THOMAS SANKARA,ONE OF AFRICA’S REMARKABLE LEARERS

On this day, 75 years ago, Africa welcomed one of its greatest leaders, Thomas Sankara.

During his four-year tenure, Sankara achieved remarkable feats: he built 350 schools, constructed roads and railways without relying on foreign aid, and increased the literacy rate by 60%. He banned forced marriages, allocated land to the poor, vaccinated 2.5 million children, planted 10 million trees, and took a stand against French imperialism.

At the time of his death, Thomas Sankara had only $350 in his bank account, a modest Renault 5 car, four bicycles, three guitars, a refrigerator, and a broken freezer.

Before Sankara took office, government ministers drove Mercedes-Benz cars. He sold these high-end vehicles and replaced them with affordable Renault 5s to help reduce government spending.

Sankara refused to have his portraits displayed publicly. He renamed the country to Burkina Faso, meaning “Land of Honest Men,” and wrote the national anthem.

He also reduced the salaries of government officials, including his own, and withdrew Burkina Faso from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Additionally, he banned female genital mutilation.

Tragically, Thomas Sankara was assassinated by his close friend, Blaise Compaoré, who went on to rule Burkina Faso for 27 years, from 1987 to 2014.

Sankara became Burkina Faso’s president at the age of 33 in 1983 and served until his assassination on October 15, 1987.