Meet Captain Ibrahim Traore, the now interim President of Burkina Faso who is praised as the modern Sankara of the West African Country.
Captain Ibrahim Traore rose to power through a mutiny that ousted Paul Henry Sandaogo Bamiba in September 2022 and was sworn in as a transitional President in October, the same year at the age of 34.
The now 35 years head of state is the youngest President in the world having been born in 1988 in Bondokuy, Burkina Faso.
Ibrahim Traore attended early education in his hometown and transitioned to Bobo-Dioulasso for secondary school education. After completing his secondary school education, he joined the University of Ouagadougou in 2006 and graduated with honors in 2009.
Following his graduation from the University of Ouagadougou, he enlisted in joined the Burkinabe army the same year and impressed his seniors prompting them to send him for anti-aircraft training in Morocco.
Upon his coming back, he was promoted to lieutenant in 2014 before being deployed to serve in various missions including the United Nations Peace Keeping Mission in Northern Parts of Mali in 2018.
He also participated in numerous counter-insurgency operations against Islamist groups and ethnic insurgents and once again his bosses were impressed by his bravery and commitment to defend his country.
In 2019, he was deployed to the Northern parts of Burkina Faso to deal with an insurgency that had resulted in a humanitarian crisis with a quarter of the population facing food insecurity.
While still in the Northern parts of Burkina Faso, he was once again promoted to captain due to his commendable work.
It is when he was a captain that the military felt unsatisfied with the civilian government and a coup led by Paul Henry Sandaogo Damiba was hatched and executed in January 2022.
There were, however, no recognizable improvements in the Damiba regime. Many military officers especially those in remote areas did not receive their salaries on time. To make it worse, in mid-September eleven military officers were killed by insurgents in the Northern parts of Burkina Faso.
This made Traore rally his fellow soldiers against Damiba regime who fled the country upon the ouster. Traore was installed as the transitional President and promised that the country will hold its election on or before 2024.
