Timi Frank calls Africa‑French partnerships a “death warrant”

By Omeiza Ajayi

Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Timi Frank, criticized African leaders who signed agreements with France at a recent continental summit, labeling the deals as “death warrants” for Africa and urging youths across the continent to oppose what he called a new wave of recolonization.

Frank, who also acts as the United Liberation Movement for West Papua’s ambassador to East Africa and the Middle East, directed his criticism toward the “Africa Forward: Africa-France Partnerships for Innovation and Growth Summit” that took place in Nairobi, Kenya, where French President Emmanuel Macron and several African heads of state, such as President Bola Tinubu, were present.

In a statement released on Thursday, Frank accused Paris of orchestrating a calculated return to the continent after being expelled from several Francophone countries 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,” asserting that they would provide no tangible benefit to ordinary Africans and were designed only to serve the personal and corrupt interests of the signatory leaders.

He cited Burkina Faso and Mali, two countries that have recently distanced themselves from French influence, arguing that if smaller states could take such a stand, larger and more powerful African nations had no justification for capitulating.

The activist accused France of a long history of economic exploitation, claiming that Paris has for decades retained the financial reserves of its former colonies while simultaneously lending the same money back to those governments at a cost.

“All these years, France controlled the resources and financial systems of many