Standing atop a 100-meter high hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean outside Dakar, in Senegal, stands the gigantic Monument to the African Renaissance. At 160 meters, it’s the tallest statue in the whole of the African continent, even taller than the Statue of Liberty by several feet.

Meant to pay homage to the African people, the statue has instead drawn huge criticism for everything — its $27 million price tag, the Stalinist-style machismo, its un-Islamic depiction of women, and the utilization of foreign workers.

Photo credit: Sbreitinger/Wikimedia