Benin’s Political instability masks Hunger and Civil Liberties Crisis

Benin once again erupted in sound and colour this weekend as Cotonou shook to the beat of a rarefied music festival organized by the President’s son. International acts, a dazzling set-up, huge publicity: it was all planned to give the country two-and-a-half-hours of collective euphoria despite Benin’s political instability.

But as the spotlight shone on stage, another reality lurked in the shadows.

What makes this contrast politically significant is not the existence of entertainment itself, but the timing, messaging, and national attention it commands when public debate is narrowing and material hardship is rising. In such moments, celebration can become more than culture. It can become a narrative strategy.

Food Insecurity in Benin Behind the Celebrations

Benin still suffers serious levels of food insecurity. In the 2025 Global Hunger Index, it has a score of 25.9 indicating hunger situation in this country as alarming like many other state where large number of people don’t have access to solid and nutritious food.

Glossy economic and nutritional statistics are contradicted by the World Food Programme, which says many Beninese children are chronically undernourished and remain rooted in profound poverty.

Read Also: Food crisis deepens as 1 billion Africans malnourished

Political Stability Under Strain After the December 2025 Benin Coup Attempt

Political stability, which has been one of the strongest in the region, is also under strain. On 7 December 2025, elements of the military rebelled in an attempted coup d’état, attacking military barracks and the presidential palace in Cotonou before being defeated by soldiers who remained loyal to the president.

Meanwhile, foreign organizations have criticized a worsening civil liberties in Benin and intensifying restrictions on activists, journalists and political opponents frequently under dubious legal ground.

Read Also: Benin’s Constitutional Erosion and the December 2025 Coup Attempt

Marx and the Logic of Spectacle as Social Opium

It is in this context that Karl Marx’s well-known sentence acquires special salience.

Marx famously called religion “the opium of the people” not because it is pernicious in itself but because belief often serves as a balm for social suffering. It is consoling, it provides reason for injustices, it enables one to bear what appears unbearable. But in providing this comfort, it can draw attention away from the actual sources of people’s unhappiness: poverty, exploitation, political domination.

Religious illusion is not for Marx the fundamental problem, the social reality that produces this illusion is. It’s not just that one must critique illusions, but rather demand real happiness i.e.: transformation of the material (social) conditions which cause suffering.

Such a function can now be assigned elsewhere: to the grand spectacle, mass entertainment or official culture. If celebration helps to suppress anger, if music is a replacement for debate, if public emotion stands in place of social justice, then what entertainment does for Marx religion is to act as social opium.

Political Prisoners in Benin and the Cost of Dissent

And this critique has a very tangible political dimension when we think about the situation of critics and opponents who are in jail or repression:

Reckya Madougou, a former minister and presidential candidate, arrested on 3 March 2021 and sentenced to life in prison under a case considered politically motivated.

Professor Joël Aïvo, a constitutional law specialist and member of the opposition, held since April 15, 2021 and sentenced to ten years for “undermining state security”.

Hugues Comlan Sossoukpè, a Journalist detained in Abidjan Conditionally released on July 2025 Kidnapped in Abidjan and then sent to Benin after which he was accused of inciting rebellion.

Steve Amoussou, cyber-activist, arrested in August 2024 under dubious conditions.

Candide Azannaï, a former opposition minister, detained on December 12, 2025 and charged in the investigation of the attempted coup.

In the context of a society in which you can be killed or imprisoned for your political, intellectual or media contribution and expression, music, lights and festivals are symbolic acts that demand focus on themselves at the cost of any real content tensions may be neutralised and debates about social justice moved off centre stage…

Read Also: East Africa’s human rights crisis worsens in 2024

When Benin’s Cultural Celebration Becomes Ideological Sedation

Spectacle is not inherently an enemy of democracy culture is necessary for any free society. But when instead, it is employed to cover hunger and distract from outrage and to water down indispensable political discussion, it is not a celebration it’s an instrument of ideological sedation. At which point entertainment functions not so differently from what Marx’s account of religion: as a sop, rather than as an engine; distracting, less than transmuting.

A society which lives in the darkness of light effects, not truth and justice, may end up offering its people on the altar of the image rather than to their real needs.

For citizens, the question is not whether festivals should exist, but whether public life still has room for truth-telling, accountability, and lawful dissent. When culture becomes a substitute for politics, the most vulnerable pay twice: first through hunger, then through silence.

By Omar Arouna 

Ambassador Omar Arouna is the President of Global Public Affairs and Engagement at Gunster Strategies Worldwide, where he applies over 25 years of experience in foreign policy, economic development, and diplomacy to deliver strategic public affairs solutions. In this role, he leads efforts to assist clients across various sectors in navigating complex political landscapes, shaping policy, and developing market expansion strategies.

A distinguished diplomat, Ambassador Arouna served as the Ambassador of the Republic of Benin to the United States, Mexico, and as the country’s representative to the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Organization of American States. His tenure in these roles provided him with deep expertise in U.S. governmental processes and international economic diplomacy.