Celebrate Independence: 8 Interesting Facts About Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso, Land of Incorruptible People Burkina Faso is a landlocked West African country that was colonized by France. It gained its independence on Aug. 5, 1960. The name Burkina Faso translates to mean “land of incorruptible people." The capital of Burkina Faso is Ouagadougou. Written as “Wogodogo” in the Mòoré dialect, it literally means “You are welcome here at home with us." The Volta-Bani War from 1915 to 1916 was an anticolonial conflict in the Volta and Bani regions. This war was the largest challenge the French faced in their West African colonial empire. When Marxist-Leninist Thomas Sankara took control of Burkina Faso in 1983, he challenged the traditional Mossi chiefs, advocated women's liberation and allied the country with North Korea, Libya and Cuba. He was president from 1983 to 1987. Sankara’s government included a large number of women because he championed women’s rights. As president, Sankara changed the name of the country in 1984 to Burkina Faso, which combines two of the nation's languages. During the French occupation and before the name change, the country was called Upper Volta. It was named for the Volta River, which is divided into the Black Volta, White Volta and Red Volta. Burkina Faso is a major leader of art and culture. The country is home to the largest craft market in Africa, located in the capital, Ouagadougou. The country’s most successful festival is the biennial Pan-African Film Festival, held in Ouagadougou since 1965. The festival attracts an estimated 5,000 participants and has aided the development of French-African cinema. The flag was adopted when Sankara came into power. The red is said to symbolize the revolution; the green, the abundance of natural resources. The yellow star placed over the stripes serves as a guiding light to the revolution. Today, Blaise Compaoré is president of Burkina Faso. He led a coup against Sankara in 1987, and he has been in power ever since. His coup came as a shock because Compaoré was a trusted ally of Sankara's. Sankara was assassinated during Compaoré's coup.

Burkina Faso, Land of Incorruptible People

<img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-196852" alt="BF1" src="https://atlantablackstar.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/BF1.jpg" width="275" height="183" />

Related Stories

Thomas Sankara, the ‘African Che Guevara’ Who Tried to Save Burkina Faso from French Imperialism

Burkina Faso May Have Beat the West to a Sickle Cell Anemia Cure

The Islamic State Waging War on Vulnerable Areas of Africa