Let us be honest. France’s exit from Africa is not a moral awakening. It is a strategic retreat. Where pressure is loud, France leaves. Where victims lack a state, a seat, or a powerful voice, France stays silent.
By Kemi Ashu The Independentistnews contributor
The Old Order Finally Admits Defeat
France has finally admitted what Africans have known for a long time: the old days are over.
Across the continent, French soldiers are packing their bags. Bases are being handed back. Flags are coming down. From Ivory Coast to Senegal, governments are saying—politely but firmly—that foreign troops from a former colonial power no longer belong on their soil. France calls it a “new partnership.” African leaders call it sovereignty. Ordinary people call it common sense.
Where the Story Suddenly Stops
Paris says public opinion has changed. That times have moved on. That cooperation must now respect dignity and independence. Fine. That sounds reasonable. Even overdue. But then we arrive at Southern Cameroons—and the story suddenly freezes.
Withdrawal for Some, Silence for Others
While France withdraws elsewhere in Africa, it remains quietly present where it matters most: behind the Cameroonian state as it wages a violent military occupation in Southern Cameroons. Villages burn. Families flee. Children grow up knowing gunfire better than school bells. Yet from Paris, there is no outrage. No urgency. Only silence. This silence is not accidental.
An Unfinished History France Refuses to See
Southern Cameroons is not asking for a “new partnership.” It is asking for recognition of an unfinished history. It is a UN-recognized trust territory whose decolonization was never completed. If France truly respects sovereignty, it cannot pretend not to see what is happening there. Looking away is not neutrality. It is protection by omission.
The Double Standard Exposed
Here lies the problem France does not want to confront. If foreign troops are no longer acceptable in Africa because they remind people of domination, then supporting a military occupation is even worse. You cannot applaud sovereignty in Dakar and Abidjan while tolerating brutality in Buea and Bamenda.
Human Rights—When Convenient
France warns Africa about human rights abuses when other powers are involved. But when Cameroonian forces commit those same abuses—with Western weapons and diplomatic cover—the language suddenly softens. Words like “stability” and “security cooperation” are used to bury suffering on the ground.
A Strategic Retreat, Not a Moral Awakening
Let us be honest. France’s exit from Africa is not a moral awakening. It is a strategic retreat. Where pressure is loud, France leaves. Where victims lack a state, a seat, or a powerful voice, France stays silent.
History Is Closing In
France may leave Africa base by base, but it cannot leave responsibility behind. The age of selective sovereignty is ending. The world is watching which principles are applied universally—and which are traded away when inconvenient. France says times have moved on. Southern Cameroons asks one simple question: moved on for whom?
Kemi Ashu
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