Ahmed Newton Barry has struck again. From his gilded exile in Paris, the former president of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) delivered an outburst as grotesque as it was pathetic on France 24 that outlet which has made disinformation about Burkina Faso a house specialty. According to this worthy representative of the political class that the Burkinabè people sent packing, the country is sliding toward “a watered-down version of China” or “a situation tending toward North Korea.” Nothing less.
The trick is crude, but it deserves to be taken apart. Mr. Barry, who clearly has not set foot in Faso for ages, presumes to lecture on democracy a people that rose up twice, in 1966 and 2014, precisely to defend its freedom.
This man, whose record at the head of CENI remains a model of opacity and confusion, dares to speak of a “wrecking of democracy,” when it was his political generation that organized the systematic plundering of national resources, open corruption, and the instrumentalization of institutions.
Four years after Captain Ibrahim Traoré came to power, the facts are stubborn. Burkina Faso produces its own armored vehicles, is building its own gold refinery, is achieving food self-sufficiency, trains its military officers in its own War College, and mobilizes more than 250 billion CFA francs in domestic resources to finance its defense.
That is the “wrecking” Mr. Barry is talking about. Meanwhile, political parties continue to exist, the press continues to publish, and elections have been announced. Mr. Barry’s “North Korea” looks strangely like a country breathing regained dignity.
But what can one expect from a man who chose to flee rather than face the responsibilities of his generation? What can one hope for from an exile who, far from the realities on the ground, prefers Parisian TV sets to constructive debate? Nothing but delusions served up to a Western audience hungry for sensationalism.
The truth is that Mr. Barry and his ilk cannot stand seeing Burkina Faso rise without them. They cannot stand that African youth see in Ibrahim Traoré a model of upright and sovereign leadership. Their only hope is that propaganda media like France 24 will amplify their fantasies.
The Burkinabe people, for their part, know the difference between false prophets in exile and true builders. The Night of the Progressive Popular Revolution, celebrated by millions of citizens, is shining proof of it.
Aminou TIDJIANE
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