This is a column by journalist Lookmann Sawadogo.
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THE NATIONAL MORTGAGE!
We wage war better in peace of heart. In Burkina, we are and are waging the war divided, enemies of each other, and in wars.
We have to solve this problem of reconciliation and cohesion. Both civil and military. If we want to be effective on the ground.
Then, we must seriously consider war in all its possible forms. The ultra-military and exclusive option is uncertain, and there is no proof that it will yield results by then. In any case, 7 years later, we are bogged down even more despite all the efforts and the extreme sacrifice of the FDS and the VDP.
You have to courageously go to the negotiation. In Mali as in Niger, there are these discussion frameworks. This does not exclude military engagement either, where necessary. At least, there are possibilities and chances to save certain situations and allow the State to oxygenate itself and to ensure certain vital sovereign missions for the benefit of the populations.
A poor and fragile state like ours cannot be part of a long-term war. The state will eventually cease to exist.
In my last work entitled “Power, Army, Ethnicity and religion: How to avoid implosion?”, I proposed the opening of a national process of search for peace. This framework opened by the State could officially invite internal armed groups to the discussion table. We must bring everyone to the light.
We could associate influential partners on the issue such as Algeria, Qatar and the UN.
Our country will not be able to survive total war. Trade and agriculture will become ruins. It is these two sectors, agricultural and commercial, that support more than 90% of Burkinabè.
[Les terroristes] chasing the rural people from the land and the investors from the country, how can the State have the resources to finance the war which is very expensive, moreover.
For example, to neutralize 10 terrorists on 5 Aloba motorcycles worth 450,000/unit, our armed drones will use missiles costing between 20 and 50 million francs. We can budget for a single week of missile firings for an average of 3 firings/day.
If today the government grants mining concessions, requisitions quantities of gold from mining companies and offers sovereign guarantees, perhaps the second time after independence, it is because there is a chasm grows deeper every day of war that must be filled. When he has no choice. Donors have suspended aid to the country for diplomatic reasons that we all know. But also, because the Treasury is dry. No money in the
crates. Economic activity being almost at a standstill, there is practically no more revenue from customs and taxes.
The authorities of the MPSR2 are tearing their hair out to find it difficult to find the finances to face the colossal needs of the war.
But for how long ? Even the hair ends up like mines too.
Ask ourselves the following questions, before the end of the war: How many sovereign guarantees will we distribute? How much gold will we requisition? How many mines are we going to divest by direct deal? Against money and against military equipment? It is towards the mortgage of the country that we are going.
It is for this reason that it is necessary to convene all the Burkinabè around a table in order to find common solutions. The “I”, the “me” are dead in Burkina. Let’s mourn them and change software. It is the “we” who must now govern for our great happiness.
Lookmann Sawadogo
Editorial journalist
Auteur
