Commentary: Signal From The 'Land Of Upright People'

In the West African nation of Burkina Faso, Parliament is burning. For days, protesters have been demonstrating against President Blaise Compaoré - a warning to all African rulers, says DW's Claus Stäcker.

What does the world care about a violent uprising in Burkina Faso? What's so interesting about this "land of upright people"? In Germany, the ambitious Opera Village project in Burkina Faso, which was created by German film director Cristoph Schlingensief, is talked about more often than the country's falling president. Who's heard of Compaoré before?



A quick look at the former French colony proves to be worthwhile. Compaoré himself came to power in 1987 as the result of a coup. He eliminated the widely popular leader Thomas Sankara, who had conquered hearts with humility and revolutionary gesture. Sankara's legendary state car was a Renault 5 - Burkina Faso's cheapest car.



Constitution coup was unsuccessful



After Sankara and other "traitors" were killed, Compaoré stylized himself as the true guardian of the "democratic people's revolution." But despite his 27 years in office, he remained a suspicious autocrat, even when, after a decade, he allowed military-ruled parties and media diversity. In 2000, he allowed for the constitution to be amended for the first time, in order to be able to stay in power. Again and again he mercilessly struck down political and social protests, most recently in 2011. Since last year, Compaoré has also simultaneously been head of state and the minister of defense. But his attempt to change the constitution again, in order to allow him two more terms in office, has failed. This ungainly takeover of parliament has riled the country's people - the "Burkinabé." Compaorés' "constitutional coup" - as critics have named the feat - was the spark to a flame. And the Parliament in Ouagadougou really did go up in flames.



In the uprising there is hope - and a clear signal. Blaise Compaorés time is up and the period of everlasting old men in Africa is over. The people are fighting back against long-standing leaders like Compaorés and, if necessary, with violence. In more and more African countries, after an election defeat or two terms in office, presidents are constitutionally resigning.



It was in Benin, an even smaller country than Burkina Faso, that in 1991 Mathieu Kérékou set an example and was the first in Africa to stand down after an election defeat. In Zambia, Kenneth Kaunda showed how it was done and in Mosambique, two presidents have already stepped down after two terms in office. In Ghana, even the coup leader Jerry Rawlings led a transition to democracy. Nelson Mandela in South Africa sat for a single term and his successor, Thabo Mbeki, also didn't stay for long. South Africa's current President, Jacob Zuma, won't be daring to infringe the constitution either.







Sea of change in Africa



Africans are no longer allowing themselves to be taken for fools. They're mostly young, self-confident people who, through the internet and social media, are informed and well-connected with the world. For them, the heroic stories from the struggle for liberation have expired. Post-colonial long-term leaders like Robert Mugabe (90) in Zimbabwe, Paul Biya (81) in Cameroon, José Eduardo dos Santos in Angola (72) or Teodoro Obiang Nguema (72) in Equatorial-Guinea are discontinued models.



And yet some, like Congolese Joseph Kabila, have apparently still not heard the signals. Kabila has been in power since 2001, meaning that 2016 would bring an irreversible end. But still his allies continue to prepare a constitutional amendment. In Burundi, President Pierre Nkurunziza is pottering about in his third term in office. By 2019 he will have already been in power for 14 years. Men like him are playing with fire! Africa has changed. The era of smug, political, old men is over. Therefore today, Burkina Faso's name as "land of upright people" represents not only a country an entire continent.