Burkina Faso military leader Captain Ibrahim Traore has delivered a strong message to young Africans, warning that people must stop waiting for miracles and start using their intelligence, skills and hands to improve their lives and their communities.
Speaking to top students, teachers and education officials in Ouagadougou during Burkina Faso’s National Day of Academic Excellence on September 4, 2026, Traore said God gave human beings brains and physical strength for a reason.
He argued that people who refuse to use their abilities and instead wait for divine intervention are failing to take responsibility for their own future.
Traore said God is angry with Black people because they have refused to make proper use of their intelligence. He stressed that God will not come down from heaven to solve human problems, adding that people were created with brains and limbs so they could work, create, support themselves and contribute to their communities and countries.
The military leader urged the young people at the ceremony to keep learning, work hard and develop practical skills rather than believing that academic certificates alone would guarantee success.
He also criticised what he described as a poor understanding of religion, saying some people are encouraged to sit in churches, mosques and other places of worship while waiting for miracles instead of taking action.
According to Traore, religious faith should not be used as an excuse for laziness or inaction. He warned that people who tell young Africans to simply wait for God to provide their daily needs can prevent them from developing the skills needed to build stronger societies.
Traore said religious leaders also have a responsibility to encourage young people to work, learn and become useful to their communities rather than keeping them dependent on promises of future miracles.
He connected what he described as religious passivity to Africa’s wider development problems, arguing that the continent cannot continue blaming God for poverty, unemployment, migration and other challenges that can be addressed through human effort.
He pointed to the thousands of African young people who risk their lives crossing the sea in search of better opportunities abroad. Traore said the deaths of young Africans on dangerous migration routes should force leaders and citizens to examine what they are doing to create opportunities at home.
He also questioned why parts of Africa continue to struggle with poverty and dependence when other parts of the world that were once poorer have made rapid economic and technological progress.
For Traore, the answer lies partly in education, science, technology and practical skills.
He told students that Burkina Faso needs more scientists, engineers, technicians and skilled workers who can build, repair, manufacture and create products locally. He argued that having theoretical knowledge without the ability to turn that knowledge into practical results will not be enough to transform the country.
The leader said Burkina Faso is moving toward industrialisation and needs a new generation capable of supporting that ambition. He called on young people to use the internet and other available resources to learn, experiment, copy useful technologies, create new products and develop practical abilities.
He also urged students not to treat a diploma as the final goal of education.
According to Traore, true excellence should be measured by the ability to improve one’s own life and make a positive impact on other people. He encouraged young people to seek knowledge throughout their lives and to continue developing their skills even after leaving school.
Traore has made self reliance and economic sovereignty central themes of his leadership. He has repeatedly called for Burkina Faso and other African countries to reduce dependence on foreign powers, take greater control of their natural resources and develop local industries.
During the September speech, he argued that Africa cannot fully control its resources if it lacks the technical expertise needed to extract, process and transform those resources locally.
He cited the need for engineers and technicians capable of turning raw materials into finished products, saying Burkina Faso must develop the human capacity required to build its own industries.
The message also formed part of his broader push for greater emphasis on science and technical education.
Traore said Burkina Faso needs to encourage more students to pursue scientific and technical fields because the country’s industrial ambitions will require large numbers of skilled workers.
He encouraged young people, including those who had already studied other subjects, to consider vocational training and practical education that could equip them with useful skills.
The 38 year old leader, who was born on March 14, 1988, in Bondokuy in western Burkina Faso, studied geology at the University of Ouagadougou before becoming an army officer.
He rose through the military while serving in Burkina Faso’s fight against armed groups in the country’s north and also served with United Nations forces in Mali.
Traore became widely known after leading soldiers in the September 30, 2022 takeover that removed the country’s then interim leader. He was later sworn in as Burkina Faso’s transitional head of state on October 21, 2022.
Since taking power, Traore has positioned himself as an advocate of greater African independence, particularly in the areas of security, natural resources, education and economic development.
His latest remarks continue that message, but place a strong emphasis on individual responsibility.
The central argument was simple. Africans should not wait for someone else to build their future.
Traore told the young generation that intelligence, education, hard work and practical skills are already available tools for development. What is needed, he argued, is the determination to use them.
He called on young people to wake up, seek knowledge, work with their hands and minds, create useful things and take responsibility for the future of their communities and countries.
