On December 21, 2019, France enacted what amounted to a farce by contriving a renaming of the CFA, the currency used by its former West African colonies to the “Eco’’. This elaborate but hollow ritual which took place in Abidjan presided over jointly by the French President Emmanuel Macron and President Allassane Ouatarra of Ivory Coast sought to indicate that France was indeed responding to withering criticism around the world to its choke hold on its former African colonies by allowing them to run the currency independent of French manipulation.
Under the new arrangement, France will remove its obligation to have its officials sit on the board of the West African Monetary Union in Dakar, Senegal the headquarters of the CFA. Henceforth the board will be made up by members drawn from the West African countries belonging to the CFA zone ostensibly giving them greater control.
As pantomimes go, it was a great show for the French famously known the world over for their flamboyance.
Except that no one is fooled. As the French themselves like to say ‘’the more something changes, the more it stays the same’’.
The new currency will not hide the ugly fact that France still compels its former colonies to lodge 50 per cent of their foreign trade earnings with the French treasury. It will also not remove the fact that France will still have the last say on any drawdown on those earnings place in its treasury by these countries. These countries too cannot on their own, determine which projects to undertake and who to do it. France also will continue to purloin minerals, cart away primary agricultural products at prices set by it and to determine the prices it exports to these countries for the manufactures and finished products it dumps on them
The manner and timing of the event in Abidjan gave away the French pretence about relinquishing its tight control of the economic fortunes of its former colonies in Africa. Significantly the event took place while ECOWAS countries were meeting to iron out the final details of a proposed plan to establish a common currency for the bloc. By doing what it did in Abidjan, France was clearly pre-empting what would have been a radical, more far reaching step in disengaging the French speaking countries from the tight economic grip of France. And it is also a calculated step by France to prevent Nigeria from forging closer economic ties with its West African brother countries through a currency union with them.
French economic control of its former African colonies is buttressed by political and military control as well. In all these countries, France maintains a contingent of military personnel from where it muscles in on political happenings. If the government of any given former colony does not dance to the tune of France the French military contingent swiftly intervenes to remove that government and install a pliant one. (Remember Thomas Sankara in Burkina)
Why does France continue to breathe down the necks of its former colonies on economic and political matters long after they have got their independence? Even countries like Spain and Portugal considered not as rich as France have learnt to let go of their former colonies in Africa.
The truth is that without this stranglehold on its former African colonies, France’s standing in the world would plummet to a level lower it currently enjoys.
That France is not a force for good in Africa is something even its European counterparts know and condemn. The Italians have continued to accuse France of being behind the desperate economic conditions of West African countries whose youths have been flocking to Italy to escape the harsh economic conditions in their countries. Germany the economic powerhouse of Europe blames the lack of a coordinated European Union policy on Africa on the continued refusal by France to allow open cooperation by the body with African countries.
How does all this resonate with Nigeria? Whereas France exploits its former colonies and keeps them in perpetual debt, Nigeria shares what it has with them by keeping them supplied with basic necessities like fuel, foodstuff and opens its huge market for them to sell their goods with ease. Nigeria gives them alternative currency the naira to enable them buy the stuff in Nigeria that they will never be able to afford from France. Indeed the economic relations they have with Nigeria enables them to earn some of the money with which they pay for their economic vassalage to France. In this way Nigeria helps to subsidise the French treasury through the generous economic relations it has with the former French colonies.
Because Nigeria does the heavy lifting in Africa particularly in West Africa with an economy more than double that of the remaining West African states, it will not be to our disadvantage to enter the currency contraption manipulated by France. Since Independence, we have been managing our monetary and currency issues remarkably well without interference or manipulation from outside, why do we then have to relinquish that control to a power that clearly does not mean us well? If the idea for Nigeria to join the French controlled Eco is to have access to markets, then we can use our economic leverage to push through a separate currency and customs union with our West African neighbours. We are better able to carry through this because of our proximity, our cultural affinities and our shared colonial experience. This way the countries in the sub-region can grow together in mutually beneficial ties cutting across economic, political, social and cultural spheres of life.
Between France and Nigeria it is clearly obvious who is more benevolent to West Africa. No matter how they try to force themselves on Africa the French will always be Africa’s unwanted guests.
