THOMAS SANKARA

Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara (21 December 1949 – 15 October 1987) was a Burkinabé military captain, Marxist revolutionary, pan-Africanist theorist, and President of Burkina Faso from 1983 to 1987. Here are some reasons why he is regarded as one of the truly great African leaders

He vaccinated 2.5 million children against meningitis, yellow fever and measles in a matter of weeks.
He initiated a nation-wide literacy campaign, increasing the literacy rate from 13% in 1983 to 73% in 1987.
He planted over 10 million trees to prevent desertification
He built roads and a railway to tie the nation together, without foreign aid
He appointed females to high governmental positions, encouraged them to work, recruited them into the military, and granted pregnancy leave during education.
He outlawed female genital mutilation, forced marriages and polygamy in support of Women’s rights
He sold off the government fleet of Mercedes cars and made the Renault 5 (the cheapest car sold in Burkina Faso at that time) the official service car of the ministers.
He reduced the salaries of all public servants, including his own, and forbade the use of government chauffeurs and 1st class airline tickets.
He redistributed land from the feudal landlords and gave it directly to the peasants. Wheat production rose in three years from 1700 kg per hectare to 3800 kg per hectare, making the country food self-sufficient.
He opposed foreign aid, saying that “he who feeds you, controls you.”
He forced civil servants to pay one month’s salary to public projects.
He refused to use the air conditioning in his office on the grounds that such luxury was not available to anyone but a handful of Burkinabes.
As President, he lowered his salary to $450 a month and limited his possessions to a car, four bikes, three guitars, a fridge and a broken freezer.
When asked why he didn’t want his portrait hung in public places, as was the norm for other African leaders, Sankara replied “There are seven million Thomas Sankaras.”

On 15 October 1987, Sankara was assassinated by troops led by Blaise Compaoré, who took Sankara's office shortly after. A week before his assassination, he declared: "While revolutionaries as individuals can be murdered, you cannot kill ideas."