October 31 2014 will go down in history as the day that saw the first black African country’s revolution which ousted the president of Burkina Faso. The fact that the people in power in Ouagadougou did not see this coming is most puzzling but thinking about it one will notice that the same people have ruled the country since the death of President Thomas Sankara, 27years ago and they have enjoyed all the privileges that come with power, including but not limited to access to the most powerful people around the world. They were therefore completely disconnected from the realities of the people in the streets of Ouagadougou; and this for a very long time. Any serious observer of African politics in large would have noticed that in most countries on the continent, specifically, in francophone Africa the center of power does not lie in the capital city but rather in Paris. It is very well known to us that those who put one in power and keep one in power are the ones that call the shot. So the leaders in those countries have imagined for far too long that they do not owe anything to their people, therefor do not take any specific action to better the life of their country men and women. A president of a country like Burkina Faso would rather take action that pleases the resident of “Palais de l’elysee in Paris” than actions that will make the life of his people easier and better. No one on the African continent expects his government to do anything for him, but we do not expect them to prevent us from reaching our full potential either. And that is exactly what they do. Preventing people from reaching their full potential. Governments around the world and specifically in Africa, have the most basic roles in the world. 1. Provide security for the population 2. Build roads to connect cities in order for the people to move goods and to circulate Everything else will be taken care of by the private sector. Even the very simple things that they are supposed to do, they don’t do because they don’t owe anything to their people. That is exactly how they feel. As long as the man in Palais de l’Elysee is happy, everything will be fine. In 2005 after the death of President Eyadema of Togo, the army in a crazy show of power, went on national Television and announced that the son of the deceased will become the next president. After few days of chaos in the country, the army eventually decided to hold elections. And we all saw on foreign TVs how the soldiers literally run away with ballots boxes. The images were and still there for everyone to see. Despite that, the next day, the then president of France, Mr. Jacques Chirac went on national TV to tell the world that Togo now has held elections and he congratulated the winner who happened to be the son of the “dead president”. So what does such people should expect from this president? My guess is nothing, and because he knows that very well, he, of course does not deliver anything to the people. Africans are some of the hardest working people that I know of. Most of what are on the continent are built by the people with no help from their government what so ever. People build schools, most of the time, build roads to connect villages, etc. . . They don’t wait for the government to come and do anything for them. For a long time, people in Africa think that was how things were, around the world. But now, every city in Africa is connected to the internet. Abuja has more open wi-fi than most cities in the west, everyone has a cell phone, most people have iPhone, people have gone to schools and are very well educated, capable of functioning in within complex systems, aware of what is happening around the world and know very well how things function, but because the ruling elite, as Professor Adjetey of Ghana would call them, “The Hippos of the continent. . . ” are so disconnected from the realities of their people, that they are not capable to read the writings on the wall. Africa is no longer the strategic continent that it once was during the cold war. Africa raw minerals are no longer as essential as they once were. Today, Nigeria still produces thousands barrels of crude oil, even though that is not irrelevant, oil is no longer what it once was. The world is now going green. Botswana is still the number one raw diamond producer of the world, but the trend now is more ethnic jewelry, so there is no reason today for France or for any other country of the powers that be to protect and keep someone as Mr. Compaore in power in Burkina Faso. The fact that any of his cabinet members, including the president himself wasn’t able to visualize that is most puzzling. It only demonstrate how disconnected he was from the realities of his people. For him to imagine that he could go ahead and for one more time, modify the country’s constitution so he could remain in power for another 15 years is just so absurd. What happened in Burkina Faso today is a wakeup call for the rest of the hippos. The writings are clearly visible on the wall for those who are wise enough to read them. This is just the beginning, it is not a revolt; it is a revolution. visit our blog placecongo for more thoughts of an ordinary man. The blog will be live soon
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 05:40:48 +0000
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