Paris is trying to rebuild influence in the continent after setbacks in the Sahel, P.L.O. Lumumba has told RT

France is attempting to restore its influence in Africa after governments in several Sahel states pushed out French troops and scaled back ties with Paris, Kenyan lawyer and activist, professor Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba, has told RT.

Commenting on French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Kenya and the Africa Forward summit in Nairobi, the chairman and founder of the PLO Lumumba Foundation argued that Paris is presenting itself as a changed partner while, in reality, seeking to preserve its geopolitical and economic leverage on the continent.

"The reality is they [France] want to dominate African continents... the sooner Africa realizes that, the safer Africa is," Lumumba said.

Speaking to RT, he suggested that France's recent diplomatic and military initiatives in East Africa were aimed at offsetting setbacks suffered in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Senegal.

Lumumba said many African leaders deliberately stayed away from the summit because they did not want "to be lectured to" by former colonial powers.

The professor also dismissed Macron's self-description as a pan-Africanist, arguing that the French president was using the language of Pan-Africanism to appeal to African audiences while continuing policies that undermine the continent's sovereignty. He maintained that genuine Pan-Africanism could not coexist with military pacts or economic arrangements that preserved dependence on former colonial powers.

"He's not a pan-Africanist of any shade, but he is trying to wear the garb of Pan-Africanism as a way of confusing gullible African leaders," Lumumba said.

The Africa Forward summit is taking place on May 11-12 in Nairobi. The event is focused on what organizers describe as an "Africa-France partnership" and is jointly organized by Paris and Nairobi. The summit is being held for the first time in a non-Francophone African country.

In a separate interview with RT, Nigerian presidential spokesperson Daniel Bwalasaidall foreign partnerships "must reflect strategic national interests."

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"Every relationship, if it is not symbiotic, if it is not mutually beneficial, ... it is not healthy and it is not good," Bwala added.

(RT.com)