Burkina Faso: « The military did not bring added value in terms of security », Pr Abdoul Karim Saïdou, political scientist

« Le Balai Citoyen » in collaboration with other civil society organizations organized a public conference on Saturday May 28, 2022 in Ouagadougou. The objective of this conference was to stimulate debate around the conduct of the Transition in a context of resurgence of terrorist attacks.

While one of the arguments put forward by the military to justify the putsch of January 24 was the worsening of the security situation, the results in terms of security are still awaited. Civil society organizations (CSOs) want to immerse themselves in the ins and outs of this Transition.

« What trajectory for the Transition », it is under this general theme that the three panelists Pr Abdoul Karim Saïdou, Abdoulaye Barry and Boureima Ouédraogo looked to analyze the conduct of the current traditional power.

For all of these panelists, three months after the coup, the authorities are still struggling to offer credible alternatives to get the country out of the clutches of terrorists.

According to the political scientist, Pr Abdoul Karim Saïdou, the military did not bring added value in terms of security. “I don’t see a significant improvement in terms of safety. As much under the previous regime we had victories and failures, as much under this transition regime we have victories and failures. « , he said.

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Better, the current power only follows the paths traced by President Roch Kaboré. “Since it is the national security policy adopted under the previous regime that is currently being implemented and considered public policy. Even the transition agenda is largely inspired by this same security policy developed under the previous regime following the national security forum,” explains the political scientist.

This opinion is shared Abdoulaye Barry, political analyst and panelist of the day. For him, « neither the power of the People’s Movement for Progress (MPP), nor the current Transition have succeeded in uniting Burkinabè around the essential thing of saving the country from danger ». This is linked to the lack of patriotism and disinterestedness at the level of the rulers especially.

“It is unjustifiable that our honorable deputies work three months and receive twelve months’ salary. This is why we had offered free mandates. This was not intended to make the latter miserable, since they will receive bonuses of 30,000f per day for the 90 days of session and will continue to receive their original salaries, ”he explains.

Boureima Ouédraogo, an investigative journalist, believes that the results of the restoration promised by the military are « chaotic ». “The path taken by the Patriotic Movement for Safeguarding and Restoration (MPSR) is far from being a process of restoring territorial integrity. It’s more of a chaotic trajectory,” he argues.

And as proof, he continues, even “the CSOs that supported the MPSR no longer know where to turn”. This is why this panelist proposes, among other things, the peaceful return of a civilian to power, a transition period of 18 months, the dissolution of the current government and the establishment of a tight and disinterested government and the return of the military. in the barracks.
Yaovi AGBEGNIGAN