Author Archives: admin

What’s in a name?

Posted on October 29, 2016 by admin

I’m not sure I’d ever heard anyone use the phrase ‘Drogba’s Country’ when I selected it for this blog. But it was pretty clear that the only thing most people knew about Cote d’Ivoire back in 2011 was that it … Continue reading →

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From Freetown, farewell Chris Simpson (1963-2016)

Posted on October 25, 2016 by admin

Over the last few days a diverse range of Africanists discovered they all had one friend in common, and that he had just died in an apartment in Dakar. The reporting legend that was Chris Simpson has left us. Others … Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Vive les vloggeuses

Posted on October 18, 2016 by admin

Just over a year ago, I wrote a blog post entitled ‘The Rise of the Female Blogger‘ about the explosion of a talented generation of women Ivorian bloggers, in what was a rather male-dominated sector in the early years. I think … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Web | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Seeing Abidjan with Freetown eyes

Posted on October 16, 2016 by admin

I’ve written a couple of blog posts in the past comparing Abidjan and Freetown (post1, post2). Travelling between two such cities would be an effective antidote for anyone who thinks you can treat African countries and cities as being basically … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Tourism | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cultural update

Posted on October 9, 2016 by admin

Arriving in Abidjan a few hours after the birth of my son, the space to visit friends and engage in cultural activities during my two weeks in Cote d’Ivoire were understandably limited. Coming from Freetown – which I increasingly view … Continue reading →

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My ex-neighbourhood – Cocody Danga

Posted on October 2, 2016 by admin

Last month I spent just over two weeks in Abidjan for the happy arrival of our new son Joshua. I hope to pen a few blog posts from the visit, but as a start, let me try and ramble a … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Decolonising Ivory Coast

Posted on August 28, 2016 by admin

I was interested to see a reference to Ivory Coast in Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s classic ‘Decolonising the Mind’ from 1986: Speaking of the racist literature of Haggard, Huxley et al: “In such a literature there were only two types of … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Politics | Leave a comment

Jobs for the boys

Posted on August 6, 2016 by admin

If there’s a story that depresses me almost more than any other when I survey the Ivorian newspaper front pages, it’s the headlines from ruling party youth members that they’ve been “forgotten”. Youth employment is a tragic and major issue … Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism, Politics | Leave a comment

Film review, Bronx-Barbes (2000)

Posted on August 1, 2016 by admin

Many years ago I inherited a copy of the film Bronx-Barbes from a journalist leaving Abidjan. Sadly it was on VHS and I never manged to find myself in a place with a player (and the cassette). Two years ago … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Ivorian cinema | Leave a comment

Taking a taxi in Abidjan

Posted on March 24, 2016 by admin

Last week I was chatting with a friend of mine who is about to move to Abidjan for a new job. She was asking lots of questions about taxi transportation, and I thought it might be useful to share some … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture | 9 Comments