Traorés

Burkina Faso's Bold Gamble on Gold: A Nation Looks Inward OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — In a remarkable turn of events since the 2022 military takeover, Burkina Faso’s interim government proudly reports revenues of $18 billion stemming from its gold mining sector. Captain Ibrahim Traoré, the figure at the helm of this transformation, took power with a mission to reclaim the nation’s substantial natural wealth for its people. Gold, often romanticized and fraught with stories of both triumph and tragedy, is now…

On September 30, 2022, Ibrahim Traoré seized power in a military coup that removed then-interim president Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba. Interestingly, Damiba himself had only ascended to leadership eight months earlier through a similar means. The recurrent theme of military takeovers raises an intriguing question: what drives such instability in Burkina Faso and its neighboring countries? Ibrahim Traoré's Rise to Power and Popularity Traoré, an artillery officer with a significant role in counterterrorism…