Reports that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu gave his approval for the construction of a French military base in Nigeria have been refuted by the federal government once more.

A report made by an online news source that France would build a military base in Abuja under the guise of establishing a language academy to teach French to Nigerian military personnel prompted the rejection.

In a succinct statement, Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Acting Head of Crisis Monitoring & Public Communications, denied the allegation, calling the article “not true.”

During a recent visit to Paris, President Tinubu reportedly gave in to pressure from French President Emmanuel Macron, according to the initial report, which cited anonymous sources. It further claimed that because of the project’s delicate geopolitical and security ramifications, it was being quietly advanced to evade examination and potential opposition from Nigeria’s National Assembly. The establishment of a French language laboratory at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in Kaduna in January 2024 was also mentioned in the study.

Similar issues had already been handled by the federal government. Nigeria was not in talks with any foreign force over the construction of military sites, according to Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information and National Orientation, who made this clear in May 2024. He emphasized the government’s focus on bolstering current international security cooperation without jeopardizing Nigeria’s sovereignty and asked the public to ignore such rumors.

In keeping with Nigeria’s official stance, the French Embassy in Nigeria has likewise denied any involvement in any such military arrangements. These reaffirmations came after Northern elders allegedly warned President Tinubu and National Assembly leaders not to sign defense contracts with France and the United States in a letter. Concerns regarding foreign pressure to transfer troops from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger back to Nigeria were voiced by the elders. They cited the failure of foreign military deployments in the Sahel to combat terrorism and contended that such agreements may jeopardize Nigeria’s strategic autonomy.

In West and Central Africa, where public sentiment has shifted against France’s post-colonial hegemony, the country has seen mounting opposition. In a number of Francophone nations, such as Mali and Côte d’Ivoire, large-scale rallies have broken out, with protesters demanding a total break from France.

Long-standing animosity has been stoked by France’s colonial past in Africa, especially its direct rule policy and its post-independence relations with African elites, sometimes referred to as “Francafrique.” There has been criticism that France continues to profit economically while making minimal contributions to regional stability because French troops, businesses, and influence have remained firmly established throughout the region.

French military soldiers have been driven out of the territory of a number of African countries in recent years. French forces served in nations like Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, Djibouti, Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal until 2022. However, nations such as Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso withdrew defense deals with France when Operation Barkhane, France’s major counterterrorism campaign in the Sahel, ended in 2022, citing its inefficiency and excessive meddling.

French forces were removed from Mali in August 2022, Burkina Faso in February 2023, and Niger by December 2023 after President Emmanuel Macron said in June 2021 that a gradual military withdrawal from the Sahel would take place. France started a phased withdrawal of the approximately 1,000 troops stationed in Chad in November 2024, when the country was added to the list. It is anticipated that the procedure would be finished by January 2025.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.