Kehinde Sanni spends his days smoothing out dents and repainting scratched bumpers in a modest autobody shop in Lagos. He has never left Nigeria, yet he speaks glowingly of Burkina Faso military leader Ibrahim Traore.
“Nigeria needs someone like Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. He is doing well for his country,” Sanni said.
His admiration is shaped by a steady stream of viral videos, memes and social media posts — many misleading or outright false — portraying Traore as a fearless reformer who defied Western powers and reclaimed his country’s dignity.
Photo: AFP
The Burkinabe strongman swept into power following a coup in September 2022 amid growing anti-French sentiments in the Sahel region. He has the support of fellow ex-French colonies Mali and Niger, which have turned their backs on Paris in favor of closer ties with Moscow.
The ministers of foreign affairs of the three countries were in Moscow last month for the first talks as founding members of their newly-created confederation, the Alliance of Sahel States.
While critics of Traore have blamed his government for clamping down on freedom of expression, others on social media are casting him in a positive light.
“Ibrahim Traore is all the proof Nigerians need to know that a country takes the shape of its leadership,” Nigerian actress and politician Hilda Dokubo wrote on X.
Like Sanni, her assessment underscores the growing influence of a coordinated propaganda campaign sweeping across west Africa — one that frames Traore as a messianic figure.
“This growing admiration for Traore in Nigeria poses serious risks to national security and democratic stability,” Good Governance Africa senior researcher Malik Samuel said. “It normalises military intervention as a viable political solution and opens the door to foreign ideological interference.”
‘RUSSIAN PLAYBOOK’
Traore’s rising appeal comes at a time of the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation after Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu embarked on tough economic reforms.
For Nigerians weighed down by hardship, claims that Traore is transforming Burkina Faso into an economic powerhouse resonate deeply.
“Traore fits the role perfectly — young, defiant, and open to Russian cooperation, especially through Wagner-linked security outfits now rebranded as the Africa Corps,” SBM Intelligence partner Ikemesit Effiong said.
AFP has debunked many claims on social media aimed at burnishing Traore’s image. Recent posts on Facebook purportedly show a massive low-cost high-rise residential block constructed under Traore’s leadership. However, the claim is false. The construction site seen in the videos is a national building project in Tizi Ouzou, Algeria.
Across Francophone Africa, similar narratives are gaining traction. In Ivory Coast, a video of Traore at the inauguration of a cement plant in Burkina Faso spread alongside false claims he had announced a drop in cement prices.
Months before former Nigerien president Mohamed Bazoum was ousted, he said Russia’s Wagner Group had been sponsoring “disinformation campaigns against us.”
Analysts said there are signs of organized, large-scale campaigns using false information to boost the profiles of Sahelian military leaders.
The content is produced by “Russian propaganda units and then given to these influencers, through the middlemen, to post on social media,” said Philip Obaji, a Nigerian journalist who has analyzed Russian influence operations.
Effiong said that reflects a wider “Russian strategy” in Africa of leveraging social media to influence public opinion, bolster the image of military regimes and portray Moscow as a more respectful alternative to Western powers.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
NO EXCUSES: Marcos said his administration was acting on voters’ demands, but an academic said the move was emotionally motivated after a poor midterm showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday sought the resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries, in a move seen as an attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term. The order came after the president’s allies failed to win a majority of Senate seats contested in the 12 polls on Monday last week, leaving Marcos facing a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempts to have an ally succeed him in 2028. “He’s talking to the people, trying to salvage whatever political capital he has left. I think it’s
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel