Imagine you’re a king. One late afternoon, your 14-year-old daughter of royal lineage rushes to the river to revel in her intriguingly blooming feminine features and long locks of black shea butter-shining hair.
After many hours, she still hasn’t returned home. You send a search team to look for her, but to no avail. Hours turn into days, days become weeks, weeks turn into months, months linger on into years, years stretch into decades, and decades fade into centuries. Ultimately, you discover she has been tied to a large Honey Locust tree, naked, its sharp thorns piercing her flesh and jutting out at the other side.
Her kidnapper will rape her at dawn, morning, afternoon and night. In the mornings, he will say to her you should be grateful. I do not let ants ravish your beautiful brown skin. This is precisely what Macron said recently in many different words.
On 7th January 2025, 581 years after one of the most elaborate human trafficking campaigns by Europeans, Macron found the words to make a bold statement: “None of them would be in a sovereign country today if the French army had not been deployed in this region.” — Emmanuel Macron, President of France. I can hear you scream from your lousy Italian sofa. Read the context in which he made his comments. I will suggest he learn to be mute, whatever the context.
If Macron were African, it would be apparent that he had not received a proper upbringing as a child. Nevertheless, I cannot comment on how he was raised, by whom, or in which part of the world, so I shall refrain from making assumptions. Macron delivered a masterclass in colonial hangover, asserting that we should be grateful to France for our sovereignty. Let that sink in for a moment—thank them for our sovereignty?
*Tiger’s Whisper: French troops have been stationed in Chad alone for 60 years. Nevertheless, their minister claims that France has never truly equipped its army or contributed significantly to its structural development. A bit of protection, eh?
CHINK IN THE ARMOUR
Now, I hear the diplomatic voices stating, “But France did assist in the fight against terrorism.” “They lost soldiers defending African soil.” “We ought to be more measured in our response.”
Below is the Price of French “Protection” and Profit
1. THE SLAVE TRADE ARITHMETIC
Between 1642 and 1848, French ships transported 1.4 million Africans—each one forcibly removed from their homes and families. Nantes alone organised 1,714 slave voyages, representing a shocking 43% of Europe’s slave trade. Bordeaux initiated 419 expeditions, enslaving 150,000 Africans, while La Rochelle contributed another 427 voyages, trafficking 130,000 individuals. Each voyage served as a floating prison, its decks marked by African suffering.
2. THE COLONIAL BILL
– Algeria (1945): 20,000 massacred at Sétif
– Madagascar (1947): 100,000+ killed in an uprising
– Cameroon (1950s-60s): 50,000+ killed for independence
– Congo-Ocean Railway: 20,000 dead forced labourers
3. THE ECONOMIC STRANGLEHOLD
Picture this: 14 African nations, sovereign on paper but constrained by a currency. Since 1945, the CFA Franc has bound our money to France’s whims. Half of our foreign reserves remain in Paris while our people suffer. They term it “monetary stability.” We term it economic prison.
Tiger’s Whisper: French banks grow fat on African reserves, but our entrepreneurs can’t get loans to build our future. Some stability indeed.
That’s what French “protection” looks like: they guard our money in their vaults while we beg for our wealth.
4. THE MODERN MANIPULATION
– 67 coups in francophone Africa since 1960
– 23 French military interventions post-independence
– 45 years of supporting dictators through Françafrique
– 8 current French military bases in Africa
*Tiger’s Whisper: In Nantes alone, 1,714 slave voyages were undertaken, each ship a floating prison filled with African sorrow. Today, the city’s prosperity rests upon the bones lying at the bottom of the Atlantic.
Our ancestors say: “Count your fingers after shaking hands with a thief.” France offers protection today but forgets to count the bodies from yesterday.
Here’s the math they don’t teach in French schools:
– 1,714 slave ships from Nantes
– 450,000 Africans trafficked through Gorée Island
– 150 years of slave trade operations
– Zero reparations to African victims
– Billions in compensation to French slave owners
“Let’s translate these numbers into human terms:
- Every slave ship from Nantes = Disintegrated and destroyed 400 African families
- Every franc of compensation to slave owners = African blood money
- Every French military base today = A new chain on old wounds
- Every CFA franc = Another day of economic bondage
Tiger’s Whisper: When France paid €17.5 billion (today’s value) to compensate slave owners, it put a price tag on our ancestors. Today, it demands gratitude for our freedom.”Some things cost too much ever to deserve thanks.“
When Macron speaks of sovereignty and gratitude, remember that France built its “civilisation” on African bodies, gold, and blood. Their “protection” came after centuries of destruction.
Our elders say: “The one who throws you in the river shouldn’t offer you a towel.” Yet here’s France, expecting thanks for a drop in the ocean assistance.
“THE MODERN MASSACRE
While Macron speaks of protection, let’s count today’s casualties:
- €440 billion stripped annually from Francophone Africa
- 85% of Niger’s uranium powering French homes while Nigeriens sit in darkness
- 14 nations still chained to the CFA franc
- 67 coups orchestrated to keep Africa ‘stable’ for French interests
Tiger’s Whisper: Four nations – Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Chad – have shown France the door. When one wife leaves, it might be her problem. When four leave, it’s the husband’s fault.“
Africa’s liberation is about rejecting reclaiming our destiny. We must unite to build an Africa where resources serve African households rather than foreign empires.
TIGER’S ROAR
“WAKE UP, AFRICA! Six centuries later, and they’re still expecting us to smile while they rape our resources! The same France that bound our ancestors in chains now wants applause for offering handcuffs with cushions!
To President Macron, here’s our gratitude ledger:
- Thank you for showing us that colonisers never change, they rebrand
- Thank you for making it clear why our brothers in the Sahel chose new friends
- Thank you for reminding us why Africa must stand alone
Our sovereignty isn’t a gift from France – it’s our birthright, bought with our ancestors’ blood and our mothers’ tears. The next time you want gratitude, count the bodies buried under your ‘civilisation.’
The era of ‘thank you, masa’ died with the last colonial flag. Welcome to the age of ‘watch us rise.’
That 14-year-old princess you captured by the river? She is grown now, Monsieur Macron. The thorns that once pierced her flesh now sharpen our resolve. We are not here to thank the captor – we are here to bury him. When Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Chad slam their doors in France’s face, it is not ingratitude. It is that little girl, six centuries later, finally breaking free.
Watch us reclaim our rivers, gold, uranium, and dignity. You will not receive gratitude from any living African. Prepare yourself for a terrible goodbye.