Thaws political tension : Claudine Talon, the key ?

Whereas 2012, as an economic operator, he was close to confronting the power of the former head of state Yayi Boni with whom he was no longer on good terms and should be arrested, according to his words, it was his wife Claudine Gbénagnon Talon who dissuaded him. And he takes the path of exile.

In an interview at the end of December 2023 with public service journalists, Ortb, the current President of the Republic admitted that there are these people who speak to him and he is obliged to execute. Allusion made to his wife in the anecdote linked to his hasty departure from Benin for France, over a decade ago. « (…) You have no idea everything that is happening at the top of the state. There will be a press conference by a certain Master Agbo on 18 September 2012. And he would have said that President Yayi Boni would pass over the corpse of the Beninese to obtain a third mandate. The country was doing very badly. I hadn't followed the conference since I was at a dinner. Very quickly, the president said or imagined that it was me who ordered this press conference. The next day, he was in Abuja when he instructed the defense and security services to come and get me. And it was one of those sent who called me and told me to leave the country. He told me : “We know your nature, but this time, it is serious. We have been instructed by the president to seek you out by all means. So you have to leave the country, don’t be suicidal”, says Patrice Talon, who pursues : " SO, I informed my wife. I told him : " Me, I'm not a fugitive, I'll see what happens. » And my wife told me : « Patrice, standing outside the country, you will fight. But underground, non. So, you won’t be a fool.” Me, Sometimes, when some people give me recommendations, I am docile. This is how I left the country”. If we stick to this subject of the current tenant of the Marina, it is obvious that if he is in the chair today, his wife Claudine has a lot to do with it. And Patrice Talon consults her, listens to him and follows his “recommendations”. When we know that less than two years from the end of the second five-year term, several subjects which anger public opinion, particularly among the ranks of the opposition, remained unanswered despite the steps taken both internally and beyond the borders, Is there no need to explore the trail of the First Lady? ? To be more precise, the parents, amis, allies and sympathizers of Reckya Madougou, by Joel Aivo, students still in prison for election-related charges, personalities in exile since 2016, couldn't they walk the Claudine Talon trail, If it's not done yet, to obtain this much sought-after flexibility at Patrice Talon, his husband ?

In the opinion, he says to himself that we will have to observe the head of state again until the 31 July 2024, eve of the commemoration of Benin's Independence Day to see if he would make a strong statement in the direction of the release of these people. But at the same time, the Claudine Talon option would not spoil the sauce. This is what I believe.

Chamss-Deen BADAROU (The Gatehouse)