Welcome to Cotonou

Welcome Back to Cotonou

I am writing this blog from Cotonou, the economic capital of the Republic of Benin. 

My memories of Cotonou date back to the 1980’s and 1990’s when I was working in Togo [as Director of the Africa Division of the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) ]  and in Ghana  [as Director of the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA)].  I remembered vividly that the portion of the East-West coastal road between Abidjan in Cote d’Ivoire and Lagos, Nigeria that goes through Cotonou was a major bottleneck. It consisted of a narrow, poorly-maintained stretch of this important corridor. It was usually choked with traffic, especially motor cycle traffic. In fact, Cotonou became the first city in Africa to officially recognize motor cycles for commercial transport of passengers (motor cycle taxis). In those days, from the western end of Cotonou to the eastern border was not much longer than four kilometers. But, if you were lucky, it would take you two hours to drive through Cotonou.

So, it was with much anticipation that I arrived in Cotonou from Accra last evening (Sunday the 26^th of June).  As I had expected, the traffic into the city was congested. The vehicular traffic had more than tripled. But, to my pleasant surprise, I soon discovered, as we drove into the city that dramatic changes had occurred. Cotonou compares favorably with Lagos in the density of “fly-overs”. The old narrow, poorly-maintained road had been replaced by dual carriage highways.

I am spending this morning in the offices of the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice). Driving from my hotel to the office revealed that what I saw last evening was only the precursor of what was happening in Cotonou. The city has changed. Infrastructure development seems to have become the pre-occupation of the government. There are four-lane motor-ways with fly-overs already constructed or being constructed all over the city.

My friends tell me that what is happening is the dividend of peace and good governance. A lot has been said of the progress made by Ghana because the country has successfully carried out four elections since the end of military rule. The Republic of Benin has an equally impressive record. Multi-party elections were first held in 1991 and five successful elections have been held since then. What has happened in both Ghana and Benin demonstrates that progress is the product of peace and good governance. African leaders are not incapable of establishing both peace and good governance.  I am looking forward to enjoying my one-week’s stay in this amazing city with the motor cycle taxis and all!