Northern group faults Nigeria, France bilateral agreement

A Northern group, Northern Star Youth Empowerment Initiative (NSYEI) has kicked against the seeming “close romance” between France and the federal government under President Bola Tinubu.

In a statement issued to newsmen in Kaduna on Wednesday and signed by the Director General of the group, Dr Abdullahi Idris recalled that during his recent state visit to France, President Bola Ahmed signed many bilateral agreements with the president of France including on military cooperation and exploitation of Nigeria’s mineral resources by France.

“At the moment, our people in the north live in apprehension of the possible setting up of French military bases in the north and the exacerbation of the insecurity that has already ravaged the region.

“Going by the antecedents of France that have made it kicked out of almost all its former colonies in Africa, including our neighbors of Niger, Chad, Mali, and Burkina Faso. Why is Nigeria now inviting them?” the statement queried.

It noted that something must be wrong for our francophone neighbors to cut ties with France.

“We are therefore calling on the federal government to be careful in rushing into this strange romance with France when we all know Nigeria is an Anglophone West African country whose interest is tied to Britain.”

The statement also called on the federal government to be transparent on the kind of deals it signed with France and the benefits they will bring to Nigeria to allay the fears and apprehensions of the people of the North who are likely to be the victims of France’s traditional misadventure in Africa.