Meite Siaka: Tax Official, Deputy Mayor, and Martial Arts Master in Ivory Coast
Quick Look
- Meite Siaka, a senior tax official and deputy mayor in Ivory Coast, is also the founding president of the Ivorian Federation of Chinese Martial Arts (FIAMC).
- He attributes the sport's popularity to Bruce Lee films and local television, resonating with working-class youth.
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Why It Matters
Meite Siaka holds multiple government roles while also leading the Ivorian Federation of Chinese Martial Arts, which he founded in 2008.
Meite Siaka wears many hats. By day, he is a senior tax official, a lecturer at the National School of Administration and deputy mayor of Kani in northern Ivory Coast.
But outside government, he serves as the founding president of the Ivorian Federation of Chinese Martial Arts (FIAMC), a group he established in 2008. He also works as a master and instructor, running several martial arts clubs.
“Bruce Lee movies played a role, but it was not the only factor,” Siaka said in Abidjan recently. “Hong Kong films and local television exposure also contributed significantly to the popularity of martial arts.”
The films have offered a model of discipline and resistance that resonates with working-class youth in Abidjan, with ripples spreading across French-speaking West Africa.
