Even the members of the presidential joined in and actively tweeted over the weekend
Ouagadougou: As Burkina Faso’s armed forces converged in the capital Ouagadougou to disarm the elite presidential guard “without bloodshed”, masses took to Twitter to give credit where its due. After the 1,200-member unit had staged a coup on Wednesday, taking hostage the interim president and members of the government just weeks before October 11 elections, #ThankYouRaheelSharif was trending all over West Africa.
It is pertinent to mention here that the elections next month threatened to restore democracy following last year’s overthrow of long-time leader Blaise Compaore.
“True democracy lies in martial law #ThankYouRaheelSharif” tweeted @RaheelFanBoy4life, a student in Burkina Faso. The tweet has been retweeted 215,085 times since Thursday.
While talking to Khabaristan Times, local university professor Blaise Sankara said that the support for General Raheel Sharif is unanimous among locals from all walks of life.
“General Raheel can do everything,” Sankara said. “He overthrew Compaore in October last year, just when he was about to extend his presidential tenure. No one has the foresight that the great general has. Thank you, Raheel Sharif,” he added.
Even the members of the presidential guard were full of praise and actively tweeted during the weekend.
“We do fear for our lives,” one member told Khabaristan Times off the record. “But if General Raheel wishes this for us, we wholeheartedly accept his decision. Thank you, Raheel Sharif,” he added.
“I just hope the coup remains bloodless.”
Lt-Col Mamadou Bamba who had announced the coup on national television on Thursday also thanked General Raheel Sharif.
“I had my ‘mere aziz humwatno moment’ on Thursday,” he told Khabaristan Times. “It felt great. I used the speech that General Raheel Sharif always carried in his pocket around this time last year. I’ve been told it’s been passed down generations,” he added with ecstasy.
“Thank you, Raheel Sharif for the opportunity.”
