Christmas may be coming early this year! On November 29^th, during the visit of the French Minister of Foreign Affairs in Ndjamena, Chad, Jean-Noel Barrot thought he was back as the French colonialist and managed to even tell the Chadian president who to collaborate with, and give him lessons. By the time he was on his plane back to France, the Chadian government sent out a notice ordering the French army to leave the Chadian soil.

After more than a century of presence, the French army has been, at last, kicked out of Chad. The dictator approved by France, Mahamat Idriss Deby, has just denounced the defense agreements that bind his country to France. This was done without even notifying the Elysée. If the idea had been in the back burners for several months already, given the recent trip of Deby to Russia, the first in over 40 years, nothing suggested such a brutal break, yet desired by the vast majority of Chadians.

On Monday, The Chadian president Mahamat Idriss Deby defended on state TV, his decision to break military ties with France, saying at a news conference Sunday that their defense pact no longer meets Chad’s security needs.The decision requires France to withdraw its troops from the central African nation and echoes growing anti-French sentiment with civil society groups who say it is long overdue. Deby said his decision to end cooperation agreements with the French military is part of a promise he made during his May 23 inauguration, ending three years of military transition.

This rupture comes just a month after a Boko Haram attack killed 40 Chadian soldiers in a military garrison in Lake Chad shared by Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Niger, this without any help from the 1000+ French troops located in Chad. As can clearly be seen, the presence of French troops seems to be of no use to Chad. Just ask our Malian brothers and they will let tell you all about the uselessness of the Operation Serval, Operation Barkhane and the Task Force Takuba.

On the wake of the Thiaroye celebration (Thiaroye: A French Massacre in Senegal), the Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has called for the closure of all French military bases in the country, asserting in an interview with a French media, that their presence is “incompatible” with the nation’s sovereignty. Faye clarified that this decision decision does not sever ties with France. Unlike other West African nations that have expelled French forces in favor of Russian military support, Senegal aims to maintain its relationship with France. “Today, China is our largest trading partner in terms of investment and trade. Does China have a military presence in Senegal? No. Does that mean our relations are cut? No,” Faye remarked.

Now… let’s move to the end of the biggest elephant in the room, the currency that is the FCFA in our own terms. Moreover, let us not discriminate to only French military bases, but all foreign bases should move out of the continent. Lastly, African Governments should make Contracts, defense and economic treaties, Public to their Populations!