Nigeria, April 24 -- At 36, Burkina Faso's Ibrahim Traore is the world's youngest president, in stark contrast to Africa's average leader age of 63. He took office in September 2022 after overthrowing Paul-Henri Damiba, who had ousted former president Roch Kabore earlier that year.

The foundations of the country's coup administration have been rocky. Last week, the military government survived another apparent coup attempt; one among several since Mr Traore, an army captain, came to power.

In his inaugural statement, Mr Traore said Burkina Faso faced an emergency, citing crises in security, defence, healthcare, social action and infrastructure. He pledged to combat terrorism and adhere to the transition timetable agreed with the Economi...