Just like the residence of the late General Mathieu : Dantokpa soon in oblivion

A few years from now, we will hear more about one of the largest markets in West Africa. This is the Dantokpa market which has been the pride of Benin for decades. And already voices are being raised, including that of Célestine Zanou, to call on those in power not to suppress or erase this large part of the history of Benin..

“Everything is permitted but not everything is useful. Everything is permitted but not everything edifies, teach us the Holy Scriptures. And when it comes to political governance, of the conduct of a people, consultation and respect for the memory of this people become imperative” affirms Célestine Zanou. In his pleading, the former Director of the Cabinet of President Mathieu Kérékou lists five major reasons not to destroy the memory of this hardworking people.

To believe it, it is a disastrous project which germinated “in the minds of those in power who confuse development with the satisfaction of personal desires, to the realization of a man's desires to the detriment of taking into account Man as a whole and the people in their sincere and realistic aspirations”.

Dantokpa she will say, “the largest market in Cotonou and Benin, more than a century old has not found favor with decision-makers for its development and modernization. It is included in the list of destructions and demolitions in progress in our country. Sadness ! »

“Everything is going up in smoke in this country, including what should never be because it is part of our heritage., of our history, of our memory and this under pretexts that cannot be defended before what we should call the collective conscience”, she said before continuing “Everything goes up in smoke in the face of an incomprehensible and unacceptable silence, in front of a people paralyzed since the destruction without qualms of the residence of the late General Mathieu Kérékou, heritage and incontestable memory of our political history ; a demolition which made way for a garden which is only a shadow of itself. Sadness ! ».

Very uplifted, Célestine Zanou with her beautiful pen justifies that: “Everything goes up in smoke because only one man wants it, giving the impression of wanting to erase the memory of this people with the destruction of the country's heritage. Let's imagine 2026, an elected president who arrives and destroys the Amazon statue, the marina palace, the marina boulevard, the Sofitel, the bridges of Womey, Tori, Animals, the neighborhood markets which emerged quite simply because these infrastructures would not fit into his vision! Yes it is possible since it is happening today ! What feeling would that give us then? ? We must stop this way of acting which ignores the history and collective memory of a people and despises the people and the executives available and willing to contribute their stones to the construction of the Benin edifice”.

Why this project must not prosper

According to Célestine Zanou, destroy this Dantokpa market: “it’s putting out the second eye of the people of Benin after the blow to our first eye with the demolition of the PLM Alédjo, a place steeped in history and which deserved to be established as a museum. From the one-eyed to which our leaders have reduced us, here we are on the verge of becoming blind if Dantokpa fell in turn. Destroying this Dantokpa market is making the conscious choice to amputate our arms and legs, these parts of our bodies which allow us to happily go to the Dantokpa market and engage in these activities that are sources of social bonding, income, of happiness and honor. Destroy this Dantokpa market, it is consciously choosing to hurt our souls already suffering due to so much unshared destruction during the electoral campaigns and above all not in accordance with the history of development of our country. Destroy Dantokpa, it is destroying our memory, but a people without memory is a lost people and who, for the others, does not exist. Destroy Dantokpa, it’s destroying our history, the one who gives weight to our country and our people”.

She persists and signals that to remain silent in the face of this disastrous project, “it’s accepting not to exist physically, nor mentally, nor emotionally ; it is accepting to be without identity and I thank the voices that, in desperation, still made themselves heard ». “Working to make history, it is to ensure that the people honored, respected and considered in the highlights of its history, of his memory and his soul brings you in", she adds.

Dantokpa, and label

« Dantokpa, an emblematic market of West Africa which is the pride of the Beninese with a most envied geographical location providing positive inspiration in the direction of its development and modernization, an idea that germinated years ago, an idea which is finalized by Beninese experts in river and maritime spatial planning who are just waiting to be contacted to be useful to their country Benin, the only country that we have the duty to build together with honor and dignity. Dantokpa is a West African merchant port that must be rethought with an intelligence of the future that takes its cues from the past, in the existing. This space just needs to be optimized with adequate infrastructure for judicious exploitation to the great happiness of Benin and its people who would take pride and honor from it.. Specular clustering platform, parking on several levels like we see in countries not far from us, fresh product recovery units, expressways, underground, embarkation and disembarkation docks, a connection to a river transport system etc…. », clarifies Célestine Zanou.

However, she is more than convinced that “It is the time to lead the Dantokpa market towards the image of an international merchant port with modern boats, a backup shipyard, an observatory of the cycles of exchange between fresh water and salt water in order to make it a showcase of contemporary urban heritage and not to dismantle it. We owe it to the hardworking Beninese people who cry : Dantokpa must stay where he is”.

Damien TOLOMISSI