Former president of Burkina Faso, Thomas Sankara, once made the profound statement: “He who feeds you, controls you.”
Sankara, who was assassinated in 1987, just four years after he became the leader of the “land of upright people”, is one of the greatest revolutionaries the African continent has ever had. During his short time in power, he launched an unprecedented series of social, economic and ecological reforms that would go on to shape the future of not just Burkina Faso, but many other parts of the continent.
The defining principle of Sankara’s regime was anti-imperialism, which manifests in the employing of hard power (economic and military power) and soft power (diplomatic power and cultural imperialism). As a military officer in French-colonised Burkina Faso, he had a strong opposition to colonialism, which had been fashioned in Africa by European powers through the use of military force and conquest.
Sankara’s anti-imperialism philosophy shaped the policies that his government architected in the West African nation. He rejected loans and capital from Bretton Woods institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, arguing that they were designed to keep developing countries in chains.
He only accepted development aid that would enhance the self-sufficiency of Burkinabes. Sankara was especially critical of the structural adjustment programmes (SAPs) that were imposed on countries that took loans from these institutions. His argument was not baseless.
Empirical evidence has demonstrated that SAPs have been disastrous wherever they have been implemented in Africa. Despite claims that they would promote economic growth, SAPs deepened poverty and inequalities in many countries.
Their prioritisation of debt repayment over long-term development needs meant that countries emerging from centuries of colonialism would be trapped in a cycle of dependency. The anchor of SAPs, trade liberalisation, reduced government spending and privatisation, led to increased poverty, unemployment and inadequate investment in crucial sectors such as health care and education.
Sankara believed that for a country to free itself of imperialism, it needed to be self-sufficient and auto-centric in its development. For this to happen, a country could not be reliant on foreign aid, which he believed always came with conditions.
The recent actions of US president, Donald Trump vindicate Sankara’s principle. Two weeks ago, Trump signed an executive order that implemented a 90-day pause in most foreign aid, which is mainly distributed through USAid.
The organisation was established in 1961 by Democratic president John F Kennedy with the aim of better co-ordinating foreign assistance. It now administers about 60% of US foreign assistance and disbursed $43.79bn (R821bn) in the 2023 fiscal year.
According to the recent Congressional Research Service (CRS), its workforce of 10,000, about two-thirds of whom serve overseas, assisted about 130 countries. Developing countries in the poorest regions of the world rely heavily on this assistance.
Half of the top 10 recipients of aid from the said organisation are African countries, namely: Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Nigeria, Somalia and South Sudan. Other African countries are also dependent on the organisation for aid.
After the executive order, many countries find themselves in a crisis where they have no means to take care of the needs of their citizens. The funding cut will affect many projects aimed at poverty alleviation and other key areas of human development. It is an unmitigated disaster in the making.
But the reality is that this was always going to be the outcome of Africa’s dependency on aid from the US. Trump’s agenda is unambiguous – the national interests of his country are number one, and anyone who doesn’t fall in line will be punished, even if it means starving entire populations. Sankara was right. He who does not feed you can demand nothing of you, and he who feeds you controls you. This moment in history is a lesson.
Trump's withdrawal of aid vindicates Sankara
Columnist
Image: SUPPLIED
Former president of Burkina Faso, Thomas Sankara, once made the profound statement: “He who feeds you, controls you.”
Sankara, who was assassinated in 1987, just four years after he became the leader of the “land of upright people”, is one of the greatest revolutionaries the African continent has ever had. During his short time in power, he launched an unprecedented series of social, economic and ecological reforms that would go on to shape the future of not just Burkina Faso, but many other parts of the continent.
The defining principle of Sankara’s regime was anti-imperialism, which manifests in the employing of hard power (economic and military power) and soft power (diplomatic power and cultural imperialism). As a military officer in French-colonised Burkina Faso, he had a strong opposition to colonialism, which had been fashioned in Africa by European powers through the use of military force and conquest.
Sankara’s anti-imperialism philosophy shaped the policies that his government architected in the West African nation. He rejected loans and capital from Bretton Woods institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, arguing that they were designed to keep developing countries in chains.
He only accepted development aid that would enhance the self-sufficiency of Burkinabes. Sankara was especially critical of the structural adjustment programmes (SAPs) that were imposed on countries that took loans from these institutions. His argument was not baseless.
Empirical evidence has demonstrated that SAPs have been disastrous wherever they have been implemented in Africa. Despite claims that they would promote economic growth, SAPs deepened poverty and inequalities in many countries.
Their prioritisation of debt repayment over long-term development needs meant that countries emerging from centuries of colonialism would be trapped in a cycle of dependency. The anchor of SAPs, trade liberalisation, reduced government spending and privatisation, led to increased poverty, unemployment and inadequate investment in crucial sectors such as health care and education.
Sankara believed that for a country to free itself of imperialism, it needed to be self-sufficient and auto-centric in its development. For this to happen, a country could not be reliant on foreign aid, which he believed always came with conditions.
The recent actions of US president, Donald Trump vindicate Sankara’s principle. Two weeks ago, Trump signed an executive order that implemented a 90-day pause in most foreign aid, which is mainly distributed through USAid.
The organisation was established in 1961 by Democratic president John F Kennedy with the aim of better co-ordinating foreign assistance. It now administers about 60% of US foreign assistance and disbursed $43.79bn (R821bn) in the 2023 fiscal year.
According to the recent Congressional Research Service (CRS), its workforce of 10,000, about two-thirds of whom serve overseas, assisted about 130 countries. Developing countries in the poorest regions of the world rely heavily on this assistance.
Half of the top 10 recipients of aid from the said organisation are African countries, namely: Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Nigeria, Somalia and South Sudan. Other African countries are also dependent on the organisation for aid.
After the executive order, many countries find themselves in a crisis where they have no means to take care of the needs of their citizens. The funding cut will affect many projects aimed at poverty alleviation and other key areas of human development. It is an unmitigated disaster in the making.
But the reality is that this was always going to be the outcome of Africa’s dependency on aid from the US. Trump’s agenda is unambiguous – the national interests of his country are number one, and anyone who doesn’t fall in line will be punished, even if it means starving entire populations. Sankara was right. He who does not feed you can demand nothing of you, and he who feeds you controls you. This moment in history is a lesson.
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