Timi Frank labels Africa-French partnerships ‘death warrant’

By Omeiza Ajayi

Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Comrade Timi Frank, has slammed African leaders who signed agreements with France at a recent continental summit, describing the deals as “death warrants” for Africa and calling on youths across the continent to resist what he termed a fresh attempt at recolonisation.

Frank, who also serves as Ambassador of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) to East Africa and the Middle East, directed his angst at the “Africa Forward: Africa-France Partnerships for Innovation and Growth Summit” held in Nairobi, Kenya, which French President Emmanuel Macron and several African heads of state, including President Bola Tinubu, attended.

In a statement on Thursday, Frank accused Paris of engineering a calculated comeback on the continent after being expelled from several Francophone nations in recent years.

“Any agreement signed with France will only benefit the leaders themselves and not the people. Africans must reject such deals because they are like death warrants for the continent,” he said.

Frank dismissed the reported agreements as a “Greek gift,” insisting they would deliver nothing meaningful to ordinary Africans and existed solely to serve the personal and corrupt interests of the leaders who signed them.

He cited examples of Burkina Faso and Mali, two nations that have openly distanced themselves from French influence in recent years, arguing that if smaller countries could take such a stand, larger and more powerful African states had no excuse for capitulating.

The political activist accused France of a long history of economic exploitation, alleging that Paris had for decades held on to the financial reserves of its former colonies while simultaneously lending the same funds back to those governments at a cost.

“All these years, France controlled the resources and financial systems of many African countries. They kept African money and still loaned the same money back to them. That system only promoted poverty and dependency,” he alleged.

Frank accused France of propping up African leaders who altered their constitutions to extend their stay in office, claiming that Paris had a consistent record of backing corrupt regimes across the continent whenever it served French interests.

He called on the African electorate to vote out any leader who entered sovereignty-compromising agreements with foreign powers, and urged youth groups to take to the streets in peaceful protest against deals perceived to undermine African independence.

“The youth must wake up and reject this new takeover agenda. The era where France dictates the future of Africa is gone,” he declared.

In a notable turn, Frank urged African governments to pivot away from France and deepen ties with the United States and Israel instead, describing both countries as partners with a stronger commitment to trade, technology, agriculture and security cooperation.

He praised US President Donald Trump and the American government for what he described as opposition to unconstitutional tenure elongation and support for democratic governance across Africa.

“America and Israel have demonstrated shared developmental values far more inspiring and people-oriented than France,” he said.

Frank also called on African leaders to place the welfare of their citizens above personal ambition, insisting that the continent deserved partnerships grounded in genuine development, security and prosperity.

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