Françafrique and the Franco–African Summits.

A Disgrace to Africa

France is best known in Africa for its colonial greed and misdemeanous. Its first
colonial ventures occurred in the 19th century after its failure to conquer the
Caribbean and India which the British dominated. France was most probably
attracted to the immense wealth in terms of natural resources that was buried in
the soils of African countries. Pregnant with a mission to exploit and bleed these
“savage and uncivilized” men white, France like every other colonial power framed
and presented the perfect excuse to the rulers of Africa and the international
community in general. Code named “civilization mission”, they flooded the
continent with specialists in burglary and experts in psychology to arrest and
deform the minds of the rulers; knowing that when you trap the head the rest of the
body will dance the fool’s music. Haven conquered the heads, all they had to do
was to sit back relax and see them swing to the rhythm of their ill-minded melody.
Then began the exploitation of Africa from the West, Center and the North. Africans
never folded their arms when the strangers came to take over the land which was
handed over to them by their ancestors. Although the French faced bitter
resistances from the noble men and women of Africa, their superior weaponry
salvaged their cause. The French set up a form of government which can best be
described as despotic, savage and undemocratic. When they wanted the job done,
they set up cruel schemes such as the “corvee” which was a form of forced and
harsh labour, regardless of the number of people who died along the line and in
very inhumane health conditions. After all, Africans were simple money making
tools in the eyes of the French. Although they massively exploited the natural
resources and transferred to France, they never took their eyes off every penny the
people made. They put in placed several unfair tax systems and forced the people
to pay. The main and well constructed road lines where those that went from the
farms where the raw materials were grown to the ports for direct shipping. In
return, they built schools for the “negroes” to learn to read and write. Although they
educated the masses, their education was not without an evil intention. This can be
justified by the fact that they gave special preferences to the sons of chiefs whom
they brainwashed, and prepared for the takeover in a bit to guarantee loyalty and
long-term servitude. This shows that the French came to stay. No doubt, they were
the fathers of dictators. It is this very “come-no-go DNA” that they transmitted to
their stooges who finally took over.

Unfortunately for the French, the First and Second World Wars came in to usher a
new dawn. The Africans soldiers finally broke the secret myth of the “whiteman”; as
they saw their vulnerabilities and fears which were similar to theirs. Simultaneously,
the international community stepped up its anti-colonisation drive and the United
Nations was put in place to oversee the decolonization and final independence of
African countries. From Algeria in North Africa to Cameroon in Central/West Africa,
the wind of change had started blowing, punctuated by bitter wars for self
determination. By the 1960s, a cross-section of the French-speaking African
countries had gotten what has been generally called “Political Independence”.

Independent or Extended Territories of France?

As much as Africa’s independence has been hailed and celebrated both on the
continent and at the United Nations; recognized in the concert of nations as equals
with the great powers; it is pathetic to even call what most French-speaking African
countries have as a “political independence”. As a matter of fact, what they call
political independence is nothing but “paper independence” with a high degree of
foreign influence and management. The situation can be likened to a Television
(TV) and a watcher versus a remote control and a guide; where independence is the
TV, and the African leaders are the watchers, the real power (the remote control ) is
in the hands of the guide (France). The African leaders are allowed to switch on less
important channels but when it comes to the real economic deal, the guide
operates it from a distance and the watcher is compelled to watch what is on the
screen willy-nilly.

This uncomfortable and restless situation has been sustained by a complex concept
called Françafrique . This concept was put in place since the early years of the
paper independence of French-speaking African countries. The continental
centerpiece behind the machinery was former Ivorian President Felix Houphouet-
Boigny. According to President Houphouet who conceived the concept, Françafrique
was (is) the maintenance of close relationships between French-speaking African
countries and France after independence. At the metropolis (France) the concept
was received, copied and well developed by one of France’s most powerful brains
Jacques Foccart; the former Chief Adviser for African Policy of de Gaulle and
Georges Pompidou. The concept was a confirmation of the idea that France (and its
stooges like Houphouet) intended to maintain the master-servant relationship. At an
official level, this concept was later transformed into flesh and blood through a
regular cynical encounter known as the Franco-African summits or “Sommets
France-Afrique”. This time around, France decided to include/invite other non-
French speaking countries just to veil their intentions, but we know who their
principal targets are. The question one should ask is: what is the tenacity of these
summits? Why should there be in this era of emancipation, globalization and equity,
a summit of African countries and one country which is supposed to be nothing
more than an equal state in the concert of nations? There is no doubt that France
has been using the Franco-African Summits not only to remind African leaders on
their need to respect and protect French economic interests in their respective
countries but also to rally them to toe the line in support of France’s position on
some key global issues on the international platform. France and America have
often been at loggerheads on international decisions such as the question of farm
subsidized or subsidized First World imports and the War in Iraq. In February 2003,
President Jacques Chirac of France organized a summit with African leaders in Paris,
to buy their support; meanwhile Paul Kagame of Rwanda backed the United States.
The conference was particularly important since two French-speaking countries:
Cameroon and Guinea were non permanent members of the United Nations Security
Council and were expected to vote in the UN resolution on the Iraq war. In return for
the support, France pledged to stand as the mother hen, “protecting” African
agricultural exports in the World market. Of all former colonial countries in Africa,
why is France almost the only foreign force still maintaining permanent and high
presence on the continent when the rest have packed their bags and left? France
has a high military presence in most French-speaking African countries; has been
involved in the fomenting of several coups d’états in these countries; killing several
patriots like Felix-Roland Moumie in Cameroon; creates and/or supports instabilities
in most countries where the leadership opposes its policies like in Burkina Faso
(Thomas Sankara) and Ivory Coast (Laurent Gbagbo), Rwanda (Paul Kagame); and
many more. The truth remains that all these will never end as long as the leaders of
French-speaking African countries continue to kiss France’s behind and act like
lesser states in an era of equality and equity. When Nicholas Sarkozy came to power
in 2007, he promised to put an end to the Françafrique. Yet, the entire continent
and the world saw how France supported the election of Ali Ben Bongo (son of Omar
BONGO) on 3 September 2009, to continue the legacy of the defunct dictator. Let’s
hope that France would not do the same in Cameroon after the demise of Paul Biya,
the dictator; since there are already rumours that Frank Biya is about to be made
minister. During the 25th session of the Franco-African summit that took place from
May-June 2010 in Nice, France, President Sarkozy re-iterated the need to put an end
to 50 years of Françafrique. Doesn’t this sound familiar? Amongst the main issues
from the recent summit, Sarkozy promised to freeze diplomatic relations with
regimes that did not respect human rights and democratic elections as well as the
closure of French military bases in Africa. Who will trust the tenacity of such
declarations if not a fool? France’s business or interest in Africa is not over yet,
especially at a time when European nations are hard-stricken by the economic
crunch; it is just getting warmed up. It is such a disgrace to see our African leaders
mobilize with the speed of light to attend a meeting with an equal-status state like
France. It ought to be a European Union-African Summit, not a Franco-African
summit. Africa is a continent like Europe and France is just a component. How will it
sound to have a South Africa – European Union meeting? Of course it sounds like
madness, but it is normal to have a Franco-African summit. It is high time that
African leaders became more assertive and say “NO” to this nonsense. It is an
entire nation that is put to shame, seeing its leader lining up in a queue of servitude
and religiously listening to France, the master. The way forward for Africa in
general is to unite and seek African solutions to Africa’s problem. No European
country, talk less of France will ever have a completely genuine economic intention
or agenda for the continent’s development. France cannot guarantee our economic
survival in the world market more than Africans. If they fight for Africa to gain one
thing, they gain two at the background. The Unity of Africa is the sole solution.
Africa needs to unite as one and seek a common economic agenda for its natural
resources; determine its prices in the world market and dictate its terms to the rest
of the world. The effects of the climate change and the economic crisis are
compelling Western countries to rely on Africa more than ever. Are the leaders
seizing this turning point opportunity to regain their rightful position or will they
continue to act like educated fools and cuddle with mediocrity? One leader cannot stand up and succeed.
It has to be a united effort. African leaders, Obama has broken the myth of racial discrimination in the
United States, you too can break the myth of neocolonialism. STAND UP TOGETHER and be the
change that the continent expects to see. Let me end with this saying that: "When the government fears
the People there is freedom. When the people fear the government there is tyranny” and unending slavery.