Person of the year: Captain Ibrahim Traoré

Captain Ibrahim Traoré for Person of the Year, and also the Man of the Match.

Single-handedly, he brought the Sahel States together into an alliance, calmly kicked the French overseers out, began developing and recovering an African ethos, and, since then, has not had a day without some war in the Alliance. Yet, he remains resolute, with an unmoving vision of African sovereignty.

Besides being under continual attack, he meets goals set.

This is his speech to African students in Russia, encouraging studies in technology and talking about Oreshnik, which, in his words, “… is making the whole world tremble.

This was after he kicked out Ecowas, the main grouping keeping the neo-colonialists and their local plantation owners in power. Oh! how they threatened and shouted, but Captain Ibrahim changed how commodities mined in Burkina are paid for. The French kicked and screamed, their envoy marched out and tried to take mines back with fiery speeches to ignore the Burkinabe authorities.  He was gently picked up, taken back to his diplomatic palace, and besieged – no more fresh French baguettes flown in every morning until he was hungry enough to leave.

There was no longer a win for imperialist forces.  In the end, they send in the headchoppers to face Russian ex-Wagner troops.

Then it was time for the IMF / World Bank to go:

John Perkins in The Economic Hitman described how it works, and Captain Ebrahim heard:  “We target a resource-rich third world country, arrange a large loan from the World Bank, but the money goes to our corporations for infrastructure projects that benefit only elites. Meanwhile, the country is left with unpayable debt,” he said.

At the annual Alliance of Sahel States (AES) Heads of State summit, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger formally inaugurated the AES joint development bank.

The new regional financial institution is designed to fund infrastructure, health, energy, and strategic projects outside Western-controlled financial systems.

The bank is a cornerstone of the AES break with IMF/World Bank dependency and CFA-franc-era constraints.

This is CRAZY progress. Congratulations!

Unflinchingly, he took the health provision in Burkina Faso back to Burkina Faso and built a series of local clinics, with the crowning glory a most advanced medical center.

Ibrahim Traoré has inaugurated the Pala University Hospital (CHU) in Bobo-Dioulasso, one of the most advanced medical facilities in West Africa.

• 500 beds with an expandable design
• State-of-the-art imaging: MRI, 80-slice CT scanner
• First Phenom-Actis Siemens interventional suite south of the Sahara
• 90 consulting rooms, intensive care, and modern surgical capacity
• Cost: 60+ billion FCFA

Health sovereignty in action.

Schools are buzzing.  Children are learning and people are smiling again.

Describing himself still as a soldier, he lit his candle from Russia, and they helped.

Ibrahim Traoré has now officially assumed the rotating presidency of the Confederation of the Sahel States (AES), the bloc uniting Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.

This is auspicious, because the dogs of war are howling in Africa. In his speech, he outlined the current situation:

Captain Ibrahim Traoré at the AES Summit:

My conviction is clear. Something is happening in West Africa. I have called it the Black Winter.

The Black Winter is coming.

War is spreading across the region. Imperial powers are doing everything they can to push West Africa into fire and bloodshed.

We risk killing each other while others prepare to plunder our resources and impose their will.

Those who survive will face only two paths. Unite against imperialism or remain enslaved until they perish.

That is why this Black Winter is coming.

We must open our eyes.

We are moving forward calmly and resolutely

—

Recently, he held a large conference of former Burkinabé patriots with an extensive invitation.  ‘Come back’, he said.  ‘Come and invest with us.  Work with us and let us build ourselves.

There is a great call in Africa now for reparations for slavery and colonialism.  This is a very sharp two-edged sword that will make Africa even more dependent on the largesse of the colonialist.  Reparations will not come without strong strings attached.  I have not once heard Captain Ebrahim Traoré call out for reparations.  He instead calls for building Burkina Faso and the Alliance.

“The slave who does not organize his own rebellion does not deserve compassion for his fate. This slave is responsible for his misfortune if he harbors any illusions when the master promises him freedom. Freedom can only be won by struggle.”

— Thomas Sankara

His vision, which we have posted before, remains vivid:

Traorés stunning and powerful New African Covenant.  What he does here is take responsibility for repairing the damage done in Africa.  He does not lament; he cuts through hatreds because this is not productive and decisively takes the next step.  This is a guiding light.

—

Incredibly stunningly powerful!

Ibrahim Traorés NEW AFRICAN COVENANT – with the people from this day forward. Not with violence! We will extend our hands in peace, but not bow in submission.

Let no flag wave in celebration when your people are hungry!

Let no leader speak in the name of Africa if he bows to foreign masters
Let no contract be signed that sells a future for a foreign loan

We declare a new covenant between the land and the people

between the past and the future
between the seen and the unseen

We will honor our ancestors by refusing to repeat their captivity
We will bless our descendants by ensuring they are born into dignity, not debt

This is our sacred duty

This moment, this reckoning is not about me
It is not about a single government
a single speech
or a single protest

It is about a spiritual awakening
An ancestral uprising
A generational fire that cannot be extinguished by fear of foreign hands

So let it be written in the hearts of all

Africans we will rise not as victims but as visionaries
We will forgive but we will never forget
We will extend our hands in peace but we will not bow in submission

Africa remember who you are
you are the drum beat of the earth
you are the sun before time
you are the womb of humanity
you are the whisper of the ancestors
you are the lord of tomorrow

Africa remember who you are
let the lions awaken
let the river sing
let the soil rejoice for we are no longer lost
and we are no longer to buy this
we are no longer asleep

And so I declare as a son of the soil
as a servant of the people
as a voice among millions

I declare before God in history

Africa shall rise
Africa shall heal
Africa shall reign

Not in conquest but in conscience
Not in revenge but in restoration
not by force but by the unstoppable power of a people who have remembered their name

May the ancestors watch with pride
may the children walk with hope
and may the world bear witness to the rebirth of a continent

So help us God

Christmas Message

On this Christmas Day marking the birth of Christ, I extend my warmest wishes to the entire Christian community of our Nation. May this celebration be a moment of peace, sharing, and fraternity that strengthens our sense of belonging to a national community in a Burkina Faso united in its diversity.

I share the joy of my compatriots who have been resettled in their localities and are celebrating this holiday on their lands, which they had been forced to leave for many years.

My thoughts are firmly with our brave fighting forces at the front, engaged in the reconquest of our territorial integrity.

Happy Feast of the Nativity to all, in sobriety and dignity.