By Akinwale Kasali
Burkina Faso’s Junta leader, Ibrahim Traore, an Army Captain, has made history. The 34-Year old who came from obscurity to prominence, thanks to a coup d’etat, has become the World’s youngest Leader.
Traore, the head of disgruntled young officers ousted Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who had seized power just in January.
The motive for the latest coup – as in January – was anger at failures to stem a seven-year jihadist insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives and driven nearly two million people from their homes.
On Wednesday, Traore was declared President and “Guarantor of National Independence, Territorial Integrity … And Continuity Of The State.”
In becoming the world’s youngest leader, he succeeds Chilean President Gabriel Boric, 36, who held the title.
Traore’s previously unknown face is now plastered on portraits around the capital, Ouagadougou.
His photo is even on sale in the main market, alongside portraits of Burkina’s revered assassinated radical leader, Thomas Sankara, and of Jesus.
Traore was born in Bondokuy, in western Burkina Faso, and studied Geology in Ouagadougou before joining the Army in 2010.
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