Ouagadougou’s name still says “home of the Wagu” from Wagadu
Ouagadougou (Wagadugu), Burkina Faso’s capital of about 2.42 million in 2019, is the nation’s administrative, cultural, and economic core. Food processing and textiles dominate industry; rail links reach Abidjan (and freight to Kaya) while highways run toward Niamey, Ghana, and Ivory Coast.
Ouagadougou, often shortened to Ouaga, is Burkina Faso's capital and biggest city and the country's hub for administration, communications, culture and commerce; its people are called ouagalais. The 2019 count found 2,415,266 residents. The French-style spelling, common across former French African colonies, renders a name given as Waogdgo in Mossi and Wagadugu in Dyula.
Soninke Wangara migrants from the Ghana Empire, or Wagadu, may have founded it as early as 1050, and the name means "home of the Wagu", after the Soninke branch that governed Ghana. Mossi people pushing north in the 14th century captured it about the time they raided Walata, hastening Mali's decline; legend credits Oubri, a grandson of Ouedraogo. The Wagadugu Kingdom arose in the 15th century and led the Mossi States from around 1495. Nyadfo, the 10th Moro Naba, was first to reside there in the mid-17th century; Zombre, the 21st, made it the permanent capital a century on; and Doulougou, the 24th, built its first mosque early in the 19th century. The Moro-Naba Ceremony is still held every Friday.
French troops entered on 5 September 1896 and burned the town. In 1919 it became capital of Upper Volta and was largely rebuilt, and the railway from Ivory Coast arrived in 1954, driving rapid growth. On 15 January 2016 armed attackers struck the Cappuccino restaurant and the Splendid Hotel, killing 28 and wounding at least 56; after a counterattack 176 hostages were freed the next morning, and three attackers died. Further major jihadist attacks followed in 2017 and 2018.
Food processing and textiles lead local industry. An international airport, a railway to Abidjan, freight trains to Kaya, and highways to Niamey, Ghana and Ivory Coast connect the city. One of West Africa's largest markets burned in 2003 and reopened with better fire protection, while the National Museum, the Moro-Naba Palace and the National Museum of Music also draw visitors. The climate is hot semi-arid, bordering tropical wet and dry, with about 800 mm of rain from May to September at an average of 28 °C, cool-season lows near 16 °C from October to February, and March–April highs reaching 43 °C.
Source: Ouagadougou
