In a moment symbolizing Pan-African solidarity and shared revolutionary history, Burkina Faso has named a major street in its capital, Ouagadougou, after Ghana’s late former President, Jerry John Rawlings.

The gesture coincided with the official inauguration of the Thomas Sankara Mausoleum, honouring one of Africa’s most iconic revolutionary leaders and a close ally of Rawlings.

The newly named Jerry John Rawlings Avenue spans more than two kilometres from Avenue Jean-Paul II in the north to Boulevard Capitaine Isidore Noël Thomas Sankara in the south.

The renaming is being hailed as a symbolic consolidation of the historical and ideological ties between the two countries, rooted in the camaraderie between Sankara and Rawlings during the height of West Africa’s revolutionary period in the 1980s.

Rawlings’ daughter, Yaa Asantewaa Agyeman-Rawlings, Executive Director of the J.J. Rawlings Foundation, delivered a tribute at the plaque unveiling ceremony on Sunday, May 18, in the presence of Burkinabe officials and a high-level Ghanaian delegation.

“This is a huge recognition of the legacy of a man who dedicated his life to social justice,” she said. “For Jerry Rawlings, the pursuit of a just society was not a political ambition. It was a duty.”

Her remarks echoed the enduring legacy of Rawlings’ Pan-Africanist ideals, particularly his bond with Thomas Sankara, who led Burkina Faso from 1983 until his assassination in 1987.

JJ Rawlings was not only a strong supporter of Sankara’s socialist reforms and anti-imperialist stance but also served as the honorary chair of the Sankara Memorial Committee until his own passing in 2020.

The plaque was unveiled by Gilbert Ouedraogo, Burkina Faso’s Minister for Communication, Culture, Arts and Tourism, who represented the country’s Prime Minister at the event.

“Rawlings was a great fighter for the emancipation of our continent, a voice of Pan-Africanism, and a great friend of Captain Thomas Sankara and Burkina Faso,” Ouedraogo stated.

He further praised Rawlings for his efforts to support investigations into Sankara’s assassination and described the renaming as an “invitation to consolidate everything that unites our two peoples.”

The Ghanaian delegation in attendance included Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, MP for Klottey Korle and daughter of the late President, along with Defence Minister Dr Edward Omane Boamah, Interior Minister Alhaji Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, and other senior government officials representing President John Dramani Mahama.

Ms Agyeman-Rawlings, who was accompanied by her brother Kimathi Agyeman-Rawlings, reflected on the spiritual and ideological connection between their father and Sankara.