On Sunday evening in Abidjan, the president of Cote d’Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara, was at the, er, Alassane Ouattara stadium, to watch his country win the Africa Cup of Nations. Well done, them. As for him, well, might I suggest it’s not a good look to have something named after your good self while you’re still alive? If you’ve insisted upon it, then that’s undeniably bad, but even if you’ve merely allowed it to happen, I’m afraid that’s no good either.
It wouldn’t be quite so bad if it was named after a living legend of Ivorian football, say Didier Drogba or Yaya Touré. Perhaps the two of them could have shared it. But if a politician’s got anything about them, this must be the hill they die on: thou shalt not name anything after me until after I’m dead and gone and only then if you think I really deserve it.
