Togo Political System, Famous People, Animals and Plants

By | January 15, 2023

Togo: political system

According to CANCERMATTERS.NET, the state of Togo is a presidential republic. The unicameral parliament (Assemblée Nationale) consists of 81 members who are elected every five years. The head of state is also directly elected every five years. See AbbreviationFinder for more information about Togo politics, and acronyms as well.

The official name of the country is:

Togolese Republic

Republik Togo

National anthem

Salut à toi, pays de nos aïeux has been Togo’s national anthem since 1960. Alex Casimir-Dosseh composed the piece.

However, between 1979 and 1992 the country had a different national anthem.

It’s in French In the English translation
Hail to you, country of our ancestors,You who made them strong,

Peaceful and joyful.

cultivating valiant virtue for posterity.

Let the tyrants come,

Your heart longs for freedom.

Togo stand up! Let us fight without fail!

Win or die, but with dignity.

Great God, you alone have exalted us,

From Togo for prosperity.

Togolese come! Let’s build the city!

In unity we want to serve you,

It is indeed there of our hearts, the most ardent desire.

Let us proclaim our motto loudly,

That nothing can tarnish.

Sole craftsman of your happiness, as well as your future, let us

break the chains of treachery everywhere!

And we always swear fidelity to you,

And to love to serve, to surpass oneself,

To make you again without tiring,

cherished Togo, the gold of humanity.

Hello, Hello to the whole Universe!

Let us unite our efforts on the immense site

From which will be born all new

The Great Humanity.

Everywhere instead of misery let us bring bliss.

Let’s drive rebellious hatred out of the world!

No more slavery and Captivity!

To the star of freedom,

Let us renew the solidarity Of nations in fraternity.

Greetings to you, land of our ancestors,you who made them strong,

peaceful and happy,

And come the tyrants,

your heart sighs for freedom.

Togo get up! Let’s fight without fail!

We win or we die, but with dignity.

Great God, you alone gave us wings,

From Togo for prosperity.

Togolese come! Let’s build the city!

In unity we want to serve you, that

is the ardent desire of our hearts.

Let us shout out our motto

that nothing can tire (us)!

Sole creator of your happiness and your future,

let’s break the chains of betrayal everywhere!

And we swear permanent loyalty to you,

And to love to serve, to surpass (us),

To make of you without fatigue,

Beloved Togo, the gold of humanity.

Greetings, greetings to the entire universe!

Let us pool our efforts on the immeasurable construction site

From where new things will be born.

Great humanity.

Let us bring bliss everywhere to places of misery!

Let us drive the unruly hatred out of the world!

End bondage and captivity!

On the Star of Freedom

Let us renew the solidarity

of nations in fraternity.

National flag

The national flag of Togo was officially introduced on April 27th. Based on flag descriptions by Countryaah.com, the colors of the flag can be interpreted as follows:

– Green stands for the hope and agriculture of the country

– Yellow symbolizes mining and work as the basis of the material, moral and spiritual progress of the nation

– Red symbolizes charity and loyalty

– The white star symbolizes purity and is a reminder to prove worthy of the independence of your nation.

  • Check top-mba-universities for public holidays, sports events, UNESCO world heritage sites and major places to visit in Togo.

Togo: Well-known people

Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor (born 1984) Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor, born in

the Togolese capital Lomé, is a footballer with Nigerian citizenship. He became known at the latest when he scored eleven of the 20 goals for Togo during qualifying for the 2006 World Cup.

Paul Ahyi (1930-2010)

The Togolese artist, architect, sculptor, painter and author who died in 2010 and who also designed the Togolese national flag, was best known for his large open-air statues. He also made an important contribution to the Independence Monument in Togo’s capital Lomé.

Étienne Gnassingbé Eyadéma (1935-2005)

Eyadéma was a Togolese officer and the president of his country and, with a term of 38 years, the longest-serving head of state in all of Africa. Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, one of his sons, was proclaimed the new head of state. It was nothing less than a violation of the Togolese constitution. Human rights violations are said to have increased under Eyadéma. These included politically motivated detentions, as well as arbitrary arrests and ill-treatment of journalists, trade unionists and political opponents. As a result of these measures, the European Union stopped paying development aid for Togo in 1993 and imposed severe economic sanctions.

Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé (born 1966)

The Togolese politician, born in Afagnan in 1966, is the current president of his country. The son of Étienne Gnassingbé Eyadéma was initially illegally proclaimed his successor after the death of his father and finally had to resign under international pressure. In 2005 he won the presidential election with around 60%, whereupon he was accused of electoral fraud.

Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo (born 1961)

The Togolese politician has been Prime Minister of his country since 2008. He received his function thanks to the current President Faure Gnassingbé.

Mohamed Kader (born 1979)

The Togolese footballer, born in 1979 as Mohamed Abdel Kader Coubadja Touré, primarily kicks as a striker. He will go down in football history because of his action on June 13, 2006, when he managed to score the first ever World Cup goal for Togo for himself or his country in the preliminary round match of the 2006 World Cup against South Korea.

Edem Kodjo (born 1938)

Édouard Kodjovi Kodjo, a native of Sokodé, was Prime Minister of his country from June 2005 to September 2006. As early as 1994, the leader of the opposition party UTD was appointed Prime Minister by President Gnassingbé Eyadéma. One of its most significant enactments was the passing of an amnesty law that was aimed at politically motivated criminals.

Ayaovi Papavi Mensah (born 1971)

The singer known by his stage name King Mensah, who is often referred to as the “Golden Voice of Togo”, sings in Ewe and in French and makes Ewe and Kabiyé music, but also Afropop, Reggae and funk. Mensah is also the founder of the King Mensa Foundation, which takes care of the education of orphans in Togo.

Moustapha Salifou (born 1983)

The Togolese football player, who was born in Lomé in 1983, plays in the position of a striker. Before moving to Germany, he played with Modèle de Lomé in Togo until 2002. Since he was 17 years old, he has also been on the field for the Togolese national soccer team.

Assimiou Touré (born 1988)

The Togolese football player Assimiou Touré, who was born in Sokodé, also plays for his country’s national team. As a member, he was also on the bus that was the victim of a terrorist attack on the way to the 2010 African Cup in Angola. Fortunately, Touré was not injured in the assassination attempt by the FLEC rebels.

Togo: animals

Mammals

In the north you can find dry savannas with animals typical of Africa such as monkeys, hippos and the unfortunately increasingly rare rhinos and elephants, as well as antelopes, warthogs and giraffes, as well as water buffalos, which are kept as farm animals. These animals are so excellent and frugal pack animals that they were born as early as 3000 BC. domesticated, and soon in all countries where the climatic conditions allowed it. In addition, their skin is made into leather and their milk is drunk.

The predators are represented by hyenas, leopards, lions and the Togo serval. The serval is a small cat, which means that, unlike large cats, it cannot roar. Its coat pattern is similar to that of a leopard. However, it does not occur in the dry savannah, but needs watercourses to survive.

Reptiles (without snakes)

With a bit of luck, the attentive hiker will see brightly colored lizards and geckos. There are also different species of turtles and land turtles.

Particularly noteworthy are the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus), the West African armored crocodile (Mecistops cataphractus) and the stump crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis).

Poisonous animals, snakes

This paragraph is still being worked on

The following venomous snakes occur in Togo, the linked snakes are described in detail by Goruma:

African house snake

The African house snake (Boaedon fuliginosus) – also known as the brown house snake – is a non-poisonous snake with an average length of 95 cm.

African spitting cobra (Naja nigricollis)

Boomslang (Dipholidus typus)

Christy’s water cobra

The Christy’s water cobra is also known as the Congolese water cobra. The snake reaches an average length of about 1.50 m (with the tail) – rarely more. They can be found in or near bodies of water, in bushy or wooded lowland areas along lakes, rivers and streams.

Rock python (Python sebae)

Gaboon viper (Bitis gabonica)

Common puff adder (Bitis arietans)

Green mamba (Dendroaspis viridis)

Günther’s Green Tree

Snake Günther’s Green Tree Snake (Dipsadoboa unicolor) is a non-toxic snake between 70 and 100 cm long, they are rarely larger.

Hallowell’s house snake

The Hallowell’s house snake (Boaedon virgatus) is a non-poisonous snake. The females reach a total length of about 100 cm and are longer and stronger than the males, which reach a length of 60 to 80 cm. They are dark brown to light brown in color, with the light brown animals often showing spots in the front third. A light stripe on both sides of the head is also characteristic. Typically these snakes are nocturnal, but occasionally they sunbathe during the day.

Jamesons mamba

As a rule, the very poisonous Jamesons mamba (Dendroaspis jamesoni) grows to around 2 m long – in rare cases over 3 m. She is slim and very agile. They are green-yellow to grass-green in color, while the throat, belly and temples are lemon-yellow. Lighter and darker spots form indistinct, backward running transverse bands. The Jamesons Mamba is tree and ground dwelling. They are mainly found in rainforests and in humid and warm forests on river banks. But they can also be found near human settlements, on farmlands, and in urban parks.

Ball python (Python regius)

Laurent’s Green Tree

Snake Laurent’s Green Tree Snake (Dipsadoboa viridis) is a non-toxic snake

Rhinoceros viper (bitis nasicornis)

Olive-colored house snake

The olive-colored house snake (Boaedon olivace) is a non-poisonous snake, the males of which are between 60 to 80 cm tall and the females between 80 to 100 cm. This nocturnal snake appears in various shades of green – but mostly in a dark olive.

Common puff adder (Bitis arietans)

Black and white cobra (Naja melanoleuca)

African spitting cobra (Naja nigricolis)

Underwoods tree snake

The Underwoods tree snake (Dipsadoboa underwoodi) got its Latin name in honor of the British herpetologist Garth Underwood (1919 – 2002). The approximately 45 to 60 cm long snake is non-toxic and egg-laying.

West African Gaboon Viper

West African (Western) Gaboon Viper (Bitis rhinoceros) is about 2 m long and 10 kg heavy, making it the heaviest venomous snake in the world. Their fangs, which are over 5 cm long, are also the longest fangs of all venomous snakes.

Birds

The most common bird species are weaver birds, cranes and storks, especially the marabou, which is one of the largest storks. Since it prefers to feed on carrion, its head, like the upper part of the neck, is bald. In addition, it has a pink throat pouch and is therefore unmistakable. When the ponds shrink in the dry season, you can also see him groping through the water with his beak open, with which he grabs everything about fish and frogs that comes too close.

During the mating season, male weaver birds build a nest woven from blades of grass that hangs from thin branches and is therefore difficult to reach for predators. If the female likes the nest, she moves in, if not it destroys the laborious work. Species of ibis, heron and kingfisher can be found in the damp mangrove forests. 7 species of the very rare hornbills are also native to this country.

Insects, spiders

The yellow fever-transmitting mosquito Stegomyia, the malaria-transmitting Anopheles and Glossina, which are considered to be carriers of sleeping sickness, are native to Togo.

In addition, countless termite mounds adorn the landscape of the north.

Togo: plants

Trees

Mangrove trees and coconut palms are common in the area of the coast in the south.

There are also baobab, acacia and the colorful flame tree. This tree grows more in width than in height and rarely reaches a height of more than 15 m. Its fiery red flowers create an intensive contrast to its pale green, pinnate leaves and have made it a popular ornamental tree. The baobab has a strikingly shaped trunk and silver-gray bark and belongs to the wool tree family. It can live up to 1000 years. It is also characterized by its cucumber-shaped and wood-skinned fruits as well as fatty seeds. The baobab can store up to 5000 liters of water in the dry season, but then it loses all of its leaves to protect itself from excessive evaporation.

Various precious woods can be found in the forest, such as mahogany, teak and ebony, which is why a lot of overexploitation is carried out, which severely affects the flora of the country. That is why 3 national parks have now been established. The Forêt de Fazao is the largest, further to the north is the Parc National de la Kéran and the Fazao-Malfacassa National Park in the Malfacassa Mountains. As a further reforestation measure, you can now sponsor a tree in one of the national parks for $ 5,000 per year.

Other plants

In the clearings of the forests, instead of steppe grass, the humid elephant grass grows in the north.

Crops

Many of the existing trees are useful plants. Such as bananas, mango, papaya as well as lime, oranges, grapefruits and tangerine trees. Coffee and cocoa are also grown. In the foothills of the mountains in the north, rubber, rice, maize and cassava as well as pennisetum millet are planted. The latter is considered a folk food. Yam occupies a very central position among the useful plants. Your root tubers can weigh up to 5 kg and can be cooked and mashed as “Fufu”, cooked in pieces or fried with a hot sauce.

Medicinal plants

The nuts of the cola tree are used as the raw material for the lemonade named afterwards. Its stimulating effect is comparable to that of coffee or guarana.

Poisonous plants

The poison of the Euhorbiaceen is used for arrowheads all over Africa.

Togo Politics