The head of the military junta in Burkina Faso, Captain Ibrahim Traore, on Tuesday reviewed the security situation and shared his vision for the country with students at the Joseph Ki-Zerbo University in Ouagadougou.If not for his military uniform, one would have mistaken Captain Traore for a university teacher in front of students on the Ouagadougou campus, with a tone, sometimes rigorous, sometimes pedagogical.

 He began by expressing his joy at returning to the campus where he studied Geology a few years ago. 

That is why he said he was aware of the situation of the country’s public universities. 

But the junta leader was cautious. 

“We cannot tell you that we will solve all the problems of the campus. If I tell you that, I would be lying to you. But we will do what is necessary. We will bring our response to the situation,” the 34-year-old captain said.

Then he spoke about the security situation, which he blamed on the poor governance of the country in recent decades. 

“We did not choose this war. Burkina did not attack anyone. The root of Burkinabes problem is governance. This is what needs to be fixed,” the military leader said.

Captain Ibrahim Traore acknowledged that terrorist attacks have increased since he came to power in October 2022. 

He stressed that the jihadist groups have not given the new authorities any respite and are increasingly attacking civilian populations. 

“What is happening is that we have resolved to resolve this situation (…). But know that we are fighting them. The attacks have increased, but we are responding. They are trying to make us despair” he admitted.

The president said the army’s offensive actions and the recruitment of more than 90,000 volunteers for the defense of the homeland, whose military training will be completed at the end of January and who will be deployed to the theaters of operation in February 2023, are proofs of this.

Captain Ibrahim Traore has promised that the fight against terrorism would intensify in order to free the country from the scourge which has finally spread its tentacles in all regions of the country. 

“The objective of this fight, for us, is to show some strength because the use of force will depend on the adversary (…). If he understands, we will not use this force, but if he continues to kill our people, we will see ourselves in the obligation…,” he warned.

Another issue discussed between Captain Traore and the students was the quest for national sovereignty. 

He announced a review of certain texts governing cooperation between Burkina and its partners. 

“My major concerns are that the youth remain vigilant. The fight for sovereignty is a long term fight. We are revising a number of texts. We have already started yesterday (Monday, January 16). We will take our sovereignty (…). My great fear is to betray the Burkinabe people,” he said.

According to our sources, the transitional government has begun the review of certain conventions with France, Russia, and countries investing in mining in the land-locked West African country.