President Tinubu's state visit to France sparks debate in Nigeria, highlighting concerns over France's historical exploitation of Africa and its ongoing influence.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu 's state visit to France from November 27-29, 2024, aimed to bolster diplomatic ties and enhance cooperation between the two nations. However, despite its perceived successes, the trip has sparked controversy in Nigeria .
Critics question the frequency of Tinubu's visits to Paris and his close relationship with the French leadership, a relationship often criticized for perpetuating exploitative colonial and neo-colonial policies that have hindered Africa's economic integration and development. Detractors warn that such high-level engagements risk entrenching Nigeria in a cycle of unequal agreements and imbalanced Memoranda of Understanding. This, they argue, would keep the country locked in its traditional role as a primary exporter of raw materials while remaining dependent on imported manufactured goods, further exacerbating its economic struggles.France's enduring and exploitative influence over its former African colonies, a key factor in their continued economic dependency and poverty, raises concerns amidst its renewed engagement with Nigeria, a nation twice its size in landmass. France's former colonies are Nigeria's immediate neighbors, making their political and economic developments directly relevant to Nigeria's peace and security. The term 'Françafrique,' used to describe the deep ties between France and Francophone African countries, refers to a network of personal relationships between successive French leaders and their African counterparts. These connections, critics argue, are primarily maintained for political and personal gain rather than to foster genuine economic progress. Two defining features of the disempowering Françafrique policy are defense military cooperation pacts and economic cooperation pacts with France's former colonies. Until recently, the defense military cooperation deals guaranteed the ubiquitous presence of French military bases in 23 African countries, serving as instruments to safeguard France's strategic economic and political interests on the continent. These military bases, critics argue, emboldened political leaders to extend their rule unconstitutionally and perpetuate themselves in power against the will of their people, as seen in Niger and Mali even before the recent wave of military coups. As a result, efforts to promote democracy and good governance on the continent were severely undermined. The abrogation of these pacts and expulsion of French forces by junta leaders in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have weakened this coercive mechanism of French power in Africa. In an unexpected turn, Cote d'Ivoire, Chad, and Senegal have also demanded the withdrawal of French military bases from their territories. Similarly, the economic cooperation agreements guaranteed the monopoly on the export of French industrial products to these former colonies in exchange for importing commodities from France, including strategic minerals, such as uranium and gold, with prices set by France. Additionally, three monetary cooperation deals with Francophone African countries in three different sub-regions require members to deposit their foreign reserves with the French treasury. This arrangement aims to ensure stability in the convertibility of the franc, which is backed by France, but at the expense of country-specific monetary and exchange rate policies. The bitter Algerian war for independence from France resulted in the deaths of 1.5 million Algerians and widespread human rights abuses. Additionally, Haiti was coerced to pay 100 million francs (approximately USD 21 billion) to France as a condition for France recognizing this former colony’s independence in 1825. These events are dark chapters in the history of French colonialism and its aftermath. Nigeria will not forget in a hurry France’s retaliatory decision to work against Nigeria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity by recognizing and supporting the secessionist Biafra during the civil war. This followed Nigeria’s declaration of the French Ambassador to Nigeria persona non grata, breaking diplomatic relations with France, in protest of France dropping atomic bombs in the Algerian Sahara contrary to the wishes of the majority of African countries. L’Hexagone, in conjunction with Luxembourg, also opposed Nigeria’s 1966 trade agreement with the European Economic Community, which was needed to boost its exports following Britain’s accession to the trade bloc. France’s invidious colonial and neo-colonial policies in Africa as well as its past actions against Nigeria’s sovereignty and leadership in ECOWAS, have thus cast a dark cloud of mistrust and rivalry over Franco-Nigerian relations for many years. Nonetheless, history need not be a destiny. Both countries must learn the appropriate lessons from the past and move forward with enlightened interest—one in which engagement is genuinely mutually beneficial for both countries
International Relations Nigeria France Tinubu Colonialism Françafrique Economic Cooperation Military Cooperation African Relations Diplomatic Ties
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