Catching the Spirit of Sovereignty
The Burkinabe & Interim President, Captain Ibrahim Traore
BY NJEMILE ALI
“Land is not just a resource. It’s a trust.”
Land and liberation are inseparable in the quest for sovereignty. Having a piece of our Earth that we can can steward on behalf of present and future generations makes everything possible. You already know: we are of the Earth and everything we do and make comes from the soil that holds us and the water that—if we’re lucky—flows continuously through us. So what is sovereignty? I see sovereignty as the capacity to decide for the benefit of self and kind, and to decide against those who would do us harm.
Place is essential. Sovereignty suggests having a home, a base of operations from which to gather, grow and produce the necessaries that enable spiritual progress, which is the ultimate goal. Becoming truly and fully ourselves means embodying and unfolding the many attributes of good character. To do so, we must keep these bodies alive and well so that Spirit has a place to abide. The entanglement of Spirit/Mind and Body/Land is absolute. Nothing grows without vision and purpose, and when growth stalls … you know … No Body, no Land exists without vision and purpose (Spirit/Mind), and when the Body/Land cease to function, Spirit and Mind exit. They out.
The Treasures of the African Diaspora that I want to share with you in KIZA’s Land & Liberation issue embody the spirit of sovereignty. They are a healing presence on the planet, a bearing witness to the greatness that abides within us. This edition’s treasures are the Burkinabe: the people of Burkina Faso, and they have coalesced their heartfelt desires for sovereignty into their Interim President of just three years, Captain Ibrahim Traore.
The progress that the country is experiencing flows from sovereignty fueled by the integrity that Captain Traore represents and draws to the surface in his people. Named Upper Volta when colonized by the French, Burkina Faso is a landlocked nation in West Africa, roughly the size of Georgia and Alabama combined. In the two years since Captain Traore assumed leadership, he has exhibited extraordinary Sovereign Intelligence, restoring first, the sense of character and identity of the Burkinabe, while taking great strides to build the infrastructure within which the people can thrive economically, socially and culturally.
Captain Traore’s Sovereign Intelligence grows out of the soil, longing and tears of the Burkinabe, who have for years mourned the loss of a previous President, Captain Thomas Sankara, whose term was cut short by an assassin’s bullet in 1987. It was Captain Sankara who changed the name of the country to Burkina Faso, which means “Land of the Upright People.” Many Burkinabe believe that Captain Traore is the reincarnation of his predecessor, whom the people saw as a beacon of hope and fatherhood for the nation. Many young men interviewed recently and during the interim years since Captain Sankara’s death express the depth of strength, purpose and identity that he instilled during the short time that he was President.
The two men—Captain Traore and Captain Sankara—represent the understanding that “Land is not just a resource; it’s a trust.” Entrusted with the people’s land, they both immediately turned it over to the benefit of the Burkinabe, clearing the way for homes, farms and industries to be built by and for the people.
The Sovereign Intelligence that the Interim President models seems to operate in a kaleidoscopic, logarithmic fashion. He has activated gargantuan projects, turned on numerous sectors of the economy and engaged in the international arena, all while keeping his eyes on the prize of the intrinsic value of people, character, land, culture and community. As a result, the country has produced exponential growth over the past three years.
To name a few projects for which young Burkinabe have been recruited and trained, along with local engineers and other professionals: making gold mining and refining a domestic industry; building roads connecting rural and urban centers; reopening schools and universities; establishing two tomato plants that process tomatoes into tomato sauce, tomato paste, salsa and other products; opening two milk processing facilities; installing facilities to process previously wasted cashew apples into high-nutrition juices; initiating a high-speed rail system; launching a solar PV plant; upgrading internet and data processing systems and making significant inroads into quelling insurgent and jihadist violence. Whoa.
The man and woman on the street in Ouagadougou, the capital city, are in love with their Interim President. Their faces shine when they speak of him. They’re volunteering to rebuild their own nation. They’re seeing the desires of their hearts live in their leadership and each other. They’re seeing hope reborn. They’re seeing themselves, and they’re happy. Happy to be building together, growing together, standing together, rising together.
We salute the undying spirit of sovereignty that the Burkinabe and their Interim President, Captain Ibrahim Traore, model for the world. Long live the Upright People and their Land. Long live Burkina Faso.