Ivory Coast replaces colonial-era street names to reclaim national history: Video
A major street-renaming initiative is reshaping the urban landscape of Ivory Coast’s capital, Abidjan, as the government pays tribute to national heroes by replacing colonial-era and foreign names with those of influential Ivorian figures.
The project, launched in 2021 with a budget of 10 billion CFA francs (approximately $17 million), aims to honour political leaders, cultural icons, and revolutionary figures who have shaped the nation’s history.
The project is expected to expand to other major cities across the country.
"Travelling around our country has become much more complex, and we need to bring our traffic and location systems up to international standards," Alphonse N’Guessan, the official overseeing the program for street name changes, renovation, and urban restructuring, told the AFP.
Beyond practical concerns, the initiative carries deep symbolic meaning for many Ivorians who see it as a reclamation of national identity and memory.
“It marks the history of Ivory Coast. Every boulevard is named after a politician, a minister or a renowned artist,” said receptionist Perpetue Bugre.
Streets previously named after French or unfamiliar foreign figures are now being renamed after those who played a central role in the country’s history. For some, the changes bring a long-overdue sense of pride and recognition.
"Let’s just say that it's already a great satisfaction for us," said Jean Bruce Gneple, a local salesperson. “President Félix Houphouët-Boigny was and will remain in the memory of all Ivorians as the first man of Ivory Coast, so this is a tribute to him, and we are proud of it.”
Franck Hervé Mansou, a 31-year-old technician, emphasised the educational value of the project.
“They say it's 'Boulevard Giscard d’Estaing,' 'Boulevard Blanchard.' We didn’t know Blanchard,” he said. “At school, we were taught about Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Biaka Boda, Marie Koré. The names of the streets in Ivory Coast should belong to Ivorian revolutionaries, Ivorian politicians. In the future, we will be able to explain this to our children.”
The street renaming is part of the government's strategy introduced in 2017 to modernise urban management and improve identification systems in growing cities.
