In a 27 September 2026 interview marking four years in power, Ibrahim Traoré delivered a defence of his tenure. Military campaigns, territories declared recaptured, equipment purchases, investments and economic programmes featured prominently. The government has assembled a substantial case to present.
Yet a national record cannot be authored exclusively by those in office. It must also be measured against the lived experience of the population.
The displacement toll
The first question remains security-related: four years after Ibrahim Traoré took power, how many Burkinabè can genuinely live in their homes without fear?
Burkina Faso continues to face a displacement crisis of enormous scale. UNHCR data recorded 2,062,534 internally displaced persons at the end of 2025, meaning more than two million Burkinabè uprooted within their own country. When refugees and asylum-seekers are added, the number of forcibly displaced people exceeded 2.1 million.
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 visited a camp sheltering Burkinabè refugees in northern Côte d’Ivoire. The experience was profoundly moving. The sheer number of people I encountered, the displaced families, the children, the faces marked by exile and the accounts of those forced to abandon their homes left me speechless.
Confronted with such a reality, one question becomes unavoidable: can Ibrahim Traoré credibly claim that all is well in Burkina Faso?
Behind the figures lie separated families, farmers unable to cultivate their land, children deprived of normal schooling and communities compelled to rebuild their lives elsewhere.
A so-called recaptured zone cannot be considered permanently secured merely because the army has reestablished a presence there. True recovery begins when residents can return for good, work their fields, send their children to school, access healthcare and live without the fear of renewed attack.
A territory retaken on a map is not necessarily a territory made habitable again.
The space for criticism
A second question concerns the room left for dissent.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International documented in 2026 restrictions targeting journalists, civil society organisations and critical voices. HRW reported the dissolution of 118 civil society organisations and continues to seek clarification regarding the fate of journalist Serge Oulon.
These allegations must be examined and documented on a case-by-case basis. But the principle is straightforward: criticising a government does not mean opposing one’s country.
National security should not become an automatic response to every contradiction. A journalist seeking 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 only record that matters
Ibrahim Traoré may highlight his achievements. His supporters may view military operations, investments and economic initiatives as significant progress. These elements should be assessed on the basis of verifiable facts.
But the record must also incorporate the displaced, the refugees, the bereaved families, the abandoned villages and those still living in uncertainty.
After four years in power, the essential questions remain: How many Burkinabè can live in their homes? How many can work their land? How many can send their children to school safely? How many have been forced 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.
When tens of thousands of Burkinabè have sought refuge in Côte d’Ivoire and more than two million are 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.
A people is not liberated by being told to stay silent. It is liberated when it can live in safety, speak freely and hold those in power to account.
