Thomas Sankara; an African Revolutionary
Before being assassinated during the military takeover that toppled his government, Thomas Sankara, sometimes referred to as the African Che Guevara, served as president of Burkina Faso, one of the poorest nations in Africa.
Sankara’s influence on his country’s history and progress is immeasurable, despite the fact that his time in office was very brief. A self-described Marxist, he vehemently defended his nation’s independence from France and other Western countries while also working to forge true pan-African unification.
From his days as a student to his enlistment in the military, early political awakening, and growing disgust with his nation’s terrible poverty and governmental corruption, Ernest Harsch follows Sankara’s life.
As he attained higher levels of leadership, he made use of them to galvanize the populace for change and to undermine the power of the previous generation of corrupt elites. Sankara and his associates started implementing economic and social policies that reduced the country’s reliance on foreign aid and increased the use of domestic resources to construct public buildings like schools and health clinics.
Sankara’s killing in 1987 was the result of a confluence of internal opposition parties, factions within his own government, and the army, despite the fact that his broad vision and doable changes garnered him fans in Burkina Faso and throughout Africa.
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With conversations with the late leader and substantial firsthand study and reporting on Burkina Faso, this is the first English-language book to chronicle Sankara’s life and struggles. Years after his passing, Sankara’s integrity, ideals, and commitment to freedom and self-determination continue to serve as an example for young Africans.
Ernest Harsch Via
