As we come into the 36th anniversary of his untimely death, Shalom Consult would like to pay tribute to a brilliant legend: Thomas Sankara, celebration of a warrior. His name echoes through history as a revolutionary Pan-Africanist, a champion of emancipation, and a true luminary of our time. Sankara’s life and ideals continue to inspire generations, reminding us of the transformative power of selflessness and dedication to the continent’s emancipation.In this article, we delve into the remarkable legacy of Thomas Sankara, amplifying the ideas and ideals that defined his extraordinary journey.

A Visionary for Africa’s Emancipation

Thomas Sankara was more than just a political leader; he was a visionary with an unwavering commitment to Africa’s emancipation. He recognized that true independence lay not only in political sovereignty but in economic self-sufficiency, social justice, and self-reliance. Sankara’s leadership in Burkina Faso from 1983 to 1987 was marked by transformative policies aimed at achieving these goals.

The Selfless Revolutionary

At the heart of Sankara’s legacy was his selflessness. He led by example, living a modest life and rejecting the luxuries of power. His salary was modest, and he redirected the funds towards national development projects. His commitment to the welfare of ordinary Burkinabé citizens was unwavering, epitomizing the essence of selflessness in leadership.

A Beacon of Youth Empowerment

Thomas Sankara’s dedication to the youth was profound. He believed that the youth held the key to Africa’s future. He established youth brigades, encouraging young people to actively participate in national development. Sankara knew that nurturing the potential of the youth was paramount to achieving sustainable progress. He encouraged the youth to voluntarily participate in the building of small-scale development projects such as dams, village dispensaries and schools. In 1985, through what he called the Rail Battle, he requisitioned the local population to lay the rails on a voluntary basis and managed to build some 50km railways.

Thomas Sankara’s Ideas and Ideals Amplified

Sankara’s legacy transcends time and place. His ideas and ideals continue to resonate, inspiring leaders, activists, and citizens across Africa and beyond. Some of the key principles that defined his legacy include:

1. Self-Reliance

Sankara understood that Africa’s reliance on foreign aid and assistance was a hindrance to true independence. He advocated for debt cancellation, and the constitution of a panafrican platform – the Addis Ababa United Front against Debt – that will allow African countries to collectively reject debt as a powerful colonial tool that maintains countries under political and economic domination and as enabler of massive wealth transfer from the poorest to the richest nations.Debt, he said in his memorable speech on 29 July 1987 at the OAU summit barely a couple of months before his assassination, “in its current form is a cleverly organized reconquest of Africa, so that its growth and development obey levels and standards that are completely foreign to us. Ensuring that each of us becomes the financial slave, that is to say the slave in short, of those who had the opportunity, the cunning, the deception to place funds with us with the obligation to repay. We are told to pay off the debt. This is not a moral question. It is not a question of this so-called honor to repay or not to repay.”

“Let’s ensure that the African market is the market for Africans. Let’s produce in Africa, process in Africa and consume in Africa. Let’s produce what we need and consume what we produce instead of importing it”

Thomas Sankara

2. Social Justice

His commitment to social justice was unwavering. He initiated programs to provide free healthcare, education, and housing for all citizens, recognizing that access to these basic necessities was a fundamental human right. He fought against excision, regulated polygamy, improved the living conditions of women and promoted adult literacy.On the social front, and to respond to the housing problem, his government built cities and undertook large-scale subdivisions across the entire territory; and nationalized all land, to dispossess village chiefs, district chiefs and traditional notables as well as the land-owning bourgeoisie of the cities of their power over the land and over their occupants; He also abolished rents during the year 1985.

3. Environmental Stewardship

Sankara was an early advocate for environmental sustainability. He initiated reforestation programs and campaigned against desertification. His ecological awareness is a lesson for our times. For example, 2 million trees were planted in 1986. From February 10 to March 20, 1986, more than 35,000 farmers, responsible for village groups and cooperatives, were trained in environmental protection.For the New Year 1986, all pupils and students in Ouagadougou made with their own hands more than 3,500 improved stoves which they offered to their mothers as part of environmental education programs.

4. Anti-Corruption and Good Governance

Sankara was an early advocate for environmental sustainability. He initiated reforestation programs and campaigned against desertification. His ecological awareness is a lesson for our times. For example, 2 million trees were planted in 1986. From February 10 to March 20, 1986, more than 35,000 farmers, responsible for village groups and cooperatives, were trained in environmental protection.For the New Year 1986, all pupils and students in Ouagadougou made with their own hands more than 3,500 improved stoves which they offered to their mothers as part of environmental education programs.He waged a relentless war against corruption, understanding that it eroded the foundations of a just society. His anti-corruption measures set a precedent for transparent governance. Through Revolutionary People’s Courts, corrupt civil servants were tried, forced to return the looted funds and assets.Thanks to his prudent management of public resources, the state budget went from 58 billion CFA in 1983, of which 12 billion went to debt, to 93 billion in 1987. In 1983, the budget showed a deficit of 695 million CFA while in 1984, 1 million CFA but in 1985, a surplus of 1 billion 985,000 CFA.

5. Food Security and Improved Health Services

In 4 years of adoption of radical farming methods (under his reign) such as agroecology, garden farming, price control and forced consumption of local food items, Burkina became food secure. Cereal production, close to 1.1 billion tonnes before 1983, rose to 1.6 billion tonnes in 1987. “Thomas Sankara conquered hunger; meaning that Burkina, in four years, became self-sufficient in terms of food,” said Jean Ziegler, former UN special rapporteur for the right to food.In the health sector, communities were forced to choose a health worker and an auxiliary midwife from among themselves. With such methods, Burkina vaccinated 2.5 million people: WHO congratulated Sankara for that prowess. His regime also eradicated polio, measles and meningitis, bringing down the infant mortality rate, then the highest in Africa. In the same vein, a free certificate of indigence was introduced especially for farmers to facilitate their hospitalization in case of sickness.