Cote D'Ivoire was one of the richest countries in Africa, before the slump in cocoa and coffee exports and the unchecked spending of President Houphouët-Boigny in the 1980's. Houphouët-Boigny sent the country into bankruptcy by transforming his home village of Yamoussoukro into the nation's new capital. Part of this spending was the development of world-class infrastructure, such as six lane highways with thousands upon thousands of street-lights. The highways have never been needed, and are just another white elephant from the Houphouët-Boigny legacy.
