Nationals of the village of Nasso blocked the way to young people who were going to the Guinguette to swim there on March 8, 2023. The day after this act, a team from L’Express du Faso went to Nasso, about fifteen kilometers from Bobo, to find out the motivations of these nationals. The team was welcomed by the village chief and his closest associates.
On this morning of March 9, 2023, on our mount facing a dry wind with the sun already burning, it took us less than 30 minutes to reach Nasso. The traffic on the track is fluid, which does not prevent us from playing the card of caution, because the asphalt is strewn with potholes. We are finally in Nasso. After a few slaloms between the trees, here we are with the village chief, Tioro Sanou. At his side, head of notables, advisers and a member of the CVD among others. After the salamalecs, place to the exchanges. To hear Dieudonné Sanou, a national of Nasso, the reasons for the erection of the dam by them are multiple.
“These children circulate very badly…”
From the outset, Dieudonné Sanou makes us understand that lovers of wild swimming at the Guinguette circulate very badly on the path leading to this place. He explains that it is with ease that they do speeding and acrobatics, very often without being worried by the police. Their actions have led to accidents several times, unfortunately between them or with local residents. What he also deplores is the time taken by the firefighters to intervene when this happens. He recognizes all the same that the forces of order act on the said way, but finds that very insufficient, in view of the gravity of the situation.
“This is not a swimming place”
It is up to Dieudonné Sanou to affirm that “Besides, the Guinguette is not a place for swimming”. He argues that when swimming begins, at their level, women can no longer help themselves to water in the river in question. The water becomes cloudy and is full of impurities because in this same water, “others dare to have sex”. He adds “that we don’t even want people to bathe in that river anymore”. Dokaba Sanou mouths the same trumpet as Dieudonné Sanou. For him, it is inconceivable that when people come and leave the Guinguette, that there are used condoms. It is a total lack of respect, according to the latter. Those who commit these acts are surely unaware of the damage it causes, points out Dokaba Sanou. These acts are forbidden and they are tired of each time making sacrifices to rectify the situation by calming the anger of the ancestors.
“We will continue with the blockade”
Dokaba Sanou is clear. “We will continue with the blockade” because what is happening at the Guinguette is not good. What we do is not just for Nasso, but also Bobo-Dioulasso and the surrounding area. If we don’t act like this, the river will dry up and that won’t help anyone. For Gaston Sanou, head of the notables of Nasso, the river has its prohibitions and those who bathe in it only transgress them. To hear our interlocutor, complaints have been filed but not followed up. So he says that the authorities are aware, but he wonders why nothing is done? To hear it, this is one of the reasons for their March 8 release. “We decided to act ourselves”, he throws. Before adding that if the authorities are not going to properly manage the safety of users of this road and residents in addition to the safety of the Guinguette, they will act.
“We must take this matter seriously”
For the chief of the village of Nasso, Tioro Sanou, the question of water is so delicate that it must be taken seriously. It is unimaginable for him that one can maintain intimate relations in the river or in the forest. “It is inconceivable! In Nasso here, we only drink dirt,” to hear the village chief and his collaborators. For the time being, the authorities are questioned by these same residents who want them to be able to manage this situation.
framed
Young people from the village of Kokorowé also erect roadblocks
On March 8, 2023, nationals of the village of Kokorowé located a few kilometers from Nasso, also erected dams to prevent wild swimming that day at the Guinguette. The reasons are the same as those mentioned by the young people of the village of Nasso. The chief of the village of Kokorowé and the notables are in solidarity with this decision which, according to the nationals of these two villages, is likely to clean up the place and for their own safety in traffic.
Abdoul-Karim Etienne SANON
Ben Alassane DAO/ back from Nasso
