One Man and Africa On His Shoulders

Traoré, Like Sankara Before Him, Has Chosen The Difficult Road

I was amongst the millions who on April 30th, 2025, watched as history was written in the streets, not behind closed doors. From Ouagadougou to Lagos, from Dakar to Johannesburg, from Paris to New York, millions of people marched in a global show of solidarity with Captain Ibrahim Traoré, interim president of Burkina Faso. It was one of the largest coordinated pan-African and diasporic protests in modern history. The message was clear and thunderous: Africans and people of conscience across the world will no longer tolerate the assassinations, sabotage, or vilification of leaders who genuinely serve their people. Traoré is not alone, and neither is the struggle for African sovereignty.

In a world increasingly shaped by global power shifts and economic exploitation, few figures have emerged with the clarity and courage of Captain Ibrahim Traoré. His rise is not just a national event, it is a signal to the world that Africa is awakening. These global demonstrations we witnessed are not merely about a man; they are about a message. A message that the world is no longer willing to sit quietly as the architects of empire assassinate or destroy every African leader who puts their people first.

Traoré, like Sankara before him, has chosen the difficult road: serving the interests of his people rather than those of global elites. That choice has made him a target. His administration has broken with decades of dependency by expelling French troops, rejecting IMF dictates, and reclaiming control over Burkina Faso’s gold, which for decades enriched foreign corporations while the local population remained among the poorest in the world. The same gold that gleams in Paris and London is dug from Burkinabé soil by underpaid laborers with no access to basic healthcare or education. And yet, when Traoré moves to bring that wealth home, he is painted as a “threat to stability.”

But the real threat to stability is the continued pillaging of Africa’s wealth by foreign powers. France, for instance, has long treated its former colonies as private estates, controlling their currencies, dictating economic policy, and ensuring that puppet governments keep the French treasury rich. The CFA franc, a colonial relic still in use across West and Central Africa, is a daily reminder of the economic chains that bind these nations. Traoré has not only challenged this system, he has exposed it to the world. He has refused to follow orders from Paris or Washington. Most importantly, he has inspired other African nations, Mali, Niger, and even Senegal, to think independently. This terrifies the West, because Traoré is not just leading one country. He is awakening a continent.

At the heart of this crisis is a simple truth: African nations do not lack resources, they lack control. Burkina Faso alone holds immense reserves of gold, manganese, and other strategic minerals. Mali is rich in lithium and bauxite. Niger, Traoré’s neighbor and ally, sits on some of the world’s most valuable uranium deposits, used to power the lights in France while Nigerien children do homework by candlelight. And now, with the proposed $25 billion Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline set to transport gas from Nigeria through Niger to Europe, Western energy companies are lining up to reap profits from African soil without concern for the people living above it. Traoré, along with the new military leadership in Niger, has made it clear: these deals must serve Africa first, or not happen at all.

It is precisely because of this bold stance that Western powers, especially France and the United States, are moving aggressively to remove Traoré. Not through open war, but through economic pressure, propaganda, coup attempts, and clandestine operations. The methods have not changed since the days of Lumumba, Nkrumah, or Gaddafi. They are just more sophisticated. Traoré, by aligning Burkina Faso with other anti-imperialist governments in Mali and Niger, and seeking strategic partnerships with Russia, Turkey, and others, is building a new model, one that prioritises sovereignty over subservience.

What terrifies the West is not just that he is resisting, but that others may follow. The globalist architecture, carefully constructed through the United Nations, World Economic Forum, IMF, and various NGOs, is being challenged. Programs like UN Agenda 2021 and Agenda 2030, promoted as pathways to sustainable development ( ESG, DEI), are increasingly seen in Africa for what they often are: tools of digital and political control. Under the guise of fighting climate change or promoting equity, these policies push carbon passports, biometric IDs, land grabs, and data extraction, all while ignoring the fundamental demands of the African people for land, food, energy, and freedom. They have spent over $100 billion bribing governments, buying silence, and building digital surveillance systems disguised as progress. They speak of development but deliver dependency Traoré’s rebellion threatens to undo it all.

Traoré represents a rejection of this dystopian future. He is not against progress; he is against the kind of progress that enriches the few and enslaves the many. That is why he is under siege. Western-backed NGOs, intelligence networks, and even media platforms have labeled him a populist, a radical, or a dictator. But the people of Burkina Faso, and increasingly across the continent, see him for what he truly is: a patriot who has refused to bow.

Malcolm X once warned that the survival of Black people depends on their ability to think for themselves, to stand together, and to recognise an attack on one as an attack on all. Today, that warning is being lived out in real time. Ibrahim Traoré has become a symbol of what is possible when Africans lead with courage, clarity, and loyalty to their people. His struggle is not only African, it is global. Because as long as Africa remains enslaved, true global justice cannot exist.

The international system fears Ibrahim Traoré because he reminds us of a truth that imperial powers have tried to erase: Africa can govern itself. It can feed itself. It can defend itself. And when it does, the economic order built on centuries of plunder will begin to collapse. This is not just about one country or one leader. This is about the future of the continent, and whether that future will be written in African hands or dictated from foreign boardrooms and war rooms.

The shameful man above, General Michael Langley, the head of U.S. Africa Command, ironically, in his mission to safeguard imperial interests, may have played an unexpected role in accelerating Marcus Garvey’s dream of global Black unity. Through aggressive posturing, veiled threats, and blatant meddling in sovereign African affairs, Langley has inadvertently united Africans both on the continent and in the diaspora in ways not seen in generations. His presence and actions have laid bare the true nature of foreign military interference, pushing people to rally behind anti-imperialist leaders like Ibrahim Traoré. What Garvey envisioned, a spiritually, culturally, and politically unified Black world, is being hastened not by Garveyites alone, but by the hubris of men like Langley. In a twist of fate that history will find both tragic and comedic, Langley may end up as the most consequential “House Negro” in human history, proof that even those sent to maintain the empire can end up strengthening the resistance.

If Africa wants to rise, it must protect its revolutionaries. It must shield those who dare to lead with integrity, not sell out for foreign applause. Traoré is not perfect, no leader is. But he is necessary. To lose him would not just be a national tragedy; it would be another theft of Africa’s future. But if he survives, and thrives, then Africa may finally break free from centuries of domination. The future of Black liberation, of African sovereignty, and of global justice may depend on what happens in Burkina Faso in the coming months.

As Gaddafi said, “Protect your revolutionaries, or lose your future.” The choice is ours. And the time is now. Long live Traoré. Long live African sovereignty. Long live the global struggle for freedom.

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