# ABIDJAN (IVORY COAST/CÔTE D´IVOIRE): A FORMER AFRICAN SUCCESS STORY



## Matthias Offodile (Apr 16, 2005)

*I WOULD LIKE TO PRESENT YOU A PART OF AFRICA - NAMELY ABIDJAN IN CÔTE D´IVOIRE - WHICH THE WESTERN MEDIA RARELY SHOWED WHEN THE COUNTRY ECONOMICALLY FLOURISHED AND ENJOYED MORE THAN FOUR DECADES OF POLITICAL STABILITY AFTER INDEPENDENCE IN 1960 FROM FRANCE.....

MOST OF THE PHOTOS DATE BACK TO THE GLORIOUS DAYS OF ABIDJAN AND CÔTE D´IVOIRE I DO HOPE YOU LIKE THEM  
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Thanks to the leadership of this man (see photo below), the country economically flourished and began rising from out of nothing in the 60´s after its independence; by the 70´s Abidjan was already nickamed the "Paris of Africa" with its wide boulevards and chic side-walk cafés, fancy boutiques, luxury hotels, its western lifestyle, its Olympic-sized ice-skating rink (the only one on the continent at that time, besides, South Africa) and its French patisseries (you could even find patisseries that were open 24h a day) and charcuteries, too. The governement invested heavily in social housing and infrastructure at that time so the effects of city slums was greatly reduced and poverty and filth in the 80´s was very little;, crime was almost non-existent: you could go out even at night without locking your doors. (sounds strange todays but it was true then or at "à l´époque" what the locals say when talking about former times)...my parents and myself really enjoyed living there profusely  
Moreover, water shortage and power failures were non-existent, there were, excellent roads and highways (eve outside the city), very well-stocked hypermarkets and malls, no stinky lagoon (people were water-skiing at that time on it), almost no eye-sores. And a normal urban middle-class Ivoirian family had two GOOD cars of the OWN, just to give you a hint. The urban middle-class Ivoirians had a good Western/French lifestyle ("savoir-vivre"), not to speak of the wealthy....*Côte d´ivoire together with Zimbabwe were the two real African success stories after independence. Their downfall hurts deeply....and is a great loss to Africa*...but let´s hope for a better tomorrow.  

























































































































































































































































































































*Abidjan used to be the fashion capital in francophone Africa
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*MISS CÔTE D´IVOIRE 2005*











*GOLF COURSE IN ABIDJAN*





























*THE NEWLY BUILT AMERICAN EMBASSY*










*SOME PLANNED PROJECTS IF NOT THE CRISIS HAD TORN THAT COUNTRY APART*










In Abidjan it was planned to build a complete new mega stadium with up to 180 000 visitor capacity, it should be modelled after the "stade de france" in St.Dénis/Paris, this is the best I could find.











*ABIDJAN HAS WONDERFUL BEACHES AND HOLIDAY RESORTS IN ITS VINCINITY
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*AND SOME HUMAN BEAUTIES, too
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*schools in abidjan *



















and who could represent better his country than him

*DIDIER DROGBA*











































































*MODERN ABIDJAN CULTURE
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this is "coupé décalé", a sexy and cool dancing style that revolutionized Abidjan




























TRADITIONAL CULTURE












*SOME MALLS*
























































*some highways outside of Abidjan, in Côte d´ivoire*


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## Very Controversial (Dec 4, 2005)

Those are seriously good photos. You should make a book. . Your country has nice skylines.


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## samba_man (Dec 26, 2004)

AWESOME THREAD...Impress me a lot, very well developed country, and full of interesting things.....what a great holidays destination!


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## schmidt (Dec 5, 2002)

Yeah, I already knew Abidjan was a very developed city, but I hadn't seen that many pics! Very very good indeed. There are some very good projects in the thread and the city looks pretty nice and liveable.

But, (and sorry for my ignorance) what actually happened in CIV to get the city ruined as you said Abidjan *was* a success story in the thread title?


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## You are to blame (Oct 14, 2004)

schmidt said:


> Yeah, I already knew Abidjan was a very developed city, but I hadn't seen that many pics! Very very good indeed. There are some very good projects in the thread and the city looks pretty nice and liveable.
> 
> But, (and sorry for my ignorance) what actually happened in CIV to get the city ruined as you said Abidjan *was* a success story in the thread title?


Matthias Offodile can be a bit over dramatic when it comes to the Ivory Coast. It used to be the top nation in West Africa, but a fairly non-violent brief civil war in the north, around the year 2000, has divided the country in two. Their hasn't been any fighting for a couple of years now and their is cease-fire with election to commence in October.

Abidjan use to be and may still be the financial capital of the region but the country as a result has been stagnant in the last 5 years with some of it's neighbor surpassing it.

The country is far from ruin and the civil war as the infrastructure was not damaged.


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## Æsahættr (Jul 9, 2004)

Can people still afford two cars??
I knew it was well-developed and rich but not _that_ rich, and have the droves of French citizens come back yet?


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## Poulpy (Nov 10, 2005)

Greatt pics, i hope investments and projects aren't stopped... My brother in law is from this country...


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## Matthias Offodile (Apr 16, 2005)

I am happy that some people are interested in Ivory Coast/Africa.   
Ivory Coast (or Côte d´ivoire its offcial name) used to be the third largest economy behind South Africa and Nigeria up to the late 90´s in sub-saharan Africa before the nasty problems began to emerge and civil strife broke out in 2002. Today other countries in Africa have surpassed Ivory Coast but it is still the second largest economy in West Africa (behind Nigeria) and by far the largest in francophone Africa despite the political crisis. However, there is no civil war as You are to Blame, said above, so people are hoping and praying that once the crisis is over the country will find its way back to normal relatively soon. The infrastructure is still in place and Ivorians are generally dynamic people.

In the past the country´s economy was mainly based on a strong agro-industrial basis. (which even helped to significantly reduce poverty in the rura areas of the South). The agricultural products were locally processed and exported afterwards. Moreover, they had a good service-sector there, too, which is in most other African countries nowadays not as developped as it was in Côte d´ivoire in the past. Before the crisis broke out, there have been some discoveries of large oil reserves in the offshore sector. (some people say that this is one of the main factors that boiled down to the crisis the country faces today, but I personally don´t share fully that viewpoint).

As you see on the pics most of the infrastructure dates back to the glory days of the country. (60´s/70´s/80´s/partly 90´s). Ivory Coast grew in double digit numbers in the 70´s (10-11% a year)...and average growth from 1993 to 1999 was around 7% per annum. (FOR A NON-OIL ECONOMY THIS IS GOOD!!!) The economy shrunk due to the crisis and many investors packed their bags. Last years official growth rate was less than 2%. (a slight recovery from the -3% in 2004). So the heydays of the country are a distant memory nowadays. However, as far as the monetary and fiscal stability is concerned Ivory Coast is no Zimbabwe (another former "African star performer"). Its currency is the CFA FRANC and it used to be pegged to the French Franc and is now pegged to the Euro, so inflation is no problem!

Someone asked if the French have returned? The big companies and the military has not left. The latter keeps the peace....but most of the French people (a lot were born in that country) has left the country already in the course of the last 5 to 6 years when the crisis intensified. (same can be said for many Ivorians as well , by the way). Only a couple of thousands (around 5000-6000 French I have been told) remain today in Ivory Coast. The Lebanese community is still strong (more than 150 000). Many are second or even third generation. Many African migrant workers (from neigbouring countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Guinea, Ghana etc.) are still there. (although many were brutally thrown out of the country in the course of the crisis, they worked very hard to build up the country, too) :bash: 

Poulpy, from which part of Côte d´ivoire does your broher in law come from?



> Can people still afford two cars??


lotrfan55345, no these times are gone! The urban middle-class has dwindled dramatically over the past years. Nowadays you have got the stinky rich, a thin layer of the middle-class and the masses that have nothing. The governement is investing little in social housing, hospitals, schools and roads nowadays. Even if you check out UNDP poverty statistics on Côte d´ivoire, you will see that poverty is rampant in Ivory Coast nowdays, numbers are on the rise beyond any doubt....and without being too pessimistic, it might take some years and a change of leadership before the tide turns.


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## Poulpy (Nov 10, 2005)

I don't know, my brother in law lives in France with his parents! He's Muslim, so maybe the North of Ivory Coast?


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## Matthias Offodile (Apr 16, 2005)

Poulpy, that´s nice. Maybe he comes from Bouaké or Korhogo then. Have you been to the Ivory Coast?


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## Poulpy (Nov 10, 2005)

Nope, never been in Ivory Coast, i've heard french white people aren't welcome (by the medias)... Maybe in some years... :cheers: 
My brother in law 's cousin played for Ivory Coast during the last WC (Abdulaye Meïté  )


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## Matthias Offodile (Apr 16, 2005)

Poulpy, never mind what the media say. On the whole, the French are not hated in Côte d´ivoire, Ivorians have generally always been very "francophiles" in the past. Those people who are yelling slogans are those that are jobless and uneducated. They are usually bought by some radical "jeune patriot" for a couple of CFA Franc and some shallow promises which are linked to Gbagbo´s self-centred clan who are looking for scapegoats for their own political failures while they plunder the country and they are desperately trying to legitimize their staying in power by spreading nationalistic and false "policies"....but Gbagbo´s legitimacy is decreasing rapidly because people disclosed his true personality ! HE BETRAYED HIS PEOPLE AND RUINED HIS COUTRY. HE IS A BRUTAL FACHIST!

but one day all bad things come to an end, Poulpy! And I do hope that all the evil spirits that haunt beautiful Côte d´ivoire will be chassed away so that the country can continue its way to development.  So have some patience before you go and visit the country so that you can return with good memories.  

PS: That ´s cool that you have someone in your family that played for the national team of Côte d´ivoire.


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## Franny (Oct 22, 2009)

Matthias Offodile said:


> Poulpy, never mind what the media say. On the whole, the French are not hated in Côte d´ivoire, Ivorians have generally always been very "francophiles" in the past. Those people who are yelling slogans are those that are jobless and uneducated. They are usually bought by some radical "jeune patriot" for a couple of CFA Franc and some shallow promises which are linked to Gbagbo´s self-centred clan who are looking for scapegoats for their own political failures while they plunder the country and they are desperately trying to legitimize their staying in power by spreading nationalistic and false "policies"....but Gbagbo´s legitimacy is decreasing rapidly because people disclosed his true personality ! HE BETRAYED HIS PEOPLE AND RUINED HIS COUTRY. HE IS A BRUTAL FACHIST!
> 
> but one day all bad things come to an end, Poulpy! And I do hope that all the evil spirits that haunt beautiful Côte d´ivoire will be chassed away so that the country can continue its way to development.  So have some patience before you go and visit the country so that you can return with good memories.
> 
> PS: That ´s cool that you have someone in your family that played for the national team of Côte d´ivoire.


Thx Matthias, I am Ivorian too, and I really appreciate how u r showing our graceful country...We all hope everything will be fine and that the country will get up and be stronger more than ever


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## isakres (May 13, 2009)

Nice pics Matthias, and its good to know CIV is not that bad....really looks charming enough to spend a full week vacation....


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Really very nice photos @Matthias, thanks for sharing


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