At the heart of Abomey, former capital of the Kingdom of Dahomey, Place Goho holds a singular place in Beninese collective memory. It was here that King Béhanzin, Dahomey's last independent ruler, surrendered to French General Alfred-Amédée Dodds in 1894, ending armed resistance against colonial conquest. An imposing bronze statue was erected on the square in 1979 by the North Korean Mansudae studios, in cooperation with North Korea, as recorded in the inscription engraved on its base. Framed by a monumental concrete structure, it now overlooks a living space where children, street vendors, and passersby cross paths, bridging historical memory and everyday life.
