Timi Frank, a former Deputy Spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has given reasons why African leaders should turn their backs on France.
In a statement on Tuesday, Frank blamed France for decades of exploitation of Africa without meaningful development.
He was speaking in response to the ongoing “Africa Forward: Africa-France Partnerships for Innovation and Growth Summit” being attended by French President Emmanuel Macron and several African leaders including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Nairobi, Kenya.
He pointed out that, despite their wealth of natural resources, African countries, especially in West Africa, had little to show for years of French influence.
Recent political developments in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have revealed what he called France’s exploitative relationship with African nations, he argued.
“France has nothing more to give to Africa. African leaders must not enter into any new arrangement that will return the continent to economic and political bondage,” he said.
He said the military coups in some Francophone African nations had opened the eyes of many Africans to what he called “decades of exploitation.”
“Since the military coup in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, Africans have clearly seen that France was only exploiting the people and their resources without giving anything meaningful in return,” he said.
He said that African leaders should look more towards the United States than towards France.
