70 lines
3.3 KiB
Markdown
70 lines
3.3 KiB
Markdown
**Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara** was a revolutionary, soldier and the
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former president of [Burkina Faso](Burkina_Faso "wikilink") from 1983 to
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1987. Ideologically a [Marxist-Leninist](Marxist-Leninism "wikilink"),
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[Pan-Africanist](Pan-Africanism "wikilink"),
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[Feminist](Feminism "wikilink") and
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[Anti-Imperialist](Anti-Imperialism "wikilink"), he led some of the most
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ambitious and amazing reforms for ecological, economic and social
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change. However, the actions of the ruling class in Burkina Faso, the
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[French](Timeline_of_French_Imperialism "wikilink") (and possibly
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[US](Timeline_of_US_Imperialism "wikilink")) governments and his own
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government's centralised nature led to his downfall. He has often
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affectionately been called "Africa's [Che
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Guevara](Che_Guevara "wikilink")" for his vision of a united, strong,
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equal and prosperous Africa.
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## Life
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### Assassination
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In a coup supported by Burkina Faso's ruling class,
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[France](France "wikilink"), the
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[USA](United_States_of_America "wikilink"), [Israel](Israel "wikilink"),
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Libya, [Ivory Coast](Ivory_Coast "wikilink"), [Togo](Togo "wikilink")
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and [Liberia](Liberia "wikilink"), Sankara was killed in a gunfight, his
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body dismembered and thrown into an unmarked grave.
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## Positives
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''We try to avoid the conservative notion of '[Great Men in
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History](Great_Man_Theory "wikilink")' so when we say 'he', we are
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referring to the actions of his government and the collective work of
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the people in Burkina Faso. ''
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- He abolished [feudalism](African_Feudalism "wikilink") in Burkina
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Faso, stripping feudal landlords the rights to tribute, [forced
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labor](Slavery "wikilink") and redistributing their land to the
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[peasantry](Peasants "wikilink").
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- He increased food production from 1,700 kilograms of produce per
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acre to 3,900 kilograms of produce per acre in four years through
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the expansion of irrigation and provision of fertilizer and
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tractors. This turned Burkina Faso into a self-sufficient exporter
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of food.
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- He helped supply 7,000 villages with nurseries and planted 10
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million trees in an effort to reforest the Sahel, which was becoming
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drier each year thanks to climate change.
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- He organised 2.5 million vaccinations against polio, meningitis and
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measles (in a country of 7.4 million).
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- He lay 700 kilometres of new railway and financed the construction
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of new roads.
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- He was the first leader in Africa to publicly recognise the AIDS
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epidemic that was ravaging the continent.
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- He renamed the country from 'Upper Volta' to 'Burkina Faso', meaning
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'land of the upright/honest man/men'.
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- He banned [female genital
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mutilation](Female_Genital_Mutilation "wikilink"), forced marriages
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and polygamy.
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- He appointed women to high governmental positions and encouraged
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them to work outside the home and stay in school even if pregnant.
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- He encouraged the use of contraception.
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- He encouraged men to cook, clean and go to the market to understand
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the experience of women.
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- He increased [life expectancy](Life_Expectancy "wikilink") by a year
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in four years.
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- He did all of this without taking loans or foreign aid, preventing
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other countries or the IMF controlling the economy.
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## Negatives
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- The main negative established by his government were the *Committees
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for the Defense of the Revolution* (CDR) |