Walking through the streets of Burkina Faso or any of the other Francophone countries, you are sure to find some remnants of French colonialism. It could be a street named after a French colonial ruler or a statue of one French colonial master or even the French language spoken by a passerby. They are all evidence that at one time these African countries were under French rule and they tried to impose their culture, ideas, and language on the African people. Although the African people resented the domination by France and other Western powers which led to the struggle for independence which they later attained, some of the remnant colonialism which paid tribute to the colonial masters were left untouched. However, with the wave of coups in recent times which has led to anti-french sentiments rising across the continent and French forces getting kicked out, some African leaders have gone further to remove traces of their colonial masters.
For instance, Mali recently removed French as the official language of the country, and now in Burkina Faso, a major street in the capital city of Ouagadougou which was named after the French colonial-era leader Charles de Gaulle has been replaced with that of Thomas Sankara, a Pan-Africanist, hero of Burkina Faso and beloved former president. The street was formerly called Boulevard Charles de Gaulle but has now been changed to Boulevard Thomas Sankara. The formal renaming of Boulevard Charles de Gaulle to Boulevard Thomas Sankara took place at a ceremony on Sunday, commemorating the 36th anniversary of Sankara's assassination. The military junta of the country, Ibrahim Traore was present at the anniversary and he was the one who laid the foundation stone for a Thomas Sankara mausoleum. He was also the one who renamed the street after Sankara, Burkina Faso’s hero.
