to pay.

Also, they are to force African countries to privatise everything, including essential services such as health, education, electricity, water, and even land.

When African countries are struggling, they are to be offered enough aid to keep them alive, and never to be self-sufficient.

They are to let Africans know that they cannot solve their own problems , and that they always need help from abroad.

Brainwashing

Another key strategy that has been enforced is an educational system that produces workers and not thinkers.

The Western educational system bequeathed to Africa ensures that Africans look down on their culture, see their ancestors as primitive and savages, and tie their future to Western approval.

The agenda is to keep Africa’s best brains continuously seeking greener pastures in the West.

They are to offer scholarships to take Africa’s best minds abroad and encourage them never to return. African countries are to continue to train doctors and engineers to go and enrich Western economies.

Media control

Additionally, Western countries are to own African media, control their narratives, and dictate their image to the world. They are to flood African screens with stories of poverty and children on the streets.

This should be geared toward making Africans feel helpless without foreign aid. Their media and journalists are to downplay and twist the successes of Africa into isolated incidents.

If any African country makes groundbreaking discoveries, Western media are to credit Western scientists with the inventions. If any African country makes progress, their media are to frame it as an anomaly, rather than a success.

Weak military

Besides, they are to weaken Africa’s military and make their defence industries non-existent. This will be achieved by selling weapons to Africans to kill each other, but never allowing them to develop high-tech military technology.

If a country tries to build strong defence systems, that country should be accused of being a risk to global peace and stability. The formular is very simple: Divide-Corrupt-Miseducate.

This formula is to ensure that Africans keep fighting each other and keep looking outside for help.   Every attempt to break free should be greeted with strong foreign resistance, so that the next leaders will think twice before attempting to break free.

The real question is not to stop Africa from becoming a superpower, but how Africa can break this cycle to become a superpower, despite Western efforts to keep it down.

This is why the current leaders of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger must be celebrated for their courage in severing political, economic and military cooperation with France and other Western countries that have exploited their human and natural resources for decades.

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