We in this Newspaper have always shared the opinion that colonialism in the true sense of the word is an evil. But come to look at it in the context of France’s colonial policy, especially in Africa, many have termed it satanic, sadistic, and perhaps just another level of a crime against humanity.
This characterisation may be grossly inflammatory and exaggerated but there is a lining of truth belying these accusations. France has bled her former colonies for so long that, someone had to raise a voice loud enough to alert the world. That someone has turned out to be Italy. And we think Italy has a point. Italy has simply done what most leaders of former French African colonies have shied away from, only to continue to suffer in silence, and in consequence, impoverishing millions of their own people.
As the first shot in a brewing stalemate between the two countries, Italy has taken the matter to the European Union, with Ligui Di Maio, Italy’s coalition league leader advocating sanctions against France, along with all other countries that impoverish Africa.
France’s continuous presence in Africa is rather endemic to prosperity of her former colonies than it bears any genuine consideration for the good of the people of these countries. It should not surprise anyone who understands that France’s presence in Africa has all along been tied to the founding philosophy of France’s colonial policy. It was based on the principle of a “Greater France” which included her former colonies, or “France Overseas” in the geo-political thinking of France.
Under this policy, it became obvious that France openly demonstrated her reluctance to grant genuine independence to these countries, resorting to the signing of obnoxious pacts that have virtually left these former colonies fully under France’s domination in every aspect of their so-called independence. This equally includes even the governance system of absolute centralisation.
It would not be worthless to mention that if we in Cameroon find ourselves in a situation where we are, after more than half a century of our independence and reunification, still quarrelling and killing ourselves over how we can best govern ourselves; it is because the secret hand of France is on the remote control.
Which is why, even what we would prefer to term a “tentative” decentralisation process has for more than twenty years been unattained. Which is also why it is tempting sometimes to wonder whether what has been put on the menu will serve the purpose for which a genuine decentralization could have been intended.
We say this with a lot of certainty because it is easy to discover a number of loopholes that will still hinge the process to the same current mechanism of centralization per se. In the first place, that the regional councils, or call them assemblies shall be elected by a limited electoral college instead of through popular elections throws more doubt how much of the interest of the people those elected will serve. This remains a taunting question.
Secondly, that the governors of these regions shall be appointed and not popularly elected still ties the hands of those appointed firmly to the remote control mechanism of the power at the centre. This of course is bound to be so because we tend to draw our role model from France and her system and for the simple reason also that we are chained by some of those post colonial pacts which were erroneously entered with France.
For instance, it is embarrassing that France has no shares in the central banks of most member countries of the Franc Zone, but enjoys the undeserved status of a member of board of directors with veto powers, while at the same time the currencies of member counties of the Franc zone are deposited in the French Treasury. What a mix-up. It is therefore reasonable to consider Italy’s move as an awakening call for former French colonies [Cameroon included] to take an advantage of this call and right the wrongs of yesteryears.
France should therefore not consider itself betrayed by Italy. It is a point blank issue. The crux of the matter is that Italy could no longer bear the full weight of the increasing number of migrants into Italy, most of which migrants come from former French colonies, on whom life has become unbearable, due to France’s exploitation of the resources of these peoples with impunity.
We can only advice Macron to look back at home in France, where he finds himself faced with a difficult situation of protests from within the country. This is the harvest of the seed of France’s selfish option of domineering and exploitation which formed the foundation of her colonial policy, with centralisation of governance being at the centre of its administrative system.
Only recently President Macron was in Normandy, in northern France where he met with more than six hundred mayors, whose worries were the disgusting centralisation of powers, which deprives them of the free hand to manage their various constituencies. We can also only re-emphasize that centralisation is indeed disgusting. We feel the pains back here in our country Cameroon. Decentralisation is a viable option no doubt, but only if it is indeed genuine decentralisation.