Thomas Sankara: A selfless and incorruptible leader with a proud legacy
Immediately after taking over the reins, Sankara auctioned off the German luxury vehicles that made up the fleet of the ruling elite. He embarrassed and angered these wabenzi – Swahili for ‘the people of the Mercedes Benz' – by replacing their flashy wheels with the modest Renault 5, at the time the cheapest model in the country. Back in present-day South Africa, government ministers continue to justify their extravagant spending on expensive cars – fitted with all the luxurious accessories – by quoting the ministerial handbook. This despite the fact that last year there was a public outcry against such excesses.
The ministerial handbook – "a guideline for benefits and privileges, to which Members and their families are entitled, in the execution of their duties" – lists a substantial number of extravagant travel benefits, those pertaining to motor transport and air travel being most prominent. But it is difficult to take this seriously considering that politicians who have been exposed to lavish lifestyles often point at the handbook to justify their actions. What clouds the issue is that the handbook is supposed to be a "confidential" document – thus not open to public scrutiny despite the fact that public funds are at the centre of the lavish spending in a country with a government preaching transparency.
It seems to be a case of sheer double standards. In a country where the ruling elite created a wide chasm between itself by making empty promises but practising self-enrichment in classic Orwellian style, Sankara identified himself fully with his fellow countrymen and women – the majority of whom were poor, uneducated and exploited. He refused to put his image in public places and official buildings, arguing that "there are millions of Thomas Sankaras in Burkina Faso" – a name he personally chose for his country because he envisioned it as the land of the incorruptible or honourable men, which is what Burkina Faso means.
He shunned luxuries such as air conditioning in his office because he said such a luxury was not available to the average Burkinabes. He lowered his presidential salary to a pittance and confined his ascetic lifestyle to the bare necessities. Although Sankara's exemplary, inexpensive lifestyle, pro-poor reforms and courageous people-centred leadership didn't go down well with his colleagues, who finally assassinated him after four years in office, his legacy is a shining example to all leaders everywhere in the world – particularly in developing economies.
"Thomas knew how to show his people that they could become dignified and proud through will power, courage, honesty and work," Sankara's wife, Mariam, said after his death. "What remains above all of my husband is his integrity."
By the time you read this, the "toilet elections" will be history. But following the debacle over open toilets – using the plight of the poor as a political football to score cheap electoral points – one finds it hard to identify a leader within the ruling party with the type of integrity attributed to Thomas Sankara.
Source : The Afropolitan Magazin
Thomas Sankara: A selfless and incorruptible leader with a proud legacy | The Afropolitan
