Going Yaya for Boni

Two weeks ago it was announced at school that the President of Benin, Yayi Boni, was to visit Lalo. This was very exciting news- the president of the country was going to visit little ‘o Lalo?! While at first this was exciting, in the end it was a pain because academic life at school practically stopped because every day the President was going to arrive. The first few days all classes were cancelled because the students had to clean (let me note here that he was never even coming to the school directly, but the athletic field behind the school- so why everything had to be cleaned repeatedly is beyond me). The other days only half of the students showed up assuming there were no classes, there were constant interruptions by administrators coming into classes to make announcements “in case he arrives tomorrow”, and oh yeah- there was more cleaning. Everyday, we wondered, “is he coming tomorrow?”
Well he finally arrived this past Friday- two weeks after the original arrival date. So, of course all classes were cancelled because he was going to arrive at 9AM. (Side note: You might not think it is such a big deal that classes kept getting cancelled, but the problem is that many of these teachers literally began teaching classes 2 weeks ago- even though class supposedly started October 1st- because of numerous other issues in the education system here. So at this point, with only another month of school until exams before the Christmas break every class counts!!) He did not arrive until 3PM.

In the meantime, however, it was quite a site to see! There were more people in Lalo than we ever imagined possible! People were brought in from surrounding villages by the truckloads- literally! Imagine an open top 18 wheeler filled with people- because that’s what we saw! There were many different groups of women, artists, villagers, etc. all dressed in matching tissue, playing instruments, and singing. We walked around, talked with students, and took in the sites and sounds as folks danced and made use of the time while waiting.

After a few hours, we decided to stake out our spot. We were with Miranna’s friend, Judith that works at the school, and the school director’s oldest son. Judith sweet talked us into a place under the sound/technical tent which was directly to the left of the main stage/tent. We stood there for a while, when the mayor of Lalo (whom we had not yet met) noticed us- being the only Yovos in Lalo, we weren’t hard to miss! He came over to the side tent, introduced himself and then asked if we’d like to sit with him at the front. Of course, we weren’t going to refuse! The good news: he led us to 3rd row seats directly behind the President’s seat- the bad news: we were instructed that we were not allowed to take any pictures. You’ll see below we snuck one.

Well his helicopter finally swooped in around 3PM. That’s right- helicopter. In a town where not everyone has electricity or running water (like us), the president comes in, hovers around with the helicopter and lands in a nearby corn field. This is quite a site to see for many who haven’t even left their village, or seen an airplane, let alone a helicopter; it nearly caused a stampede as people rushed to follow it around and see where it would land. He made a round to greet the crowds, sat down and we proceeded to listen to local representatives of the ministries and artisan groups speak for over an hour. Finally, Boni got up to speak- for 5 minutes! And then he was gone! In the end, it was a very anti-climatic day. We sat in the heat (luckily, not directly in the sun!) for 5 hours waiting for his arrival. By the time he left it was 5PM- we were hot, hungry, thirsty, tired, and annoyed! We went home, showered, ate, and took a 4 hour nap! But, the people love him. Apparently he’s done a lot of good for the country, but we are still trying to find out what and how exactly he’s benefitted Benin. He did note how well agriculture was doing in Lalo given how he had just landed in the corn field. Oh, and the helicopter was pretty cool.

Miranna (wow- do I stand out in a crowd here?!), friend Judith, and lots of women from Lalo in matching tissue at the entrance to the school. The sign says “The population of the commune of Lalo welcomes his Excellence the President Yayi Boni to Lalo.”

Our view of Boni- just two rows away- but you could barely see him from his surrounding entourage.

Two girls selected to greet Boni. One girl is holding a cup of water- it is a Beninese custom to offer water to visitors. The other girl is holding flowers.