Bohicon
Encyclopedia
Bohicon is a city in Benin
, and a conurbation of Abomey
lying 9 kilometres east of the city on the railway line from Cotonou
to Parakou
and on Benin’s main highway RNIE 2
which joins the RNIE 4
. The commune covers an area of 139 square kilometres and as of 2002 had a population of 113,091 people.
Bohicon is the crossroads of international trade at the center of Benin. Bohicon is an important in communications in Benin and branches to the various departments of the country, including to the north of Benin and on to Niger
or Burkina Faso
and even Togo
or Nigeria
. Bohicon is a relatively new city compared to Abomey
and Allada
and was founded in the 20th century with the installation of the railway station on the Cotonou
-Parakou
railway and the central market.
also have a church in Bohicon. Bohicon Railway Station is located in the city centre and the main hotel worth mentioning is the Jardin de l'Hotel de Ville De Bohicon which is set in a garden park with a restaurant.
Given the excellent road and rail networks that connect to Bohicon, Bohicon is an important trade centre that is the third largest in the country after Cotonou and Parakou. Trade is the primary activity of the city and its real name "Gbohicon" derives from the extensive sheep marketing that takes places in the city, literally meaning "market sheep".The market is of considerable size and there is a notable drum shop located in Bohicon.
The Maquis Malodie market is also known for its cuisine with a number of stalls serving omelette
and coffee
in the mornings and stacks of pepper
and attracts thousands of traders from all over Benin. A speciality sold in the market is afitin, which is traditionally and somewhat famously in Benin made by women in the region.
After sheep marketing and the processing of food, industrial handcraft is also important in the local economy including textiles. Thousands of craftsmen and craftswomen produce in the privacy of their workshop products for export. In the surrounding area in Bohicon commune, a number of agricultural crops are produced in subsistence farming including maize
, cotton
, peanuts
and oil, yam
s, sorghum
and cassava
many of which are cultivated in plantations. There are also small livestock farms with cattle and goats. In short, trade and transportation alone occupy more than 40% of the population. As an economic effect though, Bohicon faces serious problems with the environment and sanitation due to industrial waste.
. The city is located 9 kilometres from Abomey
but the commune is divided into arrondissements:
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
, and a conurbation of Abomey
Abomey
When UNESCO designated the royal palaces of Abomey as a World Heritage Site in 1985 it statedFrom 1993, 50 of the 56 bas-reliefs that formerly decorated the walls of King Glèlè have been located and replaced on the rebuilt structure...
lying 9 kilometres east of the city on the railway line from Cotonou
Cotonou
-Demographics:*1979: 320,348 *1992: 536,827 *2002: 665,100 *2005: 690,584 The main languages spoken in Cotonou include the Fon language, Aja language, Yoruba language and French.-Transport:...
to Parakou
Parakou
Parakou is the largest city in eastern Benin, with an estimated population of around 188,853 people, and capital of the Borgou Department. The mayor as of 2008 was Samou Seidou Adambi and administratively the commune of Parakou makes up one of Benin's 77 communes.-Economy:Parakou lies on the main...
and on Benin’s main highway RNIE 2
RNIE 2
RNIE 2 is a national highway of Benin. It is Benin's main north-south highway which runs the entire 785 km down the centre of the country from the Niger River to Cotonou. The RNIE 2 crosses the RNIE 4 at Bohicon east of Abomey.-External links:*...
which joins the RNIE 4
RNIE 4
-External links:*...
. The commune covers an area of 139 square kilometres and as of 2002 had a population of 113,091 people.
Bohicon is the crossroads of international trade at the center of Benin. Bohicon is an important in communications in Benin and branches to the various departments of the country, including to the north of Benin and on to Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
or Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
and even Togo
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
or Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. Bohicon is a relatively new city compared to Abomey
Abomey
When UNESCO designated the royal palaces of Abomey as a World Heritage Site in 1985 it statedFrom 1993, 50 of the 56 bas-reliefs that formerly decorated the walls of King Glèlè have been located and replaced on the rebuilt structure...
and Allada
Allada
Allada is a town, arrondissement, and commune located in the Atlantique Department of Benin.Allada was the capital of the most powerful king in Ajaland before it fell to the armies of Dahomey....
and was founded in the 20th century with the installation of the railway station on the Cotonou
Cotonou
-Demographics:*1979: 320,348 *1992: 536,827 *2002: 665,100 *2005: 690,584 The main languages spoken in Cotonou include the Fon language, Aja language, Yoruba language and French.-Transport:...
-Parakou
Parakou
Parakou is the largest city in eastern Benin, with an estimated population of around 188,853 people, and capital of the Borgou Department. The mayor as of 2008 was Samou Seidou Adambi and administratively the commune of Parakou makes up one of Benin's 77 communes.-Economy:Parakou lies on the main...
railway and the central market.
Cityscape and economy
The city has a mosque and the Jehovah's WitnessesJehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
also have a church in Bohicon. Bohicon Railway Station is located in the city centre and the main hotel worth mentioning is the Jardin de l'Hotel de Ville De Bohicon which is set in a garden park with a restaurant.
Given the excellent road and rail networks that connect to Bohicon, Bohicon is an important trade centre that is the third largest in the country after Cotonou and Parakou. Trade is the primary activity of the city and its real name "Gbohicon" derives from the extensive sheep marketing that takes places in the city, literally meaning "market sheep".The market is of considerable size and there is a notable drum shop located in Bohicon.
The Maquis Malodie market is also known for its cuisine with a number of stalls serving omelette
Omelette
In cuisine, an omelette or omelet is a dish made from beaten eggs quickly cooked with butter or oil in a frying pan, sometimes folded around a filling such as cheese, vegetables, meat , or some combination of the above...
and coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
in the mornings and stacks of pepper
Capsicum
Capsicum is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Its species are native to the Americas where they have been cultivated for thousands of years, but they are now also cultivated worldwide, used as spices, vegetables, and medicines - and have become are a key element in...
and attracts thousands of traders from all over Benin. A speciality sold in the market is afitin, which is traditionally and somewhat famously in Benin made by women in the region.
After sheep marketing and the processing of food, industrial handcraft is also important in the local economy including textiles. Thousands of craftsmen and craftswomen produce in the privacy of their workshop products for export. In the surrounding area in Bohicon commune, a number of agricultural crops are produced in subsistence farming including maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
, peanuts
Peanuts
Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...
and oil, yam
Yam (vegetable)
Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea . These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania...
s, sorghum
Sorghum
Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...
and cassava
Cassava
Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
many of which are cultivated in plantations. There are also small livestock farms with cattle and goats. In short, trade and transportation alone occupy more than 40% of the population. As an economic effect though, Bohicon faces serious problems with the environment and sanitation due to industrial waste.
Administration
Bohicon is one of the 77 official Communes of BeninCommunes of Benin
The departments of Benin are subdivided into 77 communes, which in turn are divided into arrondissements and finally into villages or city districts. Prior to 1999 provinces were broken down into 84 districts, titled either urban or rural...
. The city is located 9 kilometres from Abomey
Abomey
When UNESCO designated the royal palaces of Abomey as a World Heritage Site in 1985 it statedFrom 1993, 50 of the 56 bas-reliefs that formerly decorated the walls of King Glèlè have been located and replaced on the rebuilt structure...
but the commune is divided into arrondissements:
- Bohicon 1
- Bohicon 2
- Sdohomé
- Saclo
- Passangon
- Ouassaho
- Lissezoun
- Gnidjazoun
- Avogbana
- Agongointo
Notable landmarks
- Lycée Technique de Bohicon (LYTEB)
- Collège Monseigneur Steinmetz
- Bohicon Railway Station
- Parc Archeologique d'Agongointo
Notable people
- Nicéphore Dieu-Donné SogloNicéphore SogloNicéphore Dieudonné Soglo is a Beninois politician who was Prime Minister of Benin from 1990 to 1991 and President from 1991 to 1996. He has been the Mayor of Cotonou since 2003.-Biography:Soglo was born in Togo...
- former President of Bohicon - Hubert MagaHubert MagaCoutoucou Hubert Maga was a politician from Dahomey .Dahomey was renamed Benin in 1975. See . He arose on a political scene where one's power was dictated by what region in Dahomey they lived...
- Born in ParakouParakouParakou is the largest city in eastern Benin, with an estimated population of around 188,853 people, and capital of the Borgou Department. The mayor as of 2008 was Samou Seidou Adambi and administratively the commune of Parakou makes up one of Benin's 77 communes.-Economy:Parakou lies on the main...
but studied in Bohicon. - Abraham ZinzindohoueAbraham ZinzindohoueAbraham Zinzindohoue is Beninese lawyer and politician. He was the Minister of Justice of Benin from 10 April 2006 to 17 June 2007.He was President of the Supreme Court of Benin and Senior Vice-Pres-References:...
- former Benin Minister of Justice