User:Danielna418/Thomas Sankara

Government Posts
In 1981, Sankara was asked to take his first government post as the Minister of Information in Saye Zerbo's military regime. He was hesitant to accept, but ultimately accepted and took office on September 13, 1981. Sankara differentiated himself from other government officials in many ways such as biking to work everyday, instead of driving in a car. While his predecessors would censor journalists and newspapers, Sankara encouraged investigative journalism and allowed the media to print whatever it found. This led to publications of government scandals by both privately-owned and state-owned newspapers. By April 1982, Sankara resigned from his position in a very public manner by going on the radio and criticizing the regime's actions. It was then Sankara spoke his famous words: "Woe to those who would gag their people."