By PATRICK OMORODION

AS an undergraduate of the University of Ife in the early 1980s, we were told during our orientation into the system to avoid being triangular students. Triangular students, we were told, are those who never got themselves involved in any social activities on campus outside their academic chores.

They are those whose movements revolved around the triangle of hostel, cafeteria, lecture rooms and back to the hostel. This is their daily routine for the four years or more they spend on the campus.

This way, we were told that you will pass through the school but the school will never pass through you. That is, you may acquire the relevant academic degree and knowledge but you will never understand the environment or society and every other thing about it.

Passing through an institution or a community and allowing the same institution or community pass through you, leaves you with great knowledge of the place and its idiosyncrasies as well as its fond memories many years after.

This is exactly what has happened to the French President, Emmanuel Macron, who passed through Nigeria at a time in his life and also allowed Nigeria, especially Lagos, pass through him too. This allowed Macron to understand our people, our music, culture as well as food and for many years the memories have remained etched in a corner of his heart, that he now sees Nigeria as his second home. This is why, when he became President of France, one of Europe’s economic powers, he remembered Nigeria and Lagos in particular. And he visited in 2018 during the tenure of Akinwunmi Ambode as governor of Lagos State.

During the visit, Macron was a guest of honour at a special event in Lagos planned as part of the 2020 African Cultures Season with the aim of changing French society’s perception of the African continent through the promotion of African contemporary creation.

The event took place at the New Afrika Shrine situated somewhere in Ikeja. The Afrika Shrine was one of the places he fell in love with during his years as an intern at the French Embassy in 2002.

The original Afrika Shrine founded by the Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulakop-Kuti, was situated in the heart of Ikeja on Pepple Street but was relocated to Agidingbi on the outskirts of Ikeja in 2000 by his children led by his heir, Femi Kuti, as the new Emperor of the Empire.

Macron sees the Afrika Shrine as a centre for the propagation of African culture and music and was quoted to have told his host, then governor Ambode that: “This place is an iconic place and it is a place where the best of music is given. I have to say my main memories about this place are friends, proud people, proud of their culture, proud of their art and music. I have a very different view of Africa than a lot of other people in Europe.”

No wonder his dream as President of France is to see that the African and Nigerian culture, music and art, as well as creative endeavours of the young population are propagated and helped to grow.

As a proof that Macron still has Nigeria at heart, he sent his representative, his Minister of State for Development, Francophonie and International Partnership, Dr Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, to the inauguration of Nigeria’s 16th president, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu on May 29, 2023.

Apart from the President’s inauguration, Dr. Zacharopoulou used the visit to embark on other engagements President Macron assigned her to accomplish on behalf of France. And everywhere she went, she was happily reminding her Nigerian audience that the project was ‘the philosophy and dream of Macron’.

Her first port of call was Ilorin, the Kwara State capital. This French official visit is the first one by a foreign Minister in the State to mark the growing cooperation of France with Kwara in agriculture and culture . She congratulated the Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, for his re-election as well as his nomination as Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.

The Minister and the Governor both witnessed the signing of two significant agreements:

*An MOU between Kwara State and a French company, BRLI, which is tasked with conducting a €500,000 feasibility study granted by the French authorities on the modernisation of the livestock value chain in the Lata grazing reserve;

*An MOU formalising the relocation of the Alliance Française in Ilorin within the Innovation Hub.

The generous offer of the Governor of a space of 120m², she stressed, will enable the cultural and linguistic center to attract its public in modern classrooms and facilities.

The Minister also disclosed that the Embassy of France and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs will also contribute to the relocation of the Alliance through an exceptional grant of €10,000, which complements the annual operating grant.

According to her, the partnership between France and Kwara State demonstrates the shared vision of giving younger generations access to quality education and skills that will enable them to thrive.

Dr. Zacharopoulou’s next destination was Lagos State and her first assignment in the State was the inauguration of the Lagos chapter of the French Tech Community which took place at the Alliance Française in Ikoyi even though the project was launched in January 2023.

She said that the French Tech Community which is part of a network of over 100 French Tech hubs across the world, is geared towards gathering startups and entrepreneurs which, even though based in Nigeria, have a connection to France.

“It pursues the goal of promoting France and Nigeria as destinations for business and entrepreneurship, aiming to create bridges between the French and Nigerian tech ecosystems,” she said, commending the establishment of the community in Lagos.

Continuing, the Minister said: “Given the potential of the digital industry here, it was essential to create a structure that would make the Nigerian tech ecosystem more visible to French players and highlight the opportunities that this country offers. Lagos is undoubtedly the heart of African tech and home to the continent’s most promising startups. This is why French public operators are already involved through initiatives such as Digital Africa – an initiative of President Emmanuel Macron to support young entrepreneurs in Africa and the iDice programme, which was recently launched by the Nigerian government with a financial contribution of €100m from the Frech Development Agencu, AFD. We expect French private investors to become even more involved in the near future”.

Lagos State, seen as second home to President Macron, has a special place in his heart. As a result, his emissary, Dr. Zacharopoulou used the visit to Nigeria to connect with Lagos State authorities responsible for water and land transportation, which included a deep-dive session in projects supported by the AFD.

According to the Minister, over the past 12 years, France through AFD has been investing $700m in the development of Lagos State, including $350m to develop the Mass Rapid Transit System, MRTS.

This project is aimed at helping the State develop its mass public Inland Waterways Transport to be able to transport 24 million commuters by waterways every year which “will significantly reduce travel cost, allow great travel time savings and large reduction of CO² emissions”.

As a way of easing communication for Nigerians, both young and old who do business in France, the French government signed a letter of intent for the promotion of the French language in Lagos State schools at a ceremony between Dr. Zacharopoulou and the Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadri Hamzat.

A statement by the French Embassy disclosed that with this “the foundations of the educational and linguistic cooperation are now laid with the appointment of a French technical expert who will be positioned within the Ministry of Education of Lagos State as French language advisor. The expert will advise the Ministry on improving teacher training while overseeing an innovative project in 10 public pilot schools.

This project should also scale-up French’s position as a language of communication by providing modern educational resources and by creating French radio and podcasts programs. All this will allow for more regular practice of oral skills and better preparation for DELF exams”.