The oppressive heat and its twin, humidity, stick around even after I depart from Abidjan.
My mind’s yet to ease on involuntary aerobics: converting CFA to SA rand. My destination, Yamoussoukro, replaced Abidjan as the capital city decades ago. But, Babi, as locals refer to their city, remains the heart and soul of Côte d’Ivoire.
It is West Africa’s second-largest city after Lagos. Skyscrapers and expensive apartments speak of economic growth. Ébrié lagoon, on which the morning sun glistens, stretches as far as the eye can see, but does nothing to calm the heat. Nightlife is lit: fashion, mood, and music.
For the city’s residents, Abidjan is the capital of coolness. As they say here: Babi est zoo (zoh). Babi’s cool.
Yamoussoukro, a city of low-rise buildings, is synonymous with the concept of liberalised African skies – five freedoms in the aviation parlance.
Decades later, that concept remains in a hangar. To switch lanes, cooperation in arts and culture has been alive for aeons. Years ago, it was Brenda Fassie and Magic System.
Davido and Nasty C, as well as Tyla and Tems, are doing it. Politically-inspired Fela Kuti, Harry Belafonte and then-exiled Hugh Masekela did it. Curiously, Southern African filmmakers barely partner with their peers from other regions and hardly look elsewhere on the continent, even when it comes to videos.
I am getting ahead of myself. The receding sights – as our orange bus slugs A3 to the north this morning, the road that scythes the land for 700 km – are tracks of verdant land. Beyond the savannah, the eclectic terrain includes many plains, rolling hills and craggy grounds.
The south is dotted by lagoons and hemmed by a coastline of 600 km. Contrast that to the desert-like north, where Sudanese-style mosques are.
In the mountainous northwest, where the country meets Guinea and Liberia, sits a pretty Mount Nimba Integral Nature Reserve – declared a world heritage site in 1982. Mt Nimba resembles equally photogenic Maloti and uKhahlamba as well as Makhonjwa back in Southern Africa.
On either side of A3, palm and coconut trees salute passers-by as if to say Akwaaba. Also in the mix are cashew, cocoa and coffee plantations. Cocoa, Côte d’Ivoire’s top export, is at the heart of the country’s economy.
Alas, as the world’s leading producer, the nation missed opportunities by exporting raw cocoa but is now set to leverage its gift and earn forex and bolster its skills base through initiatives such as the recently-launched 21-hectare cocoa processing complex that cost US$230-million (nearly R4-billion).
Beyond cocoa, the story of Abidjan’s texture and rhythm, partly captured in surreal Marabout Cheri, for one, is incomplete without a mention of a maquis, a lively open-air eatery. One September evening, on my second visit to a maquis in Babi, great company made the ambience tastier. Delectable. So was the food.
Two women in smart-casual African print approach from a yellow taxi painted Glorie à Dieu (Glory unto God). Inshallah, Shalom, declare others. Many other vehicles, including trucks, bear religious messages. Others praise Didier Drogba, Kolo Touré and their fellow top male footballers.
Over there, the waves’ whispers grow louder by the hour. Menus brim with tasty juices and hearty meals: alloco, chicken, garba, goat meat, jollof rice and attiéké (pronounced acheke).
Unesco now lauds attiéké, a must-eat – a cassava-based staple often enjoyed with fish, gravy and fried onions – for its importance to humanity. In 2024, the organisation added the dish to the world’s list of intangible cultural heritage.
A few male patrons, in Afro-chic suits, nostalgically sing along to Premier Gaou by the iconic Magic System. By the way, that band had a track with MaBrrr – a rare fusion of genres and regional tastes, with traces of five languages.
Separately, Kandy Guira, an electropop star who grew up in Yamoussoukro and beyond, singles Fassie as her idol. This evening, club DJs serve genres like Afrobeats, coupé-décalé and infectious zouglou. On the playlist of a club – at Babi’s upmarket Cocody (near must-see Banco park) – is a chart-topping Serge Beynaud, once crowned by the Kundé, as the Best Artist in West Africa. Awesome.
Despite a lively nightlife, sufficient infrastructure, and, generally, sights that would make photographers swoon, the country is doing poorly in inbound tourist traffic, according to data from the UN World Tourism Organisation. On the other hand, beyond filmmakers from Francophone nations, few creatives consider these climes as film locations.
The mix of sea views, world heritage sites (now totalling five, West Africa’s second highest behind Senegal), rainforests, undulating mountains, a surfer’s paradise in Assinie, lagoons and other gifts from Mother Nature, along with good air connectivity, seems to count for little. To be fair, the region is an “uncharted territory for most English-speaking Africans,” asserted author Sihle Khumalo on his maiden visit to West Africa.
While taking in the beauty also reflected in locally-produced films, like Bal Poussière, I’m reminded of the nation’s push to be a movie hub. It might be a tall order given Nigeria’s dominance, but – despite a list of other downsides, including lazy location scouts – early signs show that the country can do it.
But, pity, even classics like award-winning Bal Poussière, which has had plenty of runs and re-runs in the region, and made it to Cannes Classic, rarely make it to Southern Africa. “Bal Poussiere is a hugely entertaining film about the love-games men and women play, while Hynes is a masterpiece of symbolism and cinematic intrigue as it explores the dynamism of history and tradition.
Neither is to be missed,” wrote the Mail & Guardian in 1997. That was then, with the country keen to culturally reintegrate with the rest of Africa. These days, TV chiefs play Eurocentric. Likewise, it puts European projects on a pedestal and treats the Global South and Africa poorly.
No surprise then that southerners – cinephiles and average consumers – miss out on, for instance, Les coups de la vie, Ivanna and Dans la pleau d’un caïd among other old and new Ivorian films that I got introduced to before and after I visited the country.
In film, continental collaborations remain rare.
“We are not seeing many co-productions, but we, first as individuals, must change this. When we network, let us be mindful of fostering relations,” Durban-based industry expert Sakhile Gumede said, decrying missed opportunities. “(Tourism) and film are interlinked. Look at the location. Filmmaking is huge, but it’s often underrated. When some leaders think of tourism, they think of aspects such as game parks, but hardly consider film.”
On the upside, the Ivorian film sector is relishing what’s widely dubbed a historic double victory: Éve Guehi and Akakpo Massé Fortuné, thespians in Les Nounous, are the reigning Best African Actress and Best African Actor after their respective wins at the Sotigui Awards (TV series). “[The accolades] confirm the rise of Ivorian cinema on the African scene,” wrote Fratmat, adding that the Franck Vléhi-produced series is now one of the most-watched in Côte d’Ivoire and neighbouring countries.
The country would do well to expand its scope of productions beyond Francophone movies. This would also buoy tourist traffic. Abroad, The White Lotus lifted hotel bookings in Hawaii and Sicily. Thai tourism chiefs later hailed the series for bristling reservations in Phuket and Samui.
Closer to home, Umkhokha, then SA’s most-watched DStv show, reportedly accounted for a slice of the 1.3 million people who visited Durban in December. Overall, the visitors sustained 11,500 jobs, having injected R6.3-billion in revenues, we wrote.
On the downside, SA and its neighbours barely bring any slices of the rest of Africa to her shores. Here’s a quick test: when last did you see a film from West Africa on e.tv, say, vis-á-vis one from Britain or Australia? Let’s not even mention Hollywood.
Even better, when last did you hear a song, say, by an artist based in Algeria, Ethiopia, Madagascar or Zambia on Heart, Ikwekwezi, Lesedi, RSG, YFM, 947 or Kaya? Kaya was home of the Afropolitan, no? In contrast, TV productions like Skeem Saam and Gomora, as well as such artists as AKA and Uncle Waffles, get a share of the airwaves and dancefloors in West Africa. A few channels, notably 702 and Power, stand out for trying to reflect Africa in them.
Trees hug Yamoussoukro’s wide roads, quietly watching as people come and go. Tourists trickle to see the world’s largest basilica and the crocodile lake. For me, it’ll just be Notre-Dame de la Paix, thanks. The basilica was built as a tribute to peace, hence its name.
Well, it is not as gigantic as I’d imagined but bewilderingly staggering! The basilica has three grand sections. One of those is a cathedral that holds up to 18,000 souls, nearly three times the capacity of Regina Mundi’s, Soweto, Southern Africa’s largest cathedral. Overall, Notre-Dame premises can accommodate over 200,000 people outdoors. Massive.
Next on my journey is the picturesque Grand-Bassam, declared a world heritage site in 2012, via Abidjan. The Abidjan-to-Bassam leg is a lot shorter, and the mood is more laid back. Heaving palm trees sway back and forth. Shades of green offer the background while Ébrié lagoon gives the area an island feel. Bassam is slow-paced but soulful. Horses gallop on the beach, young and old residents take in the sun, others take a swim and a few play volleyball. Pretty sights. And, they linger. Just like the taste of attiéké and zouglou. – news@mukurukuru.co.za
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