Diaspora: From banks to burqas, the inspiring journey of Me Olivier Badolo, registered at the bar in Quebec, Ontario and Burkina Faso

It was another famous lawyer, Me Bénéwendé Sankara, who made him want to wear the robe while still in high school. After obtaining his G2 bachelor’s degree, it was natural for young Olivier to study law. In 2001, he was hired by a local bank. In order to expand his knowledge, he enrolled in financial accounting. Between her professional activities and studies, her days were busy. Despite this, he did not forget his primary goal: to become a lawyer. The opportunity presented itself when he went on a mission to Canada. “I started my banking career in February 2001. I gave myself ten years to leave the bank. Thank God, in September 2011 I went on a consulting mission for a project. I returned in October 2012 and then left Canada permanently in May 2013. While I was working in the bank, I took law courses. In Canada, I took some law courses before entering the Quebec Law School. It was Mr. Sankara who inspired me to become a lawyer since high school days,” recalls the former banker.

In Canada, he continued his studies of law at the University of Montreal. In 2016, his dream finally came true: he became a lawyer and joined the Quebec Bar. A year later, in 2017, the young lawyer joined the Burkina Faso Bar, and then in 2022, he entered the Ontario Bar.

Mr. Badolo is a versatile lawyer who works in the fields of civil litigation, commercial law, banking law, mining law, family law, criminal law, administrative law and immigration law, refugees and citizenship. “I help Burkinabe people who apply for visas to get them. I also help those who do business. For example, there are Burkinabe people who are in the country and buy vehicles together with other people who live in Canada. They can order a vehicle and the person who is supposed to send them the order disappears with the money. I am taking legal action against these people. There are also Burkinabe people who arrive in Canada and are detained at the airport for immigration issues. I often intervene in these cases,” the lawyer explains.

He invited young people to believe in their dreams and give themselves the means to realize them. “To make their dreams come true, I recommend them this quote from Goethe Johann Wolfgang von: Whatever you dream of doing, start it. Fearlessness has genius, power and magic,” said the human rights defender.

Me Olivier Badolo holds a DESS degree in North American Business Law and a Certificate in Law from the University of Montreal, a Master’s degree in Business Law from the University of Saint Thomas d’Aquinas in Ouagadougou, a Master’s degree in Management Sciences from the University of Ouaga II, a Postgraduate Diploma in Banking and Finance from the Professional Training Centre of the Bank of Paris and a Technical University Diploma in Finance and Accounting from the University of Nazionale Bobo (formerly Polytechnic University of Bobo-Dioulasso).

He is an ardent trade unionist and human rights defender, defending human rights through various joint movements such as the General Union of Burkina Faso Students (UGEB), the National Association of Burkina Faso Students (ANEB), the General Confederation of Burkina Faso Labour (CGT-B), the Burkina Faso Movement for Human and People’s Rights (MBDHP) and the Collective of Democratic Mass Organizations and Political Parties (CODMPP).

He is also a founding member of several community movements, including the Organization of Democratic Youth of Burkina Faso (ODJ), the Endogenous Movement, the Citizens and Development Movement, and the International Solidarity and Development Network. In Canada, he is active in the Group for Research and Initiatives for the Liberation of Africa (GRILA) and Socialist Response.

Rama Diallo

Lefaso.com