Journey from Dependency to True Independence and Interdependency
There is a child in every corner of Africa who weeps — not only for what was stolen, but for what was never truly alive in the heart of his people. For what was promised, yet hollowed; for what was declared, yet compromised.
President Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso stands today as a living paradox — a mirror in which that child sees both agony and hope, memory and demand, accusation and possibility. He embodies the defiance of a generation that refuses to inherit silence, submission, and slavery disguised as sovereignty.
A Journey Through Agony: The Trinity of Evil — Slave Trade, Colonialism, and Neo-Imperialism
To understand why Traoré’s rise is more than politics, we must first travel the weary, blood-stained road of Africa’s past: the Transatlantic Slave Trade, Colonialism, and the persistent grip of Neo-Imperialism. These are not academic footnotes. They are Africa’s open wounds — the original fractures that still bleed into her present realities.
- The Transatlantic Slave Trade — The Theft of a Generation
The slave trade tore bodies, histories, families, and languages apart. It exported not only people but memories, cultures, and spiritual legacies. It drained a continent of its youth — when youth is life’s promise and future’s seed. Africa’s brightest sons and daughters became commodities on foreign shores, and her heartbeat weakened with every chained voyage across the Atlantic.
- Colonialism — The Rewriting of Reality
Colonialism reframed reality itself. The colonizer’s language became the “official.” Their systems became “civilization.” Their identity became “standard.” Our kingdoms and knowledge systems were demeaned; our cultural expressions ridiculed. The colonial masters claimed to civilize — yet much of what was civil was silenced, replaced, or reduced.
Africa’s borders were drawn with imperial rulers, her economies built for extraction, and her people made to believe they could not think, rule, or thrive without foreign guidance.
- Neo-Imperialism — The Evolution of the Chains
When colonial flags fell, the chains changed form. Aid became control. Loans became chains. “Free trade” became a highway for foreign profit, with local labor and resources paying the toll. Policies, currencies, and even ideas were imported wholesale. Technology and governance models were borrowed — not built.
Thus, independence became more cosmetic than structural. Africa’s sovereignty remained contested. Her resources still harvested by outsiders, and her people — too often — still forgotten.
Generations have grown up under the promise: “We are independent.”
Yet many now ask: Independent to what end? Free to do what? Master of what?
Ibrahim Traoré: Embodiment of the Uncomfortable Questions
Enter Ibrahim Traoré — the young military officer who rose to power in September 2022. He is both symbol and substance — the embodiment of a continental restlessness. He carries within him the unspoken questions of a new generation: the millennials and Gen Z Africans who no longer bow to the myth of benevolent dependency.
He is the echo of Africa’s new sons and daughters who refuse to accept lip-service freedom and ceremonial sovereignty.
He dares to ask aloud what our elders feared to whisper:
Why, in this era of global connectivity and knowledge at our fingertips, is Africa still forced to take orders from foreign capitals and financial institutions?
Why do foreign companies extract our gold, cocoa, and oil unrefined — shipping wealth away while local youth starve or migrate?
Why are our national boundaries intact only on maps, while vast regions — from the Sahel to the Horn — remain outside the effective control of their states, governed instead by insurgents or aid agencies?
Traoré does not pretend to have solved all these questions. But in his brief time in power, he has shown the courage to wrestle — not for fame, but for dignity.
Acts of Resurrection: What Traoré Has Done
Some of Traoré’s actions resemble a continental resurrection — the stirring of a long-buried spirit.
He has distanced Burkina Faso from its former colonial master, France, reducing dependency and asserting sovereignty. French troops were expelled; new alliances were sought — on African and non-Western terms.
He is nationalizing key industries, pushing for local gold refining to keep value within Burkina Faso.
He has launched domestic agricultural and industrial initiatives, building factories, dairy projects, and cotton processing plants — challenging Africa’s historic dependence on imported goods and unstable cash crops.
He champions Pan-Africanism. Through the Alliance of Sahel States with Mali and Niger, he signals a new continental consciousness — one that defines security, diplomacy, and economic cooperation through African solidarity, not foreign patronage.
Traoré’s defiance is not just political; it is spiritual and generational — a cry that Africa must now write her own destiny.
The Tension: Light and Shadow
But every archetype carries contradictions. Traoré’s reign is not without tension. For every courageous act, there is a cost. For every light, a shadow.
The security situation remains dire. Vast areas are still under insurgent threat. Civilians continue to suffer displacement and fear.
Concerns over democratic freedoms — including press limitations and extended transitional timelines — raise questions about balancing stability with liberty.
Resource nationalism, though noble, is fraught with risk: corruption, external sabotage, and the absence of local capacity can undermine noble visions.
True independence must be matched with true integrity. For without justice and accountability, even liberation can become another form of bondage.
For the millennials and the Gen Z, president Yahaya Traore is both a prophetic sign and a symbol for Africa truest independence and freedom. The question before us now is how to capitalise on the gains and momentum of the moments and turn the Burkina’s experience from a personal story to a continental movement? How do we make it an institutional system rather than a mere revolutionary moves?
No doubt the Africa situation has defied many conventional solutions and we cannot afford to throw away what is working simply because it is not conventional or traditional. Extraordinary situations demand extraordinary solutions. We cannot throw away the baby with the bath water. Let’s first save the baby that was well delivered then find a clean system to safely dispose the bad water
The Call of the Millennials and Gen Z: Beyond Lip-Service Freedom
Young Africans are no longer content with empty slogans and symbolic independence. They want transformation, not repetition.
They want:
To define themselves, not be defined — linguistically, culturally, politically.
To govern their land, harness their wealth, educate their children, and heal their sick — without dependency on foreign benevolence.
To be free not just from colonial rule but from mental captivity — the lingering belief that salvation must always come from abroad.
Traoré’s rebellion resonates because it amplifies their silent cry. His dissent is their demand made visible. But admiration must give birth to action — for the liberation of a continent cannot rest on one man’s shoulders; it must flow from the consciousness of an awakened generation.
Why Weeping Still? Why Freedom Still Partial?
Even in the age of satellites, data, and digital enlightenment, Africa remains shrouded in paradoxical darkness:
Schools stand empty or under attack.
Hospitals lack medicines and machines.
Roads and power grids crumble.
Foreign capital still extracts more than it invests.
Corruption feeds the very dependency we denounce.
This is why the African child still weeps. Because freedom — if partial — still feels like another name for refined slavery.
Traoré as Prototype: Lessons for the Awakening Generation
From Traoré’s journey, every young African must learn:
- Memory Matters. You cannot reclaim what you do not remember. Recovering the stories, philosophies, and spiritual wealth of pre-colonial Africa is the first act of liberation.
- Sovereignty Is Non-Negotiable. Control of your land, your laws, your minerals, and your destiny must remain within your hands.
- Action Over Rhetoric. It is easy to denounce the West. Harder to build Africa. True revolution requires systems, not just speeches.
- Critical Faith in Leadership. Love your liberators, but hold them accountable. Freedom dies when power is unchecked.
- Solidarity Beyond Borders. Africa is not fifty-four nations fighting over crumbs — it is one fractured story longing for reunion, one destiny seeking wholeness.
The Mandate of RAREM: From Dependency to True Independence and Interdependency
The Renewed Africa Renaissance Movement (RAREM) stands at the crossroads of this awakening. Its mandate is to give organized voice to the cry of the weeping African child — to channel disillusionment into direction, and frustration into formation.
RAREM exists to:
Reject lip-service independence and demand structural sovereignty.
Revive authentic Afrocentric education — one that recovers what was erased and inspires creation, not imitation.
Rebuild local economies rooted in community, cooperation, and continental trade.
Restore African identity through language, art, dress, and philosophy as primary sources of wisdom and pride.
Reignite moral, intellectual, and spiritual renewal as the foundation of continental transformation.
Africa does not need foreign aid; she needs a reawakened conscience. Not imported ideologies, but indigenous wisdom. Not dependency, but interdependency — built on mutual respect and shared prosperity among her own.
Conclusion: From Weeping to Roaring
President Ibrahim Traoré is not a saint, but he is a sign. A living metaphor of a continent’s cry for redefinition. A prototype of courage in a generation that has decided to stop weeping and start roaring.
To every young African — awakened or still stirring — hear this call:
Your freedom, your dignity, your sovereignty are not gifts to be granted; they are rights to be reclaimed.
They will not descend from heaven or be delivered by foreign aid; they will rise from within you — through vision, unity, discipline, and faith.
Let the tears dry. Let anger crystallize into purpose. Let the child become the adult who refuses to live under recycled chains.
Africa is not stillborn. She is only asleep.
And now, the trumpet of awakening has sounded.
Join Us for the Inauguration of RAREM
🕊️ Date: Saturday, 11th October, 2025
🏛️ Venue: The Ancient City of Kano
🌍 Theme: Africa’s Discovery and Recovery: The Awakening of the Sleeping Giant
Come and be part of one of the most frank, honest, and historic conversations on the future of Africa — her destiny, dignity, and direction.
Don’t be missing when your destiny is being renegotiated.
Barr. Jacob Maigari Nalaya, Esq., ACIArb
Visioneer and Co-Convener, RAREM
Renewed Africa Renaissance Movement (RAREM)
📧 rarem.info@gmail.com | 📞 08130862654
” A movement for the recovery of the sovereign Afrocentric epistemology — towards Africa’s enlightenment, empowerment, emancipation, and prosperity.”