Politics
TO deepen Nigeria’s development, France Consul General in Lagos, Mr Laurent Favier, has said the citizenry should learn French.
Favier said because the country shares borders with Francophone countries, the citizenry needs French to secure business deals that would transform Nigeria for the better.
Speaking at the International Day of La Francophonie in Lagos, Favier also commended Nigerians for their interest in the language, saying 11,000 Nigerians learn French annually while 15,000 teachers teach French.
“We have counted roughly 15,000 teachers in Nigeria teach French in schools and institutes. That’s the first figure, and the second one is that 11,000 Nigerians are learning French every year.”
Assessing Nigerian interest in learning French, he added, “Nigerians learn French because they find an interest and a goal in doing so. The second aspect is that Nigerians live amidst francophone countries, and if you don’t speak French, you can’t develop your country properly. If you want to do business with Togo, with Cameroon, to take these two examples, you can’t if you don’t speak their language.”
Addressing questions on Nigerian relationships with France in cross-cultural contexts, he added, “We have a section of the cultural department here at the Consulate General in Lagos to strengthen the links between our two countries. That’s the general mission of it. We have many programs, domains, and fields to strengthen this mobility. I will give you a few examples. The first one is what we call artist residency. It means that we send Nigerian artists to France for a certain period of time to work in their domain. It could be in fashion, sculpture, painting, and so on. They stay for two, three, four, five, six months, and conversely, we have French artists coming to Nigeria, especially in Lagos, to do the same. We call that cross-artist residencies. That’s the first example.
Continuing he added, “we have scholarship programs. We send many Nigerian students to France to attend mainly master’s degrees or PhDs in universities or colleges in France to study specialized subjects or for a longer period up to three or four years to attend PhDs.
“Also, we have been supporting movie makers here in Nigeria for many years now, and Nigeria has a lot to offer to meet their counterparts in France to attend summits, festivals, and this is why we partner with Nigeria.”
The Alliance Française de Lagos is a cultural institution that has been active in Nigeria for over 60 years, offering French courses, cultural events, and intercultural exchanges while the International Francophonie Day is a day observed within the International Organization of La Francophonie member states every March 20th to celebrate the French language and francophone culture.
Speaking on the partnership, Nigerian actor and film producer Kunle Afolayan said that the French support culture a lot more than any other country and has helped the cultural scene to grow. Continuing, he added, “The French are open to supporting the Anglophone side of Africa, so collaboration is important from an artistic point of view. I do not understand the French language, but as long as there is room for everyone to come together regardless of language.” –vanguard–
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-March 23, 2024 @ 15:20 GMT|
Tags: Kunle Afolayan Mr Laurent Favier
