West Africa’s new order takes shape as Senegal’s PM visits Burkina Faso

Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko’s official visit to Burkina Faso today marked more than diplomatic routine – it signaled the crystallization of a defiant African alliance reshaping the continent’s geopolitical landscape.

Greeted by Burkina’s transitional leader Captain Ibrahim Traoré, Sonko arrived with a strategic delegation including Foreign Minister Yassine Fall and Defense Minister Birame Diop, underscoring shared security concerns and sovereignty-driven integration.

The trip gains significance as both nations navigate the Sahel’s tectonic shifts following the AES bloc’s exit from ECOWAS.

The visit positions Dakar – under President Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s administration – as a bridge between West Africa’s established order and insurgent sovereigntist states.

Its symbolic climax comes Friday with Sonko joining Sankara Memorial ceremonies, aligning Senegal’s new leadership with the Pan-African revolutionary’s legacy that Traoré has resurrected as Burkina’s governing ethos.

Beyond bilateral agreements, this encounter telegraphs a broader ambition: An Africa rewriting its partnerships on its own terms.

As military convoys secure Ouagadougou’s streets, the imagery of civilian and soldier leaders convening at Sankara’s mausoleum broadcasts a potent message – the era of external patronage is ending.

Papa IBRAHIMA