The fact that Nigeria is not part of France’s pré carré is an advantage in a continent where old colonial sores can be easily worried or reopened.
“France is not a former colonial power in Nigeria and in the past, the French diplomatic engagement with Nigeria was not so strong,” said Paul Melly, a specialist on Franco-African relations at the London-based Chatham House. “But over the past year, there has been a deepening of a political relationship between the two countries.”
Hollande was the only Western head of state to be invited to the launch of Nigeria’s centennial celebrations in February, marking 100 years since the British colonial authorities amalgamated the separate protectorates of Southern and Northern Nigeria.
Speaking at a conference on security and development on the sidelines of the centennial celebrations, the French president promised Nigeria support in the battle against Boko Haram. "Your struggle is also our struggle,” said Hollande. "We will always stand ready not only to provide our political support but our help every time you need it, because the struggle against terrorism is also the struggle for democracy."
But Nigerian authorities have been reluctant to accept foreign assistance even as Boko Haram attacks on security forces, churches, markets, schools and mosques in northern Nigeria escalated over the past two years.
More than 3,000 people have been killed since Boko Haram launched its bloody campaign five years ago to establish an Islamic state in mostly Muslim northeast Nigeria. In the first three months of 2014 alone, at least 1,500 people have been killed in Boko Haram attacks, according to Amnesty International.
US assistance offers have also been spurned, according to the Wall Street Journal, since Nigerian authorities believe the use of US drones would “increase America's ability to pry into the country's affairs”.
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