Valère Somé: Anthropologist, Revolutionary and Democrat

Valère Dieudonné Somé was born on October 17, 1950, finished his studies in Upper Volta, then continued his studies at a school in Goré, Senegal. Senghor opened a school meant to welcome all sensitive people in the world: all those who contribute to making the planet go further and move forward. Valère Somé quickly stood out for his sharp intelligence, solid conceptual background and holistic view of African social problems. According to his friend, Professor Spero Stanislas Adotevi, during a brilliant debate on clitoridectomy, he was attracted by the arguments of Valère Somé, a young and talented student at the time, with whom he eventually became friends. Indeed, that day, Ado Tew said, “the young seminarian, handsome and dimpled despite his fragile appearance, held the entire gathering in suspense as they listened to him with interest. The arguments were clear, precise and called for a more holistic approach. To give clitoridectomy only the meaning of pure sexual enjoyment is a reductive definition of sexuality that does not place sexuality at its true level.

Valère Somé continued his studies in France and then returned to France to work as a social anthropologist, researcher and later as a civil servant for UNICEF. He was not limited to research, because Valère Somé dreamed of a profound social and political transformation of his country and Africa as a whole. A committed activist, he was interested in political ideas and struggles since high school. He was an active member of the UGEV (General Union of Volt Students) and later of the FEANF (French Federation of Black African Students). After completing his studies, he founded with his friends the Union of Communist Struggle (ULC), which later became the Union of Struggle for the Reconstruction of Communism (ULC-R). He also served as a member of the Political Bureau of the National Revolutionary Council (CNR) and was Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research from 1986 to 1987.

Valère Thomé

Valère Somé was the main ideologist of the August 83 Revolution, which shocked the world with the charisma and integrity of its leaders. His connection with Captain Thomas Sankara, the first leader of the revolution, is a long-standing one. Valère Somé attests: “We knew each other since childhood. We grew up together in Gava. Then, when he was interning at the Commando Center in Pau, France, and I was a student activist in the Expeditionary Force, he left Pau and went to Paris to visit me in my room. »

For Adotwe, before the revolution, Valere Thome confided to him that he had friends among the officers who controlled the entire army and were ready to seize power. On May 17, the decisive day that marked the arrival of the revolution, when Ouagadougou was thronged with crowds supporting the young progressive officers, Valere Thome said he advised Thomas Sankara to conquer power village by village by declaring a people’s revolution.

“The outcome that Sankara and I envisioned was the launch of a general people’s war. It was felt that it would be too easy to seize power with a one-day march. It was therefore necessary to march like conquerors, village by village, town by town. I packed the trunk of my car with books and prepared to go to Sankara’s house so that we could start the people’s war with Pô. At the last moment, Henri Zongo, known as “The Lion”, and Bukary Kaboré turned Sankara to the solution of dissociating themselves from him. He finally accepted the arrival of the Pô commando from the National Commando Training Center (CNEC) with Captain Blaise Compaoré, marking the end of Jean-Baptiste Ouedraogo’s regime and declaring the revolution.

Valère Thomé is famous for writing the DOP, the speech that served as the theoretical basis of the revolution. The August 83 Revolution was not only a revolution of words and slogans, but also of ideas. The DOP was the theoretical compass of the revolutionary regime. But Valère Thomé believes that the DOP was not invented by him, as it was the result of theoretical experience gained in the student movement. On October 2, 1983, the first leader of the revolution, Captain Thomas Sankara, read out this speech, outlining the path that would allow Burkina Faso to shine throughout the world.

However, Valère Thome admitted in his self-criticism of his revolutionary experience that they made mistakes along this path. One of these mistakes, Valère Thome believes, is contained in the political orientation speech: dictatorship as a system of government. For him, the choice of this system is undoubtedly contained in the DOP and is in line with the principles of Marxism-Leninism. In fact, this passage in the DOP clearly states that the purpose of the revolution is to become a revolutionary dictatorship “Whatever we do, whatever we say, they (the parasitic class) will always remain equal to ourselves and will continue to plot and intrigue against the people”. Reconquer the “lost kingdom”.

We should not expect these nostalgic people to change their mentality and attitude. They are only sensitive to and understand the language of struggle, the struggle of the revolutionary class against the exploiters and oppressors of the people. For them, our revolution will be the most despotic thing; the people will impose their will on them by all available means, by force if necessary. ” “This contempt for bourgeois democracy, according to Valere, was the cause of serious mistakes that reduced the credibility of the revolution in the eyes of the masses. It led to a large number of violations of fundamental human rights: executions, dismissals for strikes, arrests, detentions and arbitrary cuts in finances. »

Valere Thome

October 15, 1987, the day the revolution was interrupted, was a terrible day for Valère Thome. He was isolated, imprisoned and tortured before being released by the revolutionary “rectifiers”. After his release, he went into exile, to Congo Brazzaville and then to France, where he remained until 1994, returning to his country under the national reconciliation promoted by Blaise Compaoré. In exile, Valère Thome did not despair of his country and continued to write and challenge democratic renewal through articles and books. In 1990, he published a book about the events of the revolution: Thomas Sankara, the assassinated hope.

He describes the highlights of the revolution, the truths he shared in it, his mistakes and misfortunes, and the hope it evokes in Africa. In France, he founded the PDS party (Social Democratic Party) and campaigned for the advent of true democracy in Burkina Faso. He worked for national reconciliation in the PDSU, but was disappointed with the way Blaise Compaoré achieved it. On his return, he threw himself into the political struggle and participated in the elections, but without success.

After always being active in the national political arena, he finally withdrew, preferring to place himself outside the political parties and fight alone, starting in 2002 and continuing to fight until now. On November 5, 2016, Valère Thome founded his own publishing house “Le Millénium” and published two volumes of political texts. He devoted himself to research at the Institute of Social Sciences (INSS) and published in 2015 the book “Cold December Nights, Exile or … Death”. He was active in the training of young people until his death on May 30, 2017.

Ernest Compaoré, secretary general of the CDS, said of him after his death: “Valère will always be our example of courage. To oppose Sankara, to challenge Blaise, to refuse to reach an agreement with the Popular Front, to face detention, torture and exile, to return to your country with an offer of reconciliation, you had to be Valère to do it!”.

Reference: Political Texts, Vol.

– Thomas Sankara, The Murdered Hope

– Website thomasankara.net. Valère Somé’s confidence

Windekuni Bertrand Ouedraogo

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