BURKINABE PRESIDENT BLAISE COMPAORE FLEE
The Killer of Thomas Sankara Escapes to Côte d’Ivoire
-Attorney Patryk Utulu

Blaise Compaoré, President of Burkina Faso for 27 years has been forced out of office by popular revolt. The killer of Thomas Sankara then escaped with his family to neighboring Cote d'Ivoire to live out his miserable life.

On Aug 4, 1983, Captain Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara (Thomas Sankara) became President of Upper Volta. He was 33 and a pan-Africanist. Sankara set three goals: (1) eliminate corruption; (2) diminish France's dominance over his nation's affairs; and (3) make his nation self-sufficient and non-aligned.

To symbolize his country's sovereignty he renamed it from Upper Volta (as they were named by France) to Burkina Faso (Land of Upright People).

On Oct. 15, 1987, Sankara was gunned down in his office in a coup plotted by France and led by his second-in-command and best friend, Compaore who subsequently organized and won sham elections in 1991, 1998, 2005 and 2010. He was due to retire in November 2015 and Burkinabes were set to patiently wait him out. But like his mentor (Muammar Qaddafi) Compaore felt he had the right to rule forever. He tried to alter the constitution to extend his 27-yr rule.

One million Burkinabes revolted in the streets of the capital, Ouagadougou. The Military forced out Compaore and with people calling for him to be hanged for murdering Thomas Sankara, Compaore took his family and fled to Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, where Alassane Ouattara (Muammar Qaddafi also financed the rebels that brought him to power in 2011) is President.

ALREADY A MILITARY POWER STRUGGLE HAS STARTED:
(1): Gen. Honore Traore, the Army Chief of Burkina Faso, declared himself Acting Head of State. He said he will hand over to civilians in 12 months
(2): But one Lt. Col. Isaac Yacouba Zida declared himself the transitional leader
(3): Also, there is division within the civilian political opposition. Some agreed to a military-led transition BUT other leaders do not trust the military to keep its promise in 12 months. They want the military completely out of power now.

The African Union and USA have condemned the power grab by the military!

Meanwhile ordinary Burkinabes are busy using the abandoned Presidential Villa swimming pools to learn how to swim. [Nothing wrong with having Olympic dream, eh?]. Other Burkinabes are methodically looting furniture and personal effects in the various mansions owned by the brother of ex-Pres Compaore.

Hmmmm. Africa!!!

Attorney Patryk A. Utulu
U.S.-based Attorney & Strategic Communications Specialist
Global Defense Analyst and Global Events Commentator
Executive Vice President, Nigerian Diaspora-North America
Executive Director, The Center 4 Community Empowerment & Lifeskills, Inc
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Africa still have a long way to go. I hope burkina faso get their act together soon.