The Quest for Economic Sovereignty in Burkina Faso - From Thomas Sankara to Ibrahim Traoré

Our theme for 2025 is “Community Engagement & the Grassroots of Change.” Throughout the year we explore the stories, strategies, and successes of community-driven movements making a difference. Reimagining the Power of Burkina Faso: A Converstation with Leontine Osuagwu Leontine Osuagwu's home country is Burkia Faso. She is the co-founder of Dunamis Global Empowerment Ministries with her husband, Emeka Osuagwu, where they empower nations through Liberation, Transformation, and Dominion, and the founder of Leo’s Leadership Lounge, where she equips today’s leaders to rise as authentic, emotionally intelligent catalysts for transformational change. With over 20 years of leadership experience across corporate, nonprofit, and for-profit sectors, she helps leaders cultivate the mindset, strategy, and emotional intelligence needed to lead with excellence and create sustainable impact.
Economic Sovereignty in Burkina Faso: From Thomas Sankara to Ibrahim Traoré In the previous episode we drew the line from community engagement and cooperative economics to sovereignty. In his book, Sovereign Psyche, Prof Ezrah Aharone defines the sovereign mindset as “an energizing mindset, consciousness, and thought process by which people define and express freedom through the unique particularities of their political and ideological self-identity.” In this episode we dig into the role of sovereign psyche in the African nation of Burkina Faso under the past leadership of Thomas Sankara (1949-1987) and current leader, President Ibrahim Traoré.
Watch: https://youtu.be/uTaThO3mbZo