A contentious assessment and a public reckoning
The interview granted by Ibrahim Traoré on 27 September 2026, intended to mark four years in power, offered above all the official reading of his tenure. Military operations, territories announced as recaptured, equipment, investments and economic initiatives: the authorities possess numerous elements with which to defend their record. Yet a national assessment cannot be written solely by those who govern. It must also be measured against the reality experienced by the population.
The displacement crisis in numbers
The first question remains one of security: four years after Ibrahim Traoré came to power, how many Burkinabè can truly live at home in safety?
Burkina Faso continues to face a massive displacement crisis. Data from the UNHCR indicated 2,062,534 internally displaced persons at the end of 2025, meaning more than two million Burkinabè forced to flee their homes within the country. When refugees and asylum-seekers are included, the number of forcibly displaced persons exceeded 2.1 million.
This crisis extends well beyond Burkina Faso’s borders. In neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire, the 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 myself visited a camp hosting Burkinabè refugees in northern Côte d’Ivoire. There, I was moved to tears. The number of people I saw, the displaced families, the children, the faces marked by exile and the stories of those who had to abandon their homes left me speechless.
Faced with such a reality, one question becomes unavoidable: with all this, can Ibrahim Traoré really tell us that all is well in Burkina Faso?
Behind the figures lie families separated from their land, farmers unable to cultivate, children deprived of normal schooling and communities forced to rebuild their lives elsewhere. That is why a so-called “recaptured” area cannot be considered definitively secure simply because the army has retaken positions there. True recapture begins when residents can return sustainably, cultivate their fields, send their children to school, access healthcare and live without fear of a new attack. A territory retaken on a map is not necessarily a territory made liveable again.
The shrinking space for dissent
The other question concerns the space left for criticism. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International documented in 2026 restrictions targeting journalists, civil society organisations and critical voices. HRW notably reported the dissolution of 118 civil society organisations and continues to demand explanations regarding the fate of journalist Serge Oulon.
These accusations must be examined and documented on a case-by-case basis. But the principle remains simple: criticising a government does not mean being against one’s country. National security should not become an automatic response to any contradiction. A journalist who asks for accountability, a citizen who questions a decision or an organisation that documents a situation does not automatically become an enemy of the nation. The government is not the country.
The true record belongs to the people
Ibrahim Traoré can highlight his achievements. His supporters may regard the military operations, investments and economic initiatives as important advances. These elements must be examined on the basis of verifiable facts. But the assessment 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 therefore remain: How many Burkinabè can live at home? How many can work their land? How many can send their children to school in safety? How many have had to seek refuge in neighbouring countries? And above all, how many can freely criticise those who govern them?
A genuine assessment should not fear these questions. For when one is confronted with tens of thousands of Burkinabè who have had to seek refuge in Côte d’Ivoire and more than two million 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.
One does not liberate a people by asking them to be silent. One liberates them when they can live in safety, speak freely and hold those in power to account.
