There is a deliberate and desperate attempt to reduce the pan-African grassroots show of support for Burkina Faso’s leadership into a simplistic and misleading “democracy vs. military junta” debate. This framing is intellectually dishonest and politically convenient, especially for those invested in preserving the status quo of Western-backed “democracies” that serve foreign interests more than their own people.
The support for Captain Ibrahim Traoré and the Burkinabè revolution is not rooted in a love for uniforms or coups. It is rooted in lived experiences and historical memory. Across Africa, so-called democratic regimes, from Ghana to Senegal to Kenya, have been complicit in the theft of resources, suppression of dissent, and betrayal of pan-African unity. Elections are held, but the people remain powerless. “Democracy” has become a hollow ritual, a cloak beneath which neoliberal exploitation thrives.
Meanwhile, Burkina Faso under Traoré has done what elected governments have failed or refused to do for decades:
Expelled French troops from its soil.
Shut down foreign military bases that were clearly serving colonial interests.
Redirected national resources to benefit Burkinabè people.
Asserted national dignity and sovereignty unapologetically.
This is what has inspired millions across Africa. Not the title “Captain.” Not the military uniform. But the bold, unapologetic action in defense of African sovereignty and dignity.
To frame this as merely a “military junta vs. democracy” issue is to erase the deeper truth: Africans are fed up with being lied to, looted, and silenced, whether by men in fatigues or suits.
We must ask: What kind of democracy criminalises protest, jails journalists, and sells national assets to foreign multinationals? Because that is the reality in many so-called “democratic” African states today.
The support for Burkina Faso is not anti-democracy. It is pro-liberation. It is the people choosing courage over compromise, sovereignty over servitude, and pan-Africanism over puppetry.
This is not about military vs. civilian rule.
This is about imperialism vs. liberation.
This is about Africans standing up — finally — and saying: Hands off Africa.
WalkWithTraoré
HandsOffAfrica
AfricaMustUnite
ERNESTO YABOAH – CiC EFL-Ghana (Commander in Chief Economic Fighters League-Ghana)
