Burkina Faso: Ibrahim Traoré’s zero balance and the urgent need for a new direction
On 27 September 2026, Ibrahim Traoré gave an interview to present the official record of his four years in power. Military operations, territories declared reconquered, equipment, investments and economic initiatives: the government has plenty of material to defend its record. But a national assessment cannot be written solely by those who govern. It must also be measured against the lived reality of the people.
The displacement record
The first question remains security: four years after Ibrahim Traoré came to power, how many Burkinabè can actually live in their homes in safety? Burkina Faso continues to face a massive displacement crisis. UNHCR data recorded 2,062,534 internally displaced persons at the end of 2025 — more than two million Burkinabè forced to leave their homes within the country. Adding refugees and asylum seekers, the number of forcibly displaced people exceeded 2.1 million. And this crisis extends far beyond Burkina Faso’s borders. In neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire, UNHCR counted approximately 82,000 Burkinabè refugees in June 2026, out of a total of 93,200 refugees and asylum seekers hosted in the country.
I myself visited a camp hosting Burkinabè refugees in northern Côte d’Ivoire. What I saw there left me with tears in my eyes. The sheer number of people, the displaced families, the children, the faces marked by exile and the stories of those who had to abandon their homes left me speechless.
Faced with such a reality, one question becomes unavoidable: with all this, can Ibrahim Traoré really tell us that all is well in Burkina Faso? Behind the figures are families separated from their land, farmers unable to cultivate, children deprived of a normal education and communities forced to rebuild their lives elsewhere.
This is why a so-called “reconquered” area cannot be considered definitively secure simply because the army has retaken a position there. True reconquest begins when residents can return permanently, cultivate their fields, send their children to school, access healthcare and live without fear of a new attack. A territory retaken on a map is not necessarily a territory that has become livable again.
Can the government still be criticised?
The other question concerns the space left for criticism. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International documented in 2026 restrictions targeting journalists, civil society organisations and critical voices. HRW notably reported the dissolution of 118 civil society organisations and continues to demand explanations regarding the fate of journalist Serge Oulon. These accusations must be examined and documented on a case-by-case basis. But the principle remains simple: criticising a government does not mean being against one’s country.
National security should not become an automatic response to any contradiction. A journalist asking for accountability, a citizen questioning a decision or an organisation documenting a situation do not automatically become enemies of the nation. The government is not the country.
The real record belongs to the people
Ibrahim Traoré can highlight his achievements. His supporters may consider military operations, investments and economic initiatives as important advances. These elements must be examined on the basis of verifiable facts. But the record must also include the displaced, the refugees, the bereaved families, the abandoned villages and those still living in uncertainty.
After four years in power, the essential questions therefore remain: How many Burkinabè can live in their homes? How many can work their land? How many can send their children to school in safety? How many have had to seek refuge in neighbouring countries? And above all, how many can freely criticise those who govern them? A genuine record should not fear these questions.
For when faced with tens of thousands of Burkinabè who have had to seek refuge in Côte d’Ivoire and more than two million displaced within the country, it is not enough to present figures, speeches and images of achievements to declare that all is well. The true record is also measured in the lives of those who have lost everything.
One does not liberate a people by asking them to be silent. One liberates them when they can live in safety, speak freely and hold those in power accountable.