The Storyline
Captain Thomas Sankara became president of Upper Volta in 1983 at 33. A year later he renamed it Burkina Faso, the Land of Upright People. In four years his government vaccinated millions of children, planted millions of trees, fought for the rights of women and sold off the official limousines. He played guitar, rode a bicycle and drove a small car. He was assassinated on 15 October 1987, at the age of 37.
Chapter I · The Guitar Captain
A young officer who reads Marx and plays the guitar in a band. He wins the hearts of soldiers and farmers alike by speaking plainly about poverty, pride and self-reliance.
Chapter II · Upright
In 1984 Upper Volta becomes Burkina Faso. Sankara launches nationwide vaccination drives, literacy campaigns and a green wall of trees against the advancing desert.
Chapter III · No Limousines
Ministers lose their Mercedes. Salaries shrink, starting with his own. Women are named to government. Not everyone in power is happy with a leader who lives like his people.
Chapter IV · Ideas Cannot Be Killed
On 15 October 1987 Sankara is killed in a coup. The country mourns quietly, then loudly. Decades later a new generation across Africa wears his face on its chest and repeats his words.
While revolutionaries as individuals can be murdered, you cannot kill ideas.
