The General Who Educated His Own Overthrow

Added: 2026-05-27

[00:00:00]The military reformer who educated his nation was overthrown by his own students. It's 1966, Upper Volta, West Africa. Colonel Sangoulé Lamizana seizes power in a bloodless coup, promising to lift one of Africa's poorest nations from chaos. He builds schools across the countryside and launches literacy programs for millions. Roads connect remote villages for the first time. Young officers study engineering and administration in new military academies. He refuses both Soviet and Western pressure, keeping his country independent during the Cold War.

[00:00:34]He even writes new constitutions and holds elections, trying to return power to civilians. For 14 years, his reforms create a new generation of educated elites. But the young officers he trained grow restless. They watch corruption creep into his government and question his slow pace of change. In secret meetings, junior military leaders plan their move. They know every weakness in the system because Lamizana taught them how it works. On November 25th, 1980, tanks roll through the capital. His own protégés arrest their mentor and seize control. The educator who modernized his military was Sangoulé Lamizana.