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The Apotheosis of Côte d'lvoire's Nana Houphouët-Boigny

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 November 2008

Extract

Whether he is called Le Sage (the Wise Man), Le Vieux (the Old Man), or more recently Nana (a Baule term for grandfather), the veneration implied by these words is unequalled by any other leader in West Africa today. It is clear that after over 50 years of political activism, the President of Côte d'Ivoire, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, has brought together a combination of elements that has allowed him to gain and maintain the respect of western leaders, his African counterparts, and until recently, almost every Ivoirian.

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Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

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References

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77 The exile and death of President Ahmadou Ahidjo of Cameroon may have severely dampened Houphouët's enthusiasm to regulate the succession problem by naming a successor.

78 Cf. Fraternité matin, 19 November 1989, p. 28.

79 Album: ‘Alpha Blondy and the Solar System’, Shanachie Records, Canada.

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94 Fraternité matin, 31 October 1989.

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99 Ibid. 1 December 1989.

100 Jeune Afrique, 7 June 1989, p. 5, and Fraternité matin, 4 June 1989.

101 Africa Confidential, 1 December 1989.

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103 Gbagbo, Côte d'Ivoire, pp. 86–7.

104 Amondji, Côte d'Ivoire, pp. 127–8, and Gbagbo, Côte d'Ivoire.

105 Africa Confidential, 19 February 1988; also West Africa, 8 June 1987, pp. 1087 and 1094–5.

106 West Africa, 23–29 October 1989, p. 1758. Cf. Fraternité matin, 5 December 1989.

107 Fraternité matin, 8 and 17 November 1989.

108 According to a report in Africa Confidential, 7 October 1988, some revenues from the sale of state properties and parastatals, as well as some I.M.F. funds, may have been used as well.

109 The Times, 2 December 1989.

110 Radiofusion-Televisuel Ivoirienne, Official Visit of Babangida to Côte d'Ivoire, June 1987. Cf. West Africa, 29 June 1987, p. 1261.