Let Francophone West Africa Breathe

GUEST COLUMNIST By Austin Isikhuemen 

Some folks are trying to put their knee on the neck of Niger Republic. This is in addition to the suffocating knee of imperial France that has been on the collective necks of the so-called Francophone countries of West Africa. They have been unable to breathe since their individual flag independence. A wind of change appears to be blowing across the subregion and this appears to have the potential of a breathing opportunity that the citizens appear to embrace, even celebrate. But there appear to be counter forces that see what some regard as freedom fighters as terrorists. This is what I set out to interrogate in this piece.

West Africa was colonized by two main European powers – Britain and France. Germany did have a tiny foothold in Cameroun, but as they lost the 2nd World War, the winners took their portion and handed it to France, one of their allies. Technically, Cameroun and Chad are in Central Africa but they are being added to this West African geo-political discussion because of their contiguity to Nigeria as well as their exemplification of what is pernicious about French colonial and neo-colonial hegemony. Guinea Bissau was colonized by Portugal. So, we have Niger, Mali, Togo, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Guinea (Conakry), Senegal and Mauritania as Francophone countries in the West African sub-region.

In the recent past, coups d’etat have begun to rear their ugly head after we thought democracy had berthed permanently in West Africa. Curiously, this trend is taking root in the Francophone region of West Africa. The Sahelian space seems to have become a fertile milieu for military rule. Mali (2020), Guinea (2021), Chad (2021), Burkina Faso (2022), and now, Niger Republic (2023). Is it a mere coincidence that these are all Francophone countries or is there another thread that runs through these countries that has made military rule fashionable again in the last four years? I will explore their French colonial past and present neo-colonial experience as a major factor in this jackboot resurgence.


France adopted the policy of assimilation in their colonial strategy in Africa. They wanted to convert Africans to Frenchmen and, indeed, some Africans like Sedar Senghor were elected into the French parliament. The French virtually wanted their colonial subjects to forgo their culture, cuisine, and history and adopt French culture, cuisine, dressing, mannerisms and etiquette as theirs. Unlike the British who adopted indirect rule in their colonies, as bad as that was too, this French variant, which wanted to paint Africans French and stop their ability to think as Africans was the most pernicious. It was a subterfuge to perpetually enslave and exploit those countries in order to keep metropolitan France prosperous. That doing so would impoverish Francophone Africa did not prick the conscience of a country that gave the statue of liberty to the United States. A country whose creed is Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite was doing the opposite in its colonies! For those colonies, liberty, equality and fraternity did not matter. Perpetual subjugation was the ethos.


Has this ungodly state of affairs changed in the relationship between France and its neo-colonies that Francophone Africa is? Unfortunately, the answer is no. Today, all those countries’ external reserves are held by France. France virtually dictates what happens in those economies. The CFA zone is under France’s armpit. They cannot breathe unless France allows them, and even then, the amount of oxygen is decided by France! The CFA Franc value is determined by France. The currency is printed by France and its owned banknote printer in Cote d’Ivoire. I understand there is a colonial tax still being paid by all Francophone countries to France to date!


In terms of exploitation, France controls the mineral resources of its former colonies. When Camerounians asked for more transparency about their petroleum resources, their ancestor of a president – been in power since 1982 – told them it is too complicated for the citizens to understand! The man, who farted publicly and did not even know where he was during the US – African summit in Washington DC, is still propped up by France because he serves their interests despite Cameroun’s ruination. It is said that most of the electric power generated in France comes from nuclear power plants. The uranium for generating all that power comes from Niger Republic. The same Niger cannot construct a rail line for themselves but are depending on the benevolence of their cousin in Nigeria to lay a rail track into their country. Ditto power supply which comes from Nigeria and is now being used as a tool for undiplomatic arm twisting.


Leaders in those Francophone countries, apart from stealing their countries blind and keeping their loot and concubines in France, help France to perpetuate its stranglehold on their countries while France ensures their stay in power is unchallenged. It is this mutually ‘beneficial’ but unholy symbiotic relationship between those leaders and French interests that appear to be fueling resentment by the younger generation of citizens in those countries including those in the armed forces. They see their resources being stolen by France and their own so-called ‘elected’ leaders and their future seems bleak. They seem to ask themselves what next if this state of affairs continues? The same questions that Thomas Sankara asked and agents of imperialism cut his life short using his treacherous bosom friend whose name is not worth my mention here. Thomas Sankara’s place in Burkinabe history is assured. So is the infamy of the man that was used to stop his attempt to take his country to greatness.


It seems to me this wind of change in Francophone West Africa is a re-igniting of the Sekou Toure vision of Guinean independence. Of all the African leaders that negotiated independence from France, Sekou Toure, God bless his soul, was the only one who refused to sign away his country’s beckoning freedom. He refused continued subjugation after flag independence. Consequently, France removed all the infrastructure in the country before departure and left the country prostrate but with its self-pride intact. Such a ‘scotched earth’ policy by the country of egalite, liberte and fraternite! What a shame.


These threats coming from ECOWAS and Nigeria to the junta in Niger are viewed by different people from different prisms. People like the President of Togo, who is only President because his father, a coupe plotter and killer, was in power forever are also lending a voice to those threats? When is his tenure ending? Is there a voice of opposition in his banana republic today? Akuffo Ado used to speak well and say the right things at international fora. But go and check how he has brought Ghana, our shining star of recent to its knees – economically speaking. He too is issuing threats?


Is ECOWAS ready to fight a surrogate war on behalf of France? Is Nigeria going to do that in Nigeria’s interest? Has France not seen itself, and behaved as, Nigeria’s competitor for influence in the West African sub-region? Has it not tried on uncountable occasions to undermine Nigeria’s position at every opportunity? Let us take the case of the ECOWAS common currency mooted from the Gowon Era. Did France not undercut us by getting the Francophone countries to dump the ECOWAS plan and go ahead with theirs? Which country has the largest economy in West Africa and could have reaped bounty benefits from improved free trade in West Africa? So, should we fight France’s proxy war in Niger? Qui bono? In whose interest?


Nigeria’s power cut to Niger Republic, to say the least, lacks strategic thinking to some of us. The Government, of course, may have superior information and longer-term view. But to poor folks like us, we know that the decision to supply Niger Republic power when we do not have enough was a strategic decision made in Nigeria’s interest. It was done in order to persuade Niger Republic not to dam the River Niger upstream. The River Niger flows past Niger into Nigeria and supplies water to Kainji Dam – our biggest single source of electric power. If Niger dams the River Niger tomorrow, the water supply to Kainji dam would be impacted. Using that power supply to play power games and please France and other interests have long-term implications. Have we planned for that? And will anyone in Niger Republic actually take this insult to their sovereignty and wellbeing (electric power supply) as being done in their interest? I doubt so.


The case for democracy has long been made starting from ancient Greece where the people voted for their leaders and had their say on issues that affected them. It neither started with the Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln nor with the French Revolution that began on 5th May 1789. That is the form of government that we all like, when practised in the interest of the people. Why are we cutting power supply and issuing ultimatum with not-so-veiled military threat before sending a mediation team? Is it not a bit unsettling that those who excoriated NLC and TUC for going on strike while negotiations are ongoing are loudly silent while the Niger Government was dealt a power cut and given a 7day ultimatum before a ‘mediation’ team is being sent to Niamey? It is like thinking of what to do about palliatives after subsidy removal rather than the other way round.

France, and to some extent, the West should remove their knee from Francophone Africa’s neck and allow it to breathe. Their resources ought to benefit the people and not the thieving elite and their colonial metropolis. God did not make a mistake by putting under their soil such valuable natural resources as uranium now craved by rich countries who are not ready to pay for them. That France became rich and has a very high standard of living through the sweat of these same poor countries is bad enough. Keeping them perpetually poor and not letting them breathe the same oxygen that God gave us free is criminal.Isikhuemen writes from auxtynisi@yahoo.com