Professor Octave Cossi Houdégbé, a politician, academic, and enthroned king, passed away on Monday, June 9, 2025, at the Ouidah zone hospital after a short illness, according to his relatives.
Benin is in mourning. Professor Octave Cossi Houdégbé, a former deputy, renowned academic, and royal figure, died on Monday, June 9, 2025, at the age of 80 at the Ouidah zone hospital. His death marks the end of an exceptional journey, woven between politics, higher education, and the traditional values of the Allada kingdom, of which he was a distinguished lineage.
Originally from Dékanmey in the Kpomassè commune, he was enthroned as king of Dahe, under the title of Dada Kokpon, on January 9, 2012. His life was at the crossroads of modern and ancestral powers, combining academic rigor with community commitment.
A Statesman and Builder
Politically, Octave Houdégbé made an impact with his commitment and expertise. He was Secretary of State in the Central African Republic in the 1980s-1990s, then a deputy in the National Assembly of Benin under the banner of the Republican Bloc. He was repeatedly called upon to restructure crisis-stricken state companies, demonstrating his skills in public management.
But it is also in the field of education that the name Houdégbé will remain etched. Founder of the Houdégbé North American University of Benin (HNAUB) in Akpakpa, he contributed to the growth of Anglophone higher education in Benin, attracting hundreds of Beninese and foreign students.
At the University of Abomey-Calavi, an auditorium with more than 400 seats bears his name, a symbol of the academic recognition he enjoyed. A humanist and builder, he always advocated for an educated Benin open to the world.
Respected in intellectual, traditional, and political circles, Professor Houdégbé leaves behind a multidimensional legacy. His passing evokes strong emotion in the country, especially in the Kpomassè region where he embodied a beacon of wisdom and development.