The immediate past Ambassador of France to Nigeria, Ms. Emmanuelle Blatmann, was recalled by President Emmanuel Macron to take up the position of the Director for Africa and the Indian Ocean at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. In what seemed like a farewell address, she listed some of the achievements of her administration. She also talked about insecurity and visa issues in Nigeria as well as the situation in Niger. BRIDGET CHIEDU ONOCHIE was there.
Does your recall have anything to do with the coup d’etat in West Africa?
I am leaving with sadness. I was hoping I could stay two more years. The appointment was three years at the first instance and an additional one year if one applies for it. I had asked for the fourth year last summer and I was granted. So, I was expecting to stay here till 2025 but President Macron decided just before Christmas to appoint me as the New Director for Africa and the Indian Ocean. To me, it is promotion in the sense that I would be supervising the activities of all our embassies in the continent but at the same time, I was already enjoying what I was doing here, and enjoying Nigeria, especially the people. I feel frustrated that I might not see all these things that I launched coming to life in the coming months but with my new position, I am not going to be far from Africa. I would be looking into what is happening here very closely and I will make sure that Nigeria stays highest in our agenda. I will look for an opportunity to come back.
Can you let us into some of the achievements of your government in Nigeria, especially during your tenure?
On the economic side, over the last years, we have doubled our investments here for the private sector. The foreign direct investment from France is over €10 million. It accounts for 60 per cent of all foreign direct investments in West Africa. So, it shows how much we focused on Nigeria. And what makes me very proud is that there are over 100 French companies in Nigeria, investing and creating employment and training. They have employed more than 10,000 Nigerians. One advice I gave to French companies here is that they can invest but should also propose partnerships not just making money.
The second pillar of our activities here is development. Subsidies for the private sector have been here for 12 years now and since then, we have invested over €3 billion in 45 projects. This high level of investment makes Nigeria one of the top five countries benefiting from French public aid. It comes before other French-speaking African countries that people think we might prioritise. It is mostly loan as we consider Nigeria an intermediate revenue generating country; 75 per cent is loan while 25 per cent is grant. There was also technical assistance. In the last eight years, the majority of investment went into infrastructure, transportation, energy sector, rural markets and roads. We have contributed to the rehabilitation of 22,000 km of rural roads. Since last year, we have focused on the youths to create jobs. Our priority is creating jobs and reinforcing the employability of the youths. We still have the infrastructural projects which normally will start this year. The construction of the biggest solar plant in Jigawa State, €17 million project, will start this year.
But what we want to focus more on now is vocational training for the youths. So, we have a big project, which I hope would be signed this year – €45 million for vocational training in the agriculture sector. Agriculture takes a lot because it comprises security, desertification, and the effect of climate change. It also contributes strongly to local development, creation of jobs in the rural areas and can be a source of export. If people live in a dignified way and have livelihoods, then, maybe they would be less exposed to banditry and would be less interested to be recruited by terrorist groups.
The third pillar includes cultural cooperation, academic cooperation, humanitarian and civil society engagements. In academics, we have launched a new partnership with the French and Nigerian universities. We have increased the number of Nigerians in France. What we are trying to do with our offices in Lagos was to promote French language in France to ensure that language is not an obstacle. We have over a hundred curriculums that are taught in English in France.
So, it is not a problem to study in English in France, but the advantage is that you have to learn the language and also, higher education is subsidised, which means that it costs much less. In France, you can study for between €4000 and €5000 per year whereas if you compare the same quality studies in the U.S or UK, it will be between $30,000 and $50,000 for equivalent studies. We are working on that, and we see that Nigerian partners are getting more interested. What makes me proud is that institutions where we have these students find them awesome, very smart and adapt very well, and ask us to send more. Politically, our relationship has been very good. President Macron is very fond of Nigeria. He did his internship at the French Embassy in Nigeria. He spent some time here and has links and ties he kept close over the years. We are proud that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s first trip abroad was in France.
What is your opinion on the promise by France to assist Nigeria tackle insurgency?
Our military and defense cooperation started in 2014. The French President then decided to engage more Nigerian military after the Chibok Girls’ kidnapping and we put a new collaboration through a joint multi-national task force. We worked with the countries around Lake Chad Basin and a lot was done in that regard. Bilaterally, intelligence has been cooperating and there has been exchange of intelligence which is important for the local army to get information. I cannot elaborate on that. Since the Niger crises, we have increased our collaboration.
There have been training sessions in France in our training centres. Each time we receive a request from the military, we respond positively. President Macron has said that we are ready to provide equipment if requested. We are not disengaging from Africa, but we are responding only to requests. We don’t impose ourselves if we are not wanted by the local authorities. Also, France is the major contributor in the European Union. Each time the EU gives money, 80 per cent comes from France. €40 and €60 million was given by France within two years for military equipment. But there should be a developmental approach to tackling insecurity. The military fights them but they just come back because what they need is a job and access to health. It is a vicious cycle and you have to break the sparrow through a global approach.
What do you think failed in your country’s approach for Africa and what prepares you for the new role?
I don’t really know what prepares me for the new role honestly. I am terrified. When I started my diplomatic career, my first posting was in African direction. After two years, I worked in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). I was later an Ambassador to Sudan for four years, now Ambassador of Nigeria. I guess President Macron considered that with my experience in different parts of Africa. I have little knowledge because I believe that the more you know about Africa, the less you know. When people say that France is facing trouble in Africa, yes, it is facing trouble with five countries in the continent. These countries that were former colonies have been taken over by the military junta, it doesn’t mean that the whole of Africa hates France.
You cannot say that France was responsible for all the problems in Africa. It is not possible. It is also the current leaders that have made their countries what they are, it is not France. We obviously made mistakes and didn’t do everything right; it is true that we have been rejected in four or five countries, but I don’t think it is fair. It is quite unfair because when these countries called us, we helped them. We were the only country they called out for help, and we accepted to go, sent French soldiers and there was French bloodshed on the ground for the African people. So, after maybe we made mistakes, maybe we shouldn’t have stayed, maybe we didn’t communicate well, all we did in the past was forgotten. Some people said we were there to plunder resources in Africa but come on, let us be objective. Our foreign trade in these countries is 0.1 per cent. The foreign trade of France for Sub-Saharan Africa was only two or three per cent. So, where is the economic interest that we are plundering? The mining companies are not French companies. The only trade we have is uranium in Niger but that is only 15 per cent of the uranium we import. We do not depend on the resources from Africa.
Are the changes made by your President indicating that France’s policies in Africa failed?
It is normal for a President to sometimes make changes for new ideas and fresh starts. My predecessor has been on that assignment for three and half years. The timing is unusual because everything is changing now but as you can see, it is not only the advisers on Africa, it is a whole reshuffle. I think the President wants to start a new period. We have a lot of internal issues also in France with the laws on immigration, the laws on climate and a lot of social movements. I don’t think it is a failure globally. We have 54 countries on the continent, and I am not even sure we failed. I think it is the juntas that have taken over power without consideration for their people that are failing their population. I don’t think it is us.
Why are Nigerian students not finding France interesting for schooling?
That is something I also want to note that I have achieved. When I arrived here, it took months and some days to get an appointment for a visa but now, you can get a visa appointment, depending on the kind of visa you want, in two days. I think we have made a lot of improvement. We are issuing many more visas now. Last year, we not only went back to the 2019 period, but we actually increased the number of visas delivered. We are the EU country that delivers the most visas. We received over 50,000 visa requests last year. 18,000 for Abuja and 22,000 for Lagos. For the students’ visa, there is a procedure. I don’t think we have a high refusal rate. Out of the 50,000 general requests received in 2023, two/third were granted visas. I also don’t think that student visas are more than 1,000 yearly. The request is very low because people don’t think about France. It could be due to the language barrier but as I said, we have over 1000 curricula in English. That is why we are trying to lobby Africans to study in France. We really want Nigerian students to come. We have 20,000 Nigerians living in France. Seven years ago, we were 10,000.
How do you intend to use your new office to mend fences with Niger and other Francophone countries under military rule?
It is going to be very challenging. Right now, we have closed our embassy in Niger. All our staff have been disengaged. We are very concerned about what will happen next even for Nigeria because 60 to 70 per cent of Mali and Burkina Faso are already under the control of terrorist groups, and since the coup against President Mohammed Bazoum, there has been a spike of security crises in the area. It is really concerning. We will continue to work with those who think they need us. We will always be there for our African brothers and sisters but for Niger, I don’t think there is anything we can do for the time being. Honestly, ECOWAS has done a lot in reaching out to the junta. France will not go against the ECOWAS decision.
