President Patrice Talon of Benin on Saturday unveiled three monuments in the capital Cotonou.
According to details, these monuments are aimed at reminding Beninese to discover themselves, to shed the false complexes that divide them and feed mistrust, and instead celebrate what is great in them.
“We don’t celebrate enough of what is gratifying in us, and in others, enough to instill pride in ourselves and in our community. What we sing daily to the point of sometimes baptizing them “Beninoiseries”.
It’s time to get rid of this false complex that isolates us, divides us, makes us afraid of each other, inhibits us and feeds our underdevelopment. It is time to discover ourselves and to value what is great in us”, urges the Head of State during the inauguration of the Bio Guéra monument erected at the crossroads of Cotonou airport.
“It is time to be aware and proud of what we are Benin: the successful fusion of these ancient great kingdoms and peoples that are the baatonou, berba, wassangari, yoruba, adja, fon, goun, waama, batammariba, yom , peulh, and many others; each as deserving as the other,” added President Patrice Talon.
In front of the Amazon monument, the first magistrate invites the people to see this statue as the symbol of the Beninese woman. These women who stand out as much as the men.
“They existed the Amazons, and we have, materially or immaterially, in one way or another, generated, on the land of Benin, the words courage, bravery, strength, combativeness and honor which are not exclusive to the male gender. In Benin, as much as men, women have distinguished themselves by these values and have broken the myth of the weaker sex. This statue of all beauty and all grace, will be in our eyes and those of our visitors, the symbol of the Beninese woman: (that of yesterday Editor’s note), that of today and that of tomorrow “.
At the level of the monument to the devoted, in the garden of Mathieu, a place which will now serve as a deposit of wreaths in honor of the daughters and sons of the country who died for
“In reality, this monument to the dead of Placodji does not concern us. Rather, he has always challenged us, revived our sorrows and we do not have to console ourselves with what he would also be, that of the combatants of the First and Second World Wars. These wreaths laid by our hands, in this place, rather celebrated and honored our executioners,” said the Head of State.
The first laying of wreaths at the monument of the devoted will take place this Monday on the occasion of the celebration of the 62nd anniversary of Benin’s accession to international sovereignty. In doing so, the country is correcting a mistake it has been making since 1960, said Patrice Talon.
