EDITORIAL: Macron’s visit to Cameroon is a reminder to rethink Franco-Cameroonian relations

By Hans Ngala

French President Emmanuel Macron is expected in Cameroon from July 25 to 27, 2022 and already, preparations for Macron’s arrival are near fever pitch. Roads he will pass on are being tarmacked and security is being stepped up.

There is no doubt that Macron’s visit is driven by a number of factors, including declining French influence in Africa as the Chinese take over almost all spheres of dominance including trade and investment in infrastructure. Most roads being built across the country are being handled by Chinese contractors; sports stadia are being built by the Chinese and even the new building to house Cameroon’s national assembly was contracted to the Chinese.

Of course there is the Russia-Ukraine war which has led to an energy crisis in Europe, leading many European countries to turn to their “allies” in search of alternative energy supplies.

Also, there is the issue of the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon’s two Anglophone regions (formerly administered separately from French Cameroun) after Germany lost the territory in World War I. The Anglophone Crisis has proven to be Paul Biya’s biggest challenge in his almost 40 years in power. It is therefore logical that France which has a habit of treating its former colonies in Africa as extensions of France – would likely pressure Biya to solve the problem – provided it serves French interests.

And that brings me to the crux of the matter: whose interests has France served in its long history with Cameroon? The answer is obviously France’s. However, it is high time Cameroon re-thought its relationship with France. A world power that thrives by suppressing others is not a country to walk too closely with, the way the Biya regime (and that of Ahmadou Ahidjo before him) has done over the years.

When one considers how France treated Guinea-Conakry in 1958, one cannot help but think of the sheer arrogance! At the time, Guinean president,   Sékou Touré had to decide whether his country (a former French colony), would join the Communauté Financière Africaine (CFA) which Cameroon is a part of today. Guineans massively voted not to be a part of the CFA zone by up to 95%. Charles de Gaulle immediately pulled out more than 4,000 civil servants, judges, teachers, doctors, and technicians, instructing them to sabotage everything they left behind.The ensuing tumult of burning books, demolished buildings, destroyed agricultural implements, and assorted vindictive behavior by the departing French was summed up by French commentators as un divorce sans pension alimentaire – a divorce without alimony.

It was the same barbaric behavior the French had displayed in Haiti much earlier. After Haiti gained its independence from France in 1804 (the first African diaspora country to do so) – King Charles X of France used gunboat diplomacy to intimidate Haiti into paying France for having been their “master”. Haiti was ordered by Charles X’s ultimatum to pay 150 million Francs and failure to do so would mean war with France. Only by complying would France then recognize Haiti’s independence. For a country that had lost thousands of its citizens in a bloody war with the French, the amount was exorbitant, but nevertheless, Haiti agreed to pay it.

Part of the reason France demanded this money was to ensure that Haiti never becomes a strong economy and they made sure of this by ensuring that when Haiti sought financial assistance from abroad, it was given on cut-throat interest rates, essentially cementing Haiti’s position as “the poorest nation on earth”.

The French also made sure that Thomas Sankara who was trying to offer the people of Burkina Faso a decent standard of life, was killed. Sankara who reduced government spending, encouraged the education of girls, built schools and reduced his salary as well as those of his own ministers, was detested by the French who used Blaise Compaore –Sankara’s best friend – to assassinate Sankara for daring to stand up to the French and for daring to change the narrative of a “poor African country”.

This is the same France that President Paul Biya enjoys having dealings with. The same France that takes no pride in the growth of Africa. The same France that masquerades itself as a champion of human rights and “democracy”.

Cameroon ought to rethink its relationship with France. Yes, it is true that in international relations, each country must put its own interests first. But to be using other countries and belittling them, essentially keeping millions of their citizens in abject poverty so that French citizens can live in luxury is rather sad and must not be condoned.

France tends to condemn China for not respecting human rights when they sign business deals with African countries such as Cameroon, but the average Cameroonian is more concerned about having a decent classroom to study in, and the Chinese have helped build one for him. The average Cameroonian is concerned about good roads and the Chinese (not the French), are helping do that for him.

It is very important to question what the purpose of Macron’s visit to Cameroon could really be when it is clear that France only ever calls on Cameroon when French interests are at stake.

At this stage, it is only fair to assume that because Biya in his 80s, is in poor health and France fears that there will be a succession crisis after the man’s death, which will certainly affect France adversely seeing as Cameroon is a big supplier of petroleum to France.

With the current Russia-Ukraine war, France is turning to Cameroon and its other former colonies as they always selfishly do in their hour of need. France needs gas for French factories, cars and homes.

The Anglophone Crisis has been a palpable and contentious issue which France has shown very little interest in solving. This could be because at the heart of it, is the natural gas found in Limbe, Southwest of Cameroon. This is Cameroon’s lone oil refinery and France gets large supplies from it.

However, Cameroon is for Cameroonians and France is for the French, but it would seem that Cameroon in reality is for the French. That Cameroon still uses a currency pegged to the French Franc 50 years after independence is really concerning. The fact that after colonizing French Cameroun for over 40 years, the greatest French investment is the tiny tunnel bridge at Province in Yaounde is quite a shame and a clear demonstration of France’s disinterest in the development of Cameroon.

It is therefore incumbent on Cameroonians and the leadership of Cameroon to put Cameroon first when striking deals with France.

In fact, it would be wise to heed the words of the Beninese writer and anti-colonialist, Kemi Seba who has overtly called for former French colonies to drop the Franc and have their own currencies and to sever ties with France.

If a rethinking of Franco-Cameroonian relations demands that Cameroon should do that, then so be it. After all, Rwanda (a country where French influence was very prominent up to the 1994 genocide) decided to cut ties with Paris and has risen to become the “Singapore of Africa”. Also, the fact that Togo and Gabon (former French colonies), joined the Commonwealth this June during a Commonwealth summit in Kigali, is a clear anti-French message.

Earlier this year, Mali demanded that French troops in the country should leave and called for Russian soldiers to come instead and help them in the war on terror.

Even a country like South Africa that was never colonized by France has entered the bandwagon. In May this year, protesters marched to the South African embassy in Pretoria demanding that France should stay out of African affairs. Led by Julius Malema, a firebrand opposition leader, they said that France has been playing a role in the many coup d’états, illegal and unlawful overthrow of many governments in the African continent.

Malema also added that “Africa will not be free until African countries reclaim their reserve banks and have their own currency as independent countries. It is for this reason that the unity of the African continent remains urgent, for Africans to stand together against imperialism”.

This is the same spirit Cameroonian leaders must adopt. If our relationship with France is not working, then maybe it’s time we got other international partners that can work with us mutually, not on a master-servant basis like France. We should get partners that genuinely support our desire for economic growth. And while we’re at it, we should flip the words of the French back to them and demand for un divorce sans pension alimentaire – a divorce without alimony.