Burkina Faso is celebrating its 60 years of independence on Friday with the theme of the celebration being “National cohesion and patriotic commitment for a sustainable development of Burkina Faso in a context of insecurity and COVID-19”.
President of the West African nation Roch Marc Christian Kaboré in an independence message said the celebration presents a collective challenge for “a Burkina Faso resolutely turned towards the sacred union of its daughters and sons, to face current challenges and ensure our country’s security, health, and economic and social development.”
“The achievement of such ambitions, for which I am committed with you, necessarily requires a change in mentality and behaviour,” he added.
Mr Kaboré said the 60th anniversary of the country’s independence is an excellent opportunity to salute the memory of the founding fathers of the nation and pay a vibrant tribute to the people for their resilience and commitment to the Fatherland, social cohesion and shared development.
“The culture of tolerance and living together, civic-mindedness, patriotism, inclusive dialogue, taking into account our positive cultural values, the foundations of peace and cohesion, will be the key to our success,” he said.
He added that in this regard, “we must recognise that major challenges remain to be met if we want to be in line with the legitimate need for peace, security and harmonious development of Burkina Faso”.
In this regard, he asked the government and the people to assume their share of responsibility to make social cohesion and patriotism concrete realities at the political, administrative, economic and social levels.
“No nation can prosper in disorder, incivility, corruption, denial of the Fatherland, so many scourges that undermine social cohesion and efforts for a better collective welfare,” he said.