Five things Ivory Coast’s first president, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, will be remembered for

Photo: Trip Down Memory Lane

He was against a unified Africa

Just like his inspiration, French president Charles de Gaulle who did not want a unified Europe, Houphouët-Boigny was against a united Africa as proposed by Ghana’s first president Kwame Nkrumah. He was more concerned about the Ivory Coast, which had just gained independence from France.

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He was however not against the formation of African institutions over which he could have control.