The BBC has always been trigger-happy when it comes to firing off negative headlines about Africa. On Thursday, it claimed Burkina Faso’s President Ibrahim Traoré “sparked concern” at an inauguration ceremony in Ghana by carrying a gun. But people on X were quick to fact-check the mainstream outlet, pointing out in a community note that no one in attendance was the least bit bothered by the captain’s holstered pistol. The enthusiastic cheers Traoré received in Accra’s Black Star Square confirm this version of events.
But there is a sense in which the BBC might be right. The revolutionary Burkinabe leader has been causing Western governments and their mouthpiece newsrooms concern, as they are more used to pliant African leaders who enable them to exploit the continent as they please. Since coming to power, Traoré has carried out much-needed reforms, such as giving the French military the boot and giving Burkinabe people more control over their resources.
As a new generation of conscious, pan-African leaders emerges in the Sahel and across Africa, we can only hope there will be more grounds for ‘concern’ at the BBC!