Last year, France faced a lot of threats to its stranglehold on his former colonies in West Africa following the emergence of three leaders in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger—who are resisting neo-colonialism.
Now with the election of the 44-year old Bassirou Diomaye Faye in Senegal, France is witnessing one more addition to the youthful and restless brigade that wants its military out of Africa, stop exploiting African resources and stop the colonial tax.
Faye, a former prisoner who was detained in April 2023 for contempt of court and defaming magistrates—but was later released in early March—had last year put France on notice in a scathing speech which his supporters believe could have resulted in his imprisonment.
In a fiery speech, Faye, a former tax inspector before joining politics under the tutelage of prominent opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, told France “to lift its knees off Africa’s neck”.
“France must make preparations for a definitive break and complete withdrawal from Africa. Africa belongs to Africa not France. Centuries of human trafficking, colonization and neo-colonialism has caused immense suffering to Africans,” said the president-elect, who asked France to borrow a leaf from former colonisers like Germany, Spain and Italy who were not interested in choosing leaders and exploiting their former colonies.
Analysts say that his famous speech is likely to form his foreign policy regarding France and join Ibrahim Traoré, 36 of Burkina Faso, Assimi Goïta, 41(Mali), Abdourahamane Tchiani (Niger) and Mamady Doumbouya, 44 of Guinea in the onslaught against French hegemony.
Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have kicked out French troops from their countries and have withdrawn from the Economic Commission for West African States (ECOWAS) that was being used by France to try and remove the three leaders who came to power through a coup.
Besides the three countries resisting the lopsided arrangements in the French acquisition of their natural resources such as Gold and Uranium, the three have rejected the decades old colonial tax
Fourteen former French colonies in Africa still pay colonial tax amounting to $500 billion annually. These are Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
In December last year, Niger and Mali revoked two 1972 treaties with France for cooperation and administrative assistance on taxation.
Mr Faye defeated former Prime Minister, Amadou Ba who was being fronted by the incumbent, President Macky Sall. The outgoing Senegalese president, the president of Côte d’Ivoire, Allasene Quatara and Paul Biya of Cameroon are some of the old hands who have been kept in power by France.
It will be interesting to see how Faye will maneuovre the entrenched French influence in Senegal that started in the 1960s though the first president, Leopold Seda Sengor
A contingent of nearly 400 soldiers known as French Elements of Senegal (EFS) have been in the country since 2011and freely use Dakar military airport.
Again, it will be interesting to see how Mr Faye will relate with his mentor, Mr Sonko—the popular and charismatic opposition leader—who after being barred from contesting the presidency threw his weight behind the president-elect.
Mr Sonko was a thorn in the flesh of President Sall and the French interests in Senegal. He was detained in July last year for insurrection after he organised a series of protests against President Sall’s attempt to change the constitution and go for a third term.
Mr Sonko confessed that he did not pick Mr Faye from his heart but it was the practical thing to do and that the president-elect is ‘honest and competent”. But Mr Faye must know that Paris is on the lookout.
