Iréné Agossa comments on the Yayi-Houngbédji meetings: the union should serve to build, not to incite hatred.

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For Iréné Agossa, the rapprochement between two former political adversaries is not in itself an extraordinary event. He recalls that Houngbédji had been a fervent opponent of Boni Yayi’s governance, particularly through very critical speeches. Their meeting today, according to him, illustrates a certain political maturity and tolerance characteristic of the Beninese context.

However, he believes that the people of Benin are not concerned about these meetings. What interests the citizens according to him, are issues of development, governance, security and employment. Not the reunions between two former leaders.

Construction versus destruction: a culture to transform

Iréné Agossa took advantage of this platform to defend his own political evolution, recalling that he had been opposed to President Patrice Talon before coming to support some of his reforms today. A stance he asserts without hesitation: “I am in the logic of building the country. What I am doing with President Talon is no different from what Yayi and Houngbédji are doing together,” he insists.

He does, however, offer a nuance. The only difference, he indicates, is that in our political culture, we too often unite to destroy, rarely to build.

According to him, many observers hope that this rapprochement between Houngbédji and Yayi will serve to weaken the incumbent power, notably by attacking the reforms underway. A perspective he considers dangerous: “Those who expect this understanding to result in a demolition enterprise are in a logic of hate.

A critical reading of Adrien Houngbédji’s strategy

Agossa also took a stand on the current stance of the PRD president, particularly on the question of the merger of his party with the Progressive Union: No one has taken his PRD from him. He himself chose the merger, he affirms.

For him, it’s neither a marriage nor a cohabitation. It’s a merger, and when two entities merge, they cease to exist to give birth to a new one, he clarifies.

He denounces what he considers an outdated political strategy, mixing regrets and resentments. According to Iréné Agossa, both Yayi Boni and Houngbédji are playing the victim. The objective, according to him, is to reignite and sharpen the natural hatred of the Beninese so that they help them destroy President Talon’s reforms.

Adrien Houngbédji continues to believe that his party was stolen from him. This is a form of procrastination, he asserts. If he is no longer comfortable with this merger, he can create a new party, that’s the only solution available to him, he specifies.

For Iréné Agossa, the Beninese political scene would benefit from looking to countries that have been able to overcome internal divisions to focus on the essentials. China, 50 years ago, was a non-aligned country like ours. They put an end to sterile quarrels to devote themselves to national construction, he recalls. We need to get out of this politics of cunning and rage, he stated.

The former presidential candidate concludes by calling on political actors to rise above grudges and to inscribe their actions in a constructive dynamic, focused on the future.