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COTE D’IVOIRE: REAPING BAD FRUITS FROM SEEDS OF DISCORD
Dr. Akin Adesina,
Harare, Zimbabwe
September 28, 2002
We lived in Cote d'Ivoire for five years, from 1990-1995 and we loved every moment of it. We lived at the time in the town of Bouake - which is just one hour to the famous Basilica in Yamoussoukro - the native home of the former President Houphouet Boigny. What is happening now in the country is so tragic. But those who know the history of the country should not be surprised. What is happening is the ripening of the fruits coming out from years of sowing seeds of discord. Jesus once said, “By their fruits you shall know them”. He also said “whatever you sow you shall reap”. Sometimes we pray to God to change the fruits, when indeed we have sown the bad seed!
Ivory Coast has long sown seeds of discord and what is happening now is the
harvest time of the fruits. Don’t be too surprised – a bad tree cannot produce
good fruits. I decided that I should share with you all my insights into the
history of the seeds of discord in Ivory Coast, so that you may see that the
current fruits are coming from the kind of seed sown.
Let me give you a history of the political and economic development of the
county, and its “rulers”, dead and alive.
Sowing the seeds of
ethnic conflicts
Its first ruler was
President "Houphouet Boigny or “Houghouet” as was fondly called. He ruled from
1960 to 1994 - a total of 34 years. The history that follows and the current
crisis can be traced to the behaviour, acts and seeds sown by the later
President.
At independence, the country had a massive amount of land, which its sparse
population could not effectively use. To the north of the country are poorer
nations, Burkina Faso and Mali, while also adjourning it is Guinea. The main
stay of the economy was (and still is) cocoa, with the country being former
largest producer in the world. Presently, it ranks about the 3rd largest. To
work the cocoa plantations, Houphouet encouraged high immigration from its
poorer neighbours. These migrants (called the "Dioula") were settled in the
south on the cocoa plantations. As their numbers grew, the President initiated a
land policy with the statement to the effect that "la terre est pour celui qui
la cultivate" - meaning the "land is for him who first cultivated it".
The traditional indigenes are called "Bete" tribe and the "Baoule"
tribes. They farm mainly in the forest zone, growing cocoa, oil palm and upland
rice. It is common knowledge that the "Bete" are less productive than the
migrants. In return for their labour, the migrants were given plots of lands. In
addition, they also cut down new forest lands for growing lowland rice. The "Bete"
never like growing the more productive lowland rice, as there is a taboo among
them that says that a man will loose his virility if he farms the lowland. While
this sounds like a myth, it might also reflect the higher level of disease
infections that are common in the lowlands. Field studies that I conducted while
working in rural areas of the country showed that the "Dioulas" had higher
yields than the indigenes and were more innovative. Many think the "Bete" are
lazy and drink only palm-wine. As the number of the immigrants increased, labour
productivity went up in the plantations and the nation experienced high
agricultural growth rates and nation incomes. It is also common to have child
slaves from these poor neighbouring countries, working for the "Bete" on their
cocoa plantations.
To
help the production of cotton and the new migrants (for obvious economic and
political reasons), Houphouet formed the CIDT (called Compagnie Ivoirien de
Textiles - or simply the Ivorian Textile Company) to help expand the production
of cotton in the North. The migrant "Dioulas" quickly capitalized on this, as
cotton was a crop they grew in their home countries in Mali, Burkina Faso and
Guinea. Cotton output grew rapidly. The migrants were now becoming powerful.
They control the major share of the commercial trade. Dioualas are by nature
great merchants. This rapid economic power in the hands of the migrants was used
for political advantage by then President Houphouet. He allowed all migrants to
become naturalized as citizens of the country. One must also realize that what
is now the north of Ivory Coast used to be former part of the Upper Volta (now
called Burkina Faso). So, the history of the relation between Ivory Ivory Coast
and Burkina Faso is a long one, where artificial borders divide the two
countries.
The government of the day used the migrants for political advantage due to their
numerical advantage. They voted always for the ruling party for its largess
towards them. Of course, then, there was only one national party - PDCI. The
growing economic power of the "Dioulas" became a point of resentment for the
indigene "Bete" and "Baoule" tribes. But things would get worse.
Political
in-fighting for ethnic dominance
The growing importance
of the "Dioula" came to the fore in mid-1990s when a "Dioula" was appointed as
Prime Minister. His name? Alasanne Ouattara. Ouattara, according to facts was
actually from Burkina Faso. He was formerly the head of the Central Bank for
West Africa (BCAO), carrying a Burkina Faso passport.
When the became Prime Minister in Ivory Coast, the indigenes started to
complain. Ouattara claimed that his mother was from Ivory Coast, but his father
was from Burkina Faso. According to Ivorian law, which is matrilineal, you take
the country of nationality of your mother; hence he claimed he is Ivorian - hard
to argue with!
As
President Houghouet came close to the end of his life, he realized that he had
not prepared anyone to take over from him. That, unfortunately, is the tragedy
in many African countries. A tussle for power started within the political
party, as Houphouet became weaker and frail. He nominated his protege, Mr. Konan
Bedie to be his successor.
Mr
Bedie is "Bete" and was the former Minister of Finance. The story has it that
Bedie is a son of Houghouet, and that he had him outside of wedlock. This story
is so rife, even today in the country, but remains unconfirmed. With the death
of Houghouet, Konan Bedie was sworn in as President, and had to convene a
national election within 90 days. Mr. Alassane Ouattara (the former Prime
Minister) had resigned and put his name forward for the party's nomination.
However, Konan Bedie used the power of the incumbent to scuttle Ouattara's
efforts and eventually told the nation that Ouattara is from Burkina Faso not
Ivory Coast - meaning he cannot run for Presidency. This of course, was
unconstitutional.
Ouattara threatened to go to the Supreme Court. Fearful that he might win in the
court, the government of Konan Bedie quickly got parliament (largely now
dominated by his own supporters within the PDCI party) to promulgate a new law.
That law stated that ONLY full-blooded Ivorians can run for Presidency of the
country. The implication was that if one had a mother from Ivory Coast and a
father from anywhere else, you can still be called an Ivorian, BUT you cannot
run for Presidency! My own sense was that even Konan Bedie might not meet this
criterion himself, as no one really knows his mother and father! Frustrated by
his disqualification from running for Presidency, Ouattara was helped by the
French government to move to become the Vice President at the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington DC.
The Military Coup: salvation or a curse?
The massive corruption
and ineptitude that characterized the Konan Bedie government led to a military
coup – the first in the history of the country. That coup was very much welcome
in the country and was widely celebrated. Although the new military leaders said
they were there temporarily to prevent national disaster they quickly started on
a plan to call for elections and have only General Guie as the sole candidate.
This met with stiff opposition in the country.
One of the main opposition leaders was Mr. Lauren Gbagbo - a long time
political opponent to the late President Houghouet Boigny. Mr. Gbagbo is a "Bete"
and a professor of political science. He had been known for his outspokenness
and hatred for the ruling PDCI party and of Konan Bedie. The late President
Houghouet Boigny shut him out into the political wilderness. Mr. Gbagbo's
political dictum is mainly ethnic based. He is known to dislike the "Dioulas"
and notorious for his fiery speeches that "Ivory Coast belongs only to Ivorians".
The
newly called election by the military was bloody. General Guie rigged the
election. Alassane Ouattara - who had been in political exile now in France -
was unable to run as he was disqualified. However, the political party he helped
set up ran for the elections. Apparently, his party did very well. With the
outcome of the elections now in doubt, the supporters of Lauren Gbagbo took to
the streets, supported by a dissident group in the military. Mayhem was
unleashed on Ivory Coast, especially its capital city of Abidjan. General Guie
ran into exile.
