Gabon is trying to join the Commonwealth. For more than ten years, President Ali Bongo has taken steps in this direction.
While the 18th Francophonie summit will take place at the end of November in Djerba in Tunisia, an African country seems more and more tempted by an English-speaking turn. Gabon is indeed on the verge of severing its ties with Paris.
In October 2012, Gabonese President Ali Bongo visited Rwanda. Yet a privileged ally of France, the Head of State wanted in particular "to take a close look at the Rwandan experience in the introduction of bilingualism," said the spokesperson for the presidency Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze at the meeting. 'a press conference. In Rwanda, 20% of the population speaks a foreign language. It was then a question of introducing English as the second official language of Gabon. “Rwanda before was a French-speaking country that was part of the Francophonie,” continued the spokesperson. Today it is part of two communities: Francophonie and Commonwealth. The Gabonese head of state intends to introduce English in our country ”.
On his return from Rwanda, Ali Bongo tried to put an end to the controversy. “This is all ridiculous, I mean ridiculous. There are much more serious issues today that we have to face than wasting our time arguing over an issue like this, which is just plain ridiculous. In the end, I would qualify all this as a storm in a glass of water, ”assured the head of state. Since the end of 2012, Bongo has therefore continued its negotiations in complete secrecy. But without losing sight of its objective of introducing English to Gabon.
Diversify economic partnerships
And nine years later, Ali Bongo does not seem far from realizing his Anglophone dream: Gabon has indeed applied for membership in the Commonwealth. Created in 1949, the organization brings together the former British colonies, but accepted the memberships of Mozambique and Rwanda in 1995 and 2009. Ali Bongo's country could therefore be the third non-English-speaking country to join the Commonwealth.
A simple question of language? Not really. This membership would "diversify our partnerships and boost our development prospects", explains the General Coordinator of Presidential Affairs and son of President Noureddin Bongo.
On May 11, for his part, the President met the Commonwealth Secretary General, Baroness Patricia Scotland, "with a view to Gabon's accession to the Commonwealth", wrote the President, who believes that "it would be for our country a historic contribution! Ali Bongo affirms that "this common will could materialize from the next Commonwealth Summit in Kigali".
In particular, a few questions remain to be settled. Because the governing bodies of the Commonwealth must ensure that the Gabonese candidacy respects the criteria in terms of human rights and democracy.