Joseph Ki-Zerbo was a Burkinabé historian, politician and writer. He spent his youth in Toma where he grew up in a rural area in a big family. Ki-Zerbo declared that his rural first 11 years marked his personality and thoughts. He was recognized as one of Africa’s foremost thinkers.
Background
Joseph was born on June 21, 1922, in Toma, near Tougan, in the northern part of Upper Volta. Ki-Zerbo was the son of Alfred Diban Ki Zerbo and Therese Folo Ki. His father was considered the first Christian in the town. In 1915 he intervened during the Volta-Bani War to stop Toma being razed to the ground.
Education
He was educated in his home country in missionary schools at Toma, and Pabre (around 20 miles from the capital). Later, he studied at Faladie in Mali and at Sorbonne University, France. After getting his aggregation degree in history, he returned to Africa. Once back, he became politically active. From 1972 to 1978 he was professor of African History at the University of Ouagadougou. In 1983, he was forced into exile, only being able to return in 1992.
Career
In 1943 it was mutually agreed by himself and the White Fathers that he was not cut out for the priesthood, so he turned to teaching. In 1946 he was recruited to work for the Catholic weekly “A frique Nouvelle”, then being launched in Dakar, where he also studied for the baccalaureat, and went on with a scholarship to study history at the Sorbonne. After his licence he prepared a thesis on “French Penetration in the countries of the Upper Volta”, and went on to obtain the prized agregation (the first African after Senghor to do so) in 1956.
For the next five years he worked quietly in Ouagadougou, devoting his spare time to the writing of a complete history of Africa (eventually published in Paris in 1972). He was also an active participant in Francophone education conferences, campaigning for more teaching of African history. In 1965 he was made Director of Education. But by then politics was beginning to claim his attention again, as Yameogo was in deep trouble. Although Ki-Zerbo was not involved in the call for a general strike, he and his wife helped organise demonstrations against the President, with the support of school children. At one point his wife, now headmistress of the girls’ lycee, was arrested by the police, but was liberated by a group of women. They had strongly favoured the army coming to power and, for a time, Ihc MLN was allowed to operate again. But violent incidents between the MLN and supporters of Yameogo in September 1966 were one of the factors behind the army’s decision to stay in power for four years. Ki-Zerbo has always had exceptionally good relations with General Lamizana and the MLN has backing from a number of the younger army officers.
In 1970, when it was decided to return Upper Volta to parliamentary government, with a military guarantee in the shape of the continuation in office of President Lamizana and five army ministers, a number of parties, including the MLN, contested the elections of December. Although the MLN only won six seats (the UDV-RDA, the winners, had superior resources, as well as the backing of the chiefs), it has been able to continue as a parliamentary opposition, with its own newspaper, because of the military guarantee. Had there been civilian rule, the UDV would probably have done its best to re-establish a one-party state.
Politics
He then taught for two years in France, but he was already involved in politics, first in the Students’ Federation of Black Africa in France (FEANF), then in the National Liberation Movement (MLN), which he formed with other progressive intellectuals, such as Albert Tevoedjre of Dahomey and Mamadou Toure of Mauritania, to campaign for a “No” vote in dc Gaulle’s referendum of 1958 on membership of the French Community. After Guinea was the only country to vote “No”, he and his wife
Jacqueline (the daughter of the Malian trade unionist, Lazare Coulibaly) responded to Sekou Toure's appeal for assistance from Africans, and went to Guinea to teach for a year.
With the break-up of the West African Federation (AOF) the MLN died as an inter-territorial party, but he kept the name alive for the political group he founded in Upper Volta. President Yameogo, jealous of Ki-Zerbo's prestige, refused at first to let him have a post in Ouagadougou, and banned the MLN, but eventually a job was found for Ki-Zerbo at the Lycee Zinda Kabore. His wife stayed on for a while as headmistress of the girls’ lycee in Conakry.
Personality
Upper Volta’s leading intellectual, this mild-mannered historian is one of Africa’s most attractive and unlikely politicians, almost too good for the hurly-burly of politics. Respected even by his opponents, he has persevered in his attempt to build up a mass socialist party among the traditional-minded peasantry, in spite of the odds loaded against him. Although a theoretical Marxist, natural moderation of temperament and his belief in democracy have sometimes caused the militants of his party to feel that his leadership lacks bite in an African context. But his visions and his integrity have added considerably to the quality of Voltaic political life.