Côte d’Ivoire
Summary
Close ties to France following independence in 1960, the development of cocoa production for export, and foreign investment all made Cote d’Ivoire one of the most prosperous of the West African states but did not protect it from political turmoil. In December 1999, a military coup – the first ever in Cote d’Ivoire’s history – overthrew the government. Junta leader Robert GUEI attempted to rig the elections held in late 2000 and declared himself the winner. Popular protest forced him to step aside and an election brought Laurent GBAGBO into power. Ivoirian dissidents and disaffected members of the military launched a failed coup attempt in September 2002 that developed into a rebellion and then a civil war. In 2003, a cease-fire resulted in the country being divided with the rebels holding the north, the government the south, and peacekeeping forces a buffer zone between the two. In March 2007, President GBAGBO and former New Forces rebel leader Guillaume SORO signed an agreement in which SORO joined GBAGBO’s government as prime minister and the two agreed to reunite the country by dismantling the buffer zone, integrating rebel forces into the national armed forces, and holding elections. Difficulties in preparing electoral registers delayed balloting until 2010. In November 2010, Alassane Dramane OUATTARA won the presidential election over GBAGBO, but GBAGBO refused to hand over power, resulting in a five-month resumption of violent conflict. In April 2011, after widespread fighting, GBAGBO was formally forced from office by armed OUATTARA supporters with the help of UN and French forces. OUATTARA won a second term in 2015 and is focused on rebuilding the country’s economy and infrastructure while reforming the security forces. The UN peacekeeping mission departed in June 2017. GBAGBO was in The Hague on trial for crimes against humanity, but was acquitted in January 2019. Côte d’Ivoire is scheduled to hold presidential elections in November 2020. [1]
Statistics
From the The Joshua Project [2]
In the News
📷 : Wikipedia
Prayer Guide
The country has been essentially divided between Muslim north and multi-faith but predominantly Christian south. Although peace is established and the nation is moving forward, the loss of life, of infrastructure and of confidence in Côte d’Ivoire’s fundamental unity will leave scars on the nation’s psyche. Pray for political leaders who are visionary, non-partisan, free of corruption and able to boldly take the nation forward and past this unfortunate episode in Côte d’Ivoire’s history. Pray also for a satisfactory solution to the remaining challenge – how to handle the millions of immigrants from neighbouring countries, a problem at the core of the conflict of 2002-2007.
Christian media:
a) Publishing and literature took a serious blow in the civil conflicts, as stocks were looted, buildings damaged, foreign partners fled the country and economic upheaval decimated business. United Bible Society, CLC, CPE (Evangelical Publication Centre) and Maison de la Bible were all affected. Pray for these ministries to be restored to the functionality and influence they had before the war. Pray also for the impact of the Africa Bible Commentary (Langham) and the SIM Pastors’ Booksets projects.
b) Radio. Radio Fréquence Vie broadcasts in French and Jula. SIM’s plan is to eventually turn it over to the national Church. Five other cities have relay stations to further broadcast the programmes in French, Jula, Baule, Abidji, Bété, Senufo, Mahouka and other languages. Methodists also recently started their own station. The Evangelical Radio Association in Côte d’Ivoire represents several stations, as Christians seek to utilize this most popular form of media. TWR and others produce radio programmes in studios in Abidjan, which are broadcast throughout West Africa and to the whole world. Much radio ministry is funded by private donors, since churches have been slow on the uptake to support this strategic ministry.
c) PEMA, the film studio for the Association of Evangelicals in Africa, based in Abidjan, produces culturally relevant programmes on video for transmission by national television stations across West Africa. Topics such as HIV/AIDS, family life and other relevant social issues get a sound biblical treatment in these programmes.
d) The JESUS film is in use in 12 languages, with another two dubbing projects underway. Praise God for the completion of the film in Jula.
e) Christian music writing and recording continues to be influential in Côte d’Ivoire and indeed from here to the rest of West Africa. Many quality albums and songs have been recorded and produced here. Pray that the messages of the songs remain biblically sound and that the lifestyle of the artists reflects the message. [2]