Tall Poppies who stand up as a diversion away from the prominent power centres often become the targets of frustrated anxiety manifesting as reputational smearing or even violence coming from those centres.
When it comes to Africa, there is no Taller Poppy just now that the President of Burkina Faso – Captain Ibrahim Traoré. You may have seen him most recently at the Moscow May 9, 80th Anniversary of Victory Day celebrations, marking the destruction of German and European Nazism by Russia in 1945.
I wrote about some of that smearing in a post earlier today, by a (black person no less) representative of one of the chief power centres of our time.
Well, none of the claims made against Traoré are true, but here is something that is…
I don’t know the full story behind this outstanding achievement but it seems likely that it would have been financed, in part at least, by the gold reserves Burkina Faso has accumulated also under this man’s guidance (and with Russian assistance). He is a power centre, in himself. A force to be reckoned with.
Western influence in Africa is waning. If Africa stands up with him and other national leaders emerge like this man, Western influence and pillaging of Africa’s natural resources will not persist much longer.
Bring on that day.
Towards a fairer world – for everyone.

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