President Alassane Ouattara of Ivory Coast: By sijibomi ogundele

President Alassane Ouattara of Ivory Coast: By sijibomi ogundele



• He was twice barred from running in presidential elections (1995 & 2000) because he was regarded as a foreigner (Burkinabe);

• Heavily criticised for being too Western because he married a French Lady;

• Denied the Presidency in November 2010 Polls which he was adjudged to have won;

• Critics and opposition preferred the devastation of war which resulted in the death of more than 3,000 people, than to concede over power to him;

• Finally installed as President on May 11th, 2011.

Within 4 years in power…

• After the total devastation of Ivory Coast, in less than 2 years, he revived the country’s economy, with over 8% growth;

• He institutionalised policies that encouraged growth, investment and never before seen increment in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI);

• Private investment soared 28% in 2014 from a year earlier to reach $1.65 billion;

• Just last year, the power situation improved so much, that out of the entire 365 days of the year, they were ONLY without power supply for 29 hours;

• Built new highways and dams, cut red tape for businesses and increased cocoa output;

• His biggest achievement so far is a $300Million toll bridge and its Multi-Storey interchanges which have transformed the City, dissolving many of its traffic jams and pushing up real estate prices in surrounding areas.

What’s the difference between Ivory Coast which has lesser+ GDP and few natural resources, and Nigeria which holds a bigger GDP, enormous resources and manpower, yet struggles with the provision of basic necessities?

.

The difference, my people, is Leadership and the best way to enforce leadership is to stamp out corruption!




By Sijibomi ogundele