Lessons from ejection of France

Fuelled by a mix of historical grievances, contemporary dissatisfaction, nationalistic sentiments and new geopolitical politics and players, France’s hold on its former colonies in Africa is crumbling. The military bases that were the cornerstones of strategic partnerships framed upon agreements with its former colonies are at grave risk.

A renaissance of unprecedented scrutiny from some African leaders and citizens has put a question mark on the military ties and deployments. The situation marks a major decline in France’s historical and colonial influence in West and Central Africa.

For a period of 178 years ending in 1977, France colonised three countries in North Africa, 13 in West and Central Africa and two in East Africa. Today, there are 29 French-speaking countries on the continent with 21 known as Francophone, who use French as official language or one of their official languages.

Of the 13 in West and Central Africa – Togo, Ivory Coast, Mali (French Sudan), Guinea, Mauritania, Senegal, Niger, Chad, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Gabon, and Sao Tome, five have severed military ties with France.

On November 28, 2024, Chad announced the termination of its 64-year-old defence pact with Paris mainly dating from independence in 1960, effectively ejecting French soldiers from the country. Foreign Minister Abderaman Koulamallah, while calling France “an essential partner,” said it “must now also consider that Chad has grown up, matured and is a sovereign state that is very jealous of its sovereignty.”

On the same date, Senegal, independently of one another, altered its longstanding relationships with the French military with President Diomaye Bassirou Faye announcing that France should close all its military bases in the country because they were “incompatible” with Senegalese sovereignty.

In fact, at the event marking the 80th anniversary of the massacre by French soldiers of Senegalese troops recently freed from German prisoner-of-war camps at the Thiaroye camp near Dakar, Faye told Le Monde newspaper that “there will be no more French soldiers in Senegal.” The posture is in line with his country’s new military cooperation doctrine that prohibits deployment of foreign troops on its territory.

Chad and Senegal are toeing the same path as Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger which had already ended military cooperation with their former colonial master, France. After France’s 4,500-strong Operation Barkhane force withdrew from Mali in August 2022, French troops also exited Burkina Faso in February 2023.

In September 2023, military-led governments in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger established a new defence and security cooperation body, the Alliance of Sahel States, a direct response to the threat of military intervention by the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc that opposed a military coup that took place in Niger in July 2023 and overthrew the democratically elected government.

But our worry at Daily Trust is that it seems that the whole essence of the expulsion of French troops is to replace them with another regional power, this time, Russia. Yet, it is doubtful if this would effectively guarantee the required security in the Sahel alliance states due to Russia’s capacity limitations.

We, therefore, call on the Sahel nations to boost their internal security so as to ensure that the new move reduces the levels of terrorism violence, thereby enhancing its eradication, including promoting their sovereignty and helping defend their territory against other foreign threats. It should not be an invitation to ignite another global power rivalry.

We also advocate that the way forward remains regional cooperation under the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), intelligence sharing and cross-border military operations between Sahelian states and their coastal counterparts in order to effectively solve common security challenges.

For the French, they should blame themselves for allowing the excruciating hold on their former colonies to linger without clear benefits to the Francophone nations. All along, with French policy of decades of resource gorging and indirect control of their economies, politics, culture and social life, it was a matter of time for this reckoning.

And it is instructive that Senegal and Chad announced their termination of military ties with their former colonial masters while President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was on a three-day state visit to France.

Therefore, while both Nigeria and France strengthen their political, economic, and cultural relations and establish more opportunities for partnership, particularly in agriculture, security, education, health, youth engagement and employment, innovation, and energy transition, there must be specifics on benefits.

Nothing should be done to make it seem as if any nation is using Nigeria to get what they have lost through the back door. Every relationship must be on a win-win platform and not a master servant level or attitude. After all, mutual respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, non-interference in others’ internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit along with peaceful co-existence form the basis for bilateral and regional relations.