With French weapons on Nigerian soil…

And it was the writings of Rousseau, along with fellow compatriot Charles-Louis de Secondat, otherwise known as Montesquieu (18th January 1689 – 10th February 1755), that inspired the French revolution. The French revolution, has, of course, gone down in history for its raw symbolism to freedom and social equality enunciated by Rousseau, while Montesquieu in […]

And it was the writings of Rousseau, along with fellow compatriot Charles-Louis de Secondat, otherwise known as Montesquieu (18th January 1689 – 10th February 1755), that inspired the French revolution.
The French revolution, has, of course, gone down in history for its raw symbolism to freedom and social equality enunciated by Rousseau, while Montesquieu in particular has also gone into immortality for being the first to articulate the theory of the separation of powers – the very harbinger of inclusiveness, good governance, and many of the sundry democratic values we can only to take for granted today at our peril even today.
It is not for nothing that the constitutions of most of the countries in the West, including the United States of America, bear the unmistakable underpinnings of Montesquieu’s tea-chings. Therefore, the French, have a lot to be proud of in many respects.  France sees itself as not only the epicentre of French culture and civilization, it also cherishes its role as the custodian of Gallic values, which in turn must be protected from Quebec to Abidjan, with all the strength its cultural, military, economic and diplomatic resources can permit.  
France’s doctrine of assimilation during its colonial era in Africa was just one example. Whereas the typically hypocritical British isolated themselves in Government Reservation Areas (GRAs) in most of their colonies – a racist and discriminatory practice the indigenous elites subsequently took to an obscene level- the French were just too happy to live among the natives and have them think and behave exactly as they do in Paris.   
Unlike Britain, which – except for the existence of the largely ceremonial Commonwealth Organization – promptly severed the umbilical cord connecting it with its former overseas territories soon after they were granted independence, the France retained an almost paternal relationship with its former colonies.
Whereas the British were largely aloof when Sierra-Leone degenerated into a bloody civil war which required the intervention of Nigeria, The French were quick to intervene when the Ivory Coast – its former colony was threatened with anarchy following the contentious president election won by the incumbent Allasane Quattara.
When the Al-Qaeda variant in the Maghreb also threatened to dismember Mali, France was equally decisive in sending in elite troops to protect its former colony. It did not wait for any toothless United Nations resolution to act. It did not also require one to send its legionnaires to halt the carnage in the Central African Republic (CAR) where it is currently engaged.
In all the instances I have cited France was obliged to act because of an impulse that seems to come naturally in line with its timeless doctrine. Its immediate sphere of influence was threatened in all cases. A dangerous threshold was crossed which Paris could not tolerate. The same impulse also explained the alleged role played by France in the favourable judgement obtained by Cameroun at the International Court at the Hague in its dispute with Nigeria over the disputed Bakassi peninsula.
Given its antecedents, we can also have few illusions as which country the French would support in the event of a conflict involving Nigeria and any of its former colonies. It is equally profoundly logical to conclude that any issue with the potential to undermine or diminish the behemoth called Nigeria within the West African sub-region dominated by Francophone countries ultimately enhanced the status and esteem of France.
We saw glimpses of that attitude during our Civil War when France supported Biafra. Even the formation of ECOWAS at the instance of Nigeria so soon after the civil war, must have come as a direct affront to French aspirations in the region for the reasons I have already stated. I could go on and on.
These were the thoughts at the back of my mind when I wrote my piece last week in which I suggested that given the close relationship between France and its erstwhile colonies in Africa, and the rest of the world, including Chad, the Nigerian authorities needed to pay closer attention to the widespread allegations that the Boko Haram insurgents have been using that country as a launching pad for cross-border attacks in North-Eastern Nigeria.
I never suggested that the allegations were true. I only requested for a closer scrutiny of the role of Chad in the military effort against the insurgents, given all that is already in the public domain concerning the alleged involvement of certain high profile individuals known to be close to the Chadian President, as well as the botched ceasefire deal purportedly brokered in Ndjamena to free the kidnapped girls from Chibok!
Let me also make it abundantly clear that in the frequent interactions between nations, which often characterized by the absence of morality, France, as well as Nigeria and Chad, are firmly within their rights to advance their interests anyhow they could. How they achieve that is left to their respective governments and their people. I am a citizen of Nigeria by birth with a strong allegiance to my nation. My level of patriotism far outweighs and will surely outlast the inept tendencies of leaders my nation could throw up from time to time by the grace of God.
When I wrote the piece last week, little did I know that a massive Russian Cargo plane containing two attack helicopters, and various other arms and munitions, would be forced to land at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport following some technical issues it encountered. Even more perplexing were the subsequent revelations after its grounding.
At first we were told that the Russians completely disowned the plane including its contents and crew. A few hours afterwards they claimed the plane actually belonged to them but disowned the contents. By Sunday night, the French claimed total ownership of the arms in the planes and even suggested that the necessary clearance had been obtained from the Nigerian authorities for it to depart for Ndjamena in Chad its original destination.  But just as I commenced writing this, another report arrived indicating that the Nigerian authorities are yet to give clearance for the departure of the aircraft and are insisting on a thorough investigation.   
To add to the controversy, there were also reports that Ali Modu Sheriff, alleged by the Australian negotiator Davis to be among the sponsors of Boko Haram arrived at the airport and even inspected the arms in the plane. Sheriff has of course already denied the allegation, citing his presence at the airport in Kano at the material time to be a mere coincidence. But his denial, along with all the conflicting messages, will do nothing to reassure the fast growing tribe of conspiracy theorists in Nigeria that there is more to the fight against Boko Haram than is visible to the naked eye.
One of the first things I did when Paris claimed ownership of the arms in the Russian aircraft was to do a mini research on the inventory of the French Air Force and what I discovered baffled me even further. The French Air Force currently has a total of 874 aircraft in its inventory.
Out of this number a total of 95 planes are made up of various models of Air Bus A319-115 CJ, A330-223, A340-221, A310-30; Lockheed C130 Hercules,  CASA CN-235, Transtall C-160, and de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter Tactical Transport planes. The logical question therefore is why did the French require the services of a third party on such delicate a matter like the transportation of armaments when they have their own tactical transport planes in abundance?    
Why did the French, as frontline members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), swallow their legendary pride by the Russian plane to transport such arms despite the present tensions between the West and the Putin led administration in Russia? Was the French government truly involved at all? Who are the arms meant for?
 Was the whole thing another black market operation? We know for sure that in Nigeria when authorities at various levels are up to their usual pranks official transactions are never conducted in a straight pattern. It often involves faceless middlemen men. Was this another classic case of the same?
Only time will tell, of course. As I write, new reached me that the plane has eventually been cleared to depart from Kano.