The Colonial History of Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso has a remarkable history owing to repeated dissolution and reunification of its territory. Following the French colonial conquest in 1896, a military territory was established over a large part of what would become Upper Volta. In 1905, the military territory was integrated in the civilian colony of Upper Senegal and Niger with headquarters in Bamako. Following a major anticolonial war in 1915–16, the colony of Upper Volta with Ouagadougou as its capital was created in 1919, for security reasons and as a labor reservoir for neighboring colonies. Dismantled in 1932, Upper Volta was partitioned among neighboring colonies. It was recreated after World War II as an Overseas Territory (Territoire d’Outre-mer) within the newly created French Union (Union française). In 1960, Upper Volta gained its independence, but the nation experienced a new beginning in 1983 when it was renamed Burkina Faso by the revolutionary government of Thomas Sankara. The policies and debates that shaped the colonial history of Burkina Faso, while important in themselves, are a reflection of the larger West African history and French colonial policy.

Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) shares many of the problems of other countries in the Sahel. Those include an arid and increasingly difficult climate, a weak economy, high levels of poverty, a youthful and rapidly growing population, ethnic and religious tensions, and a history of poor governance. While most states in the region also have experienced notable political instability, Burkina Faso has had a particular tendency toward rebellion, ranging from a military-led revolutionary experience in the 1980s to a popular insurrection that toppled a long-ruling autocrat in 2014. The latter upheaval brought a restoration of democracy, constitutional order, and the possibility of major reform. That progress, however, has been threatened by an escalation of regional and local jihadi attacks since 2015. As security has increased in priority for Burkina Faso, so has the country’s direct collaboration and engagement with its Sahelian neighbors.

Decolonisation and the African Dilemma Tale: A Feast of African Superheroes, Magicians and Beautiful Princesses

The African consciousness has been wholly subsumed by Western ideology and resurfaces only in misrecognition and habitual disavowal. Valorising everything European, a history of haplessly succumbing to the seductions of Western rationality and perspectives has led to the denial and erasure of self and culture. In its place, the morbid African has been birthed, confronting his othering in self-defeating acquiescence and accepting his servile status as natural and ordained. Indeed, there is no ready panacea for centuries of exploitation and domination. This article suggests that one way to counter these ideological formations is to provide pathways to recognise the self. There can be no better way of doing this than to rekindle the myth, folklore and aphorisms long extinguished on the altar of Western education. Consequently, this study explores African dilemma tales as counter hegemonic narratives that may shape our consciousness, remind us of cultural wisdom effaced by colonial authority, and afford us the opportunity to celebrate our own African superheroes, magicians and extraordinarily beautiful princesses. The tales are drawn from the Ovimbundu from Angola, the Bura in Nigeria, the Bete of the Ivory Coast, the Vai and Hausa from Liberia, the Mano and Gio from Liberia, the Krachi from Togo and the Mossi of the Upper Volta, with an intertextual reference to other tribes on the continent. Using the lens of postcolonialism (eclectically drawn from Looma, Wiredu, Said, Heleta, Fanon and Ng?g? wa Thiong’o, amongst others), this article enthuses over African dilemma tales and motivates a trenchant case for its transformational and pedagogical value in our curriculum.