This book is a chronological compilation of Thomas Sankara's public speeches and media interviews.

In Upper Volta, a newly independent African nation, a group of soldiers launched a revolution on August 4, 1983, and elected Captain Thomas Sankara, a popular leader, as president.
Sankara changed the country's name to Burkina Faso, an African word meaning "land of the upright," and led the country until October 15, 1987, when he was assassinated.
During these four years, he focused on international solidarity and worked to make Burkina Faso, one of the world's poorest countries located at the southern tip of the Sahel region in Africa, a good place for "honest people."

Under the leadership of Thomas Sankara, the revolutionary government of Burkina Faso in West Africa organized peasants, workers, artisans, women, and youth, carried out literacy and disease prevention activities, dug wells, planted trees, and built dams and houses.
They liberated women from oppression, reformed the exploitation of land ownership, and stood in solidarity with others around the world who were waging the same struggle by trying to free themselves from the yoke of imperialism.
From 1983 until his assassination in 1987, Sankara served as an outstanding revolutionary leader of international workers and youth, delivering a series of speeches and interviews that spoke for the people of Burkina Faso and Africa.

However, his efforts ended in a treasonous coup by his closest aide, Blaise Compaoré, who had launched a revolution and supported him.
Burkina Faso remained under Compaoré's dictatorship for the next 40 years, but Sankara's legacy, namely the 'revolutionary practice of anti-imperialist self-government', was carried on by the current president, Ibrahim Traoré, who eventually succeeded in establishing a revolutionary government.
The young president withdrew French troops, refused loans from the IMF and World Bank, and is pursuing a self-reliant, people-centered economy.
Burkina Faso rejects the US-Japan polar system and actively participates in the wave of multipolarity, standing at the forefront of the African self-determination movement.
This book contains the revolutionary ideas of the young African man, Thomas Sankara.
Sankara's discourses not only reveal in detail his beliefs and philosophy regarding national independence, as well as his specific strategies and tactics for carrying out the revolution, but his words expressing them are also quite literary.

We believe that what you witnessed here in Upper Volta on August 4th was the logical outcome and embodiment of the popular will.
Moreover, we say that all the Volta people who gathered in Ouagadougou and other areas after the infamous May 17 coup were mobilized not simply for Captain Sankara and his comrades, but for the process to which they were deeply committed: the liberation of the Volta people.
By coming together, the people were empowered to take responsibility for their own destiny and development.
They fought because they could not tolerate the reality that the Volta people were being pushed to the margins.
They fought because the interests of the Volta people had been betrayed, and they fought because they could not accept that betrayal.

--- From a press conference broadcast on radio on August 21, 1983

The revolutions taking place around the world are not at all similar.
Each revolution has its own unique characteristics that distinguish it from other revolutions.
Our revolution, the August Revolution, is no exception.
It reflects the special characteristics of our country, its level of development and its subordination to the world imperialist capitalist system.
The August Revolution was double
It has a democratic and popular character: it is a revolution that is both democratic and popular.
Its main task is to abolish imperialist domination and exploitation and to remove all social, economic and cultural obstacles that keep the country in a backward state.
This is where the democratic character comes from.
The mass character of this revolution is revealed in the full participation of the Voltaic masses in it and in their consistency in mobilizing around democratic and revolutionary slogans that concretely express their interests against the interests of the reactionary classes allied with imperialism.
The mass character of the August Revolution also lies in the fact that in place of the old state apparatus new institutions are being built which can ensure the democratic exercise of power by the people and for the people.

--- From the "Political Policy Speech" on October 2, 1983

Revolution cannot be exported.
No ideological choice can be forced on anyone.
Exporting the revolution also means that we Burkinabés believe we can reach out to others and teach them what to do to solve their problems.
This is a counter-revolutionary view.
This is precisely what the pseudo-revolutionaries, the bookish, dogmatic petty-bourgeois, claim.
We have imported the revolution, so now we have to continue the chain.
No, it isn't.
We said that our revolution does not ignore the experiences of others, their struggles, successes and frustrations.
So the revolution in Burkina Faso, whatever it may be, means taking into account all the revolutions in the world.
......
Aid should be directed toward strengthening, not undermining, our sovereignty.
Aid must move towards ending aid.
In Burkina Faso, all aid is welcome, even if it kills aid.
But we have no choice but to abandon all aid that creates welfare dependence.
So, we are very careful and strict when someone promises or offers us assistance, even when we take the initiative to ask for assistance.
You can't achieve revolution or achieve independence without a certain degree of asceticism and sacrifice.
The Burkina people are demanding asceticism from themselves to avoid temptation and to avoid taking the easy way out, as some aid organizations promote.
These mirages have caused much harm to our country and other countries.
We want to stop it.

--- From an interview following the first anniversary of the August 1984 Revolution, which changed the country's name to 'Burkina Faso'

Mr. Chairman: I have traveled thousands of kilometers.
I have come here to ask each of you to work together so that the arrogance of the wrongdoers may cease, so that the sad images of children dying of hunger may disappear, so that ignorance may disappear, so that the just uprising of the people may triumph, so that the sound of weapons may be silenced, so that, united in the fight for the survival of humanity, we may finally sing with the great poet Novalis: “Soon the stars will visit the Earth again, which they left in the dark ages.
The sun will shed its harsh specter and once again become just one star among countless others.
All the races of the world will become one again after a long period of division.
Orphaned families will be reunited, and each day will be a day of reunion and new embraces.
Then the old inhabitants will return to the land, the embers that were snuffed out from every grave will rise again, and the flame of life will be kindled everywhere.
Old dwellings will be rebuilt, bygone eras will be reborn, and history will become a present dream stretching out infinitely.” Our country or death, we will triumph!
--- From "Speech to the 39th United Nations General Assembly, October 4, 1983"

Imperialism isn't confined to just one country or another; it exists all over the world, and we must fight against the entire system we are creating together.
Therefore, we need to get to know each other, understand each other, and build a platform, a realm of understanding between us, so that we can seriously fight imperialism and have a higher chance of success.
That's why I agree with the need for communication to get to know each other.
You are a journalist, that is your job, and I will help you.
So even though I'm super busy today and there are a lot of files piled on the table, I have a responsibility to take at least five minutes to explain what we're doing.
As revolutionaries, we have no right to say that we are tired of explaining.
We always have to explain.
Because we also know that when people understand, they have no choice but to follow us.
In any case, as far as the country or the people are concerned, our people have no enemies.
Our only enemies are imperialist regimes and organizations.

--- From an interview with the Intercontinental Press, March 17, 1985

Here, I am merely a humble spokesman for those who passively watch the natural environment die, while refusing to die themselves.
In all actions taken by the National Revolutionary Council, which has led Burkina Faso since August 4, 1983, water, trees and life have been fundamental and sacred elements, if not survival itself.
In this respect, I pay tribute to the French people and government, and especially to President François Mitterrand, and say that this plan is an expression of the political genius and clear insight of a people always open to the world and sensitive to its misfortunes.
Burkina Faso, located in the heart of the Sahel, will always be fully grateful for initiatives that are fully aligned with the most important concerns of its people.
Unlike useless tourist trips, our country will attend such events whenever necessary.
For nearly three years, our people, the Burkinabe people, have been fighting against desert invasion.
So it was our duty to talk about their experiences on this platform and benefit from the experiences of others around the world.
In Burkina Faso, we have been co-organizing tree-planting events for almost three years to mark special occasions such as weddings, baptisms, award ceremonies, and visits by prominent figures.
--- From a speech given at the International Conference on Trees and Forests held in Paris on February 5, 1986

This human being, a vast and complex combination of suffering and joy! Alone and abandoned, yet the creator of all humanity! Suffering, frustrated, insulted, yet a source of endless happiness for each of us! A source of incomparable affection and the most unexpected source of courage! A being called weak, yet possessing an immense capacity to inspire us to walk the path of honor! A being of flesh and blood and spiritual conviction—this being, woman, is you! You are our comfort, our companion in life, our comrade in the struggle.
Because of these facts, you must naturally assert yourselves as equal partners in the joyful feast of the revolution's victory.
In other words, to win this war that both men and women are fighting together, we must be well-versed in all aspects of women's issues, both at the global and national levels.
We must understand that the struggles of women in Burkina Faso today are part of the struggles of all women around the world, and, more broadly, part of the struggle for the complete reconstruction of the African continent.
Therefore, the reality of women is at the heart of humanity's own problems, here, there, and everywhere.
Therefore, this question is of a universal nature.

--- From “A speech to women on International Women’s Day held in Ouagadougou, the capital, on March 8, 1987”