You may not have witnessed it but history books and the tales of the elders record that France was one of the nations who had sympathies with Colonel Odimegwu Ojukwu’s Biafra during the Nigerian Civil War.

De-classified cables and diplomatic correspondence now available in the public domain show the particular interest of the then French President, Charles de Gaulle, in the survival of Biafra, leading to the supply of materials and ammunition to the region during the thirty-month hostilities. Some reasons have been given for that, the most obvious being that it was seen by the French as an opportunity to break-up Britain’s biggest partners in Africa, gaining access to Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region, and adding to the number of countries in West Africa where France’s influence remains dominant till this day.

The Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, in accusing France of being aware of the transit of funds to IPOB, the modern day Biafra, adds more substance to the comparisons that have been drawn between the developments in the country today and the 1960s.

Being the most populous black nation in the world means Nigerian has always been of keen interest to the European powers, coupled with the resources available. France has denied any suggestion that it could be funding IPOB, but its legacy of sustained influence in francophone Africa creates the ground for suspicion whenever something seems amiss in the country.

Call it ‘playing the French card’ by the present Buhari Government, and you may not be totally out of place.

Azeez