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{{Two days after a brutal Boko Haram attack on a northern Nigerian school, French President François Hollande arrived in the Nigerian capital of Abuja Thursday for a visit dominated by security and economic issues.}}

Hollande’s visit comes as Nigeria marks the centenary of the country’s unification, when the British colonial authorities amalgamated what were the separate protectorates of Southern Nigeria and Northern Nigeria.

The French president is the only Western head of state to be invited to the launch of the centennial celebrations and is the guest of honour at Thursday’s ceremony.

On the sidelines of the centennial celebrations, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan is also hosting an international conference on peace, security and development in Africa on Thursday.

Speaking at the conference on Thursday, Hollande promised Nigeria support in the battle against Boko Haram, “Your struggle is also our struggle” said Hollande. “We will always stand ready not only to provide our political support but our help every time you need it because the struggle against terrorism is also the struggle for democracy.”

The meeting comes as local officials and residents of the north-eastern Nigerian town of Buni Yadi criticised Nigerian security forces for their slow response to Tuesday’s gruesome attack on a local school dormitory, which killed 43 people, mostly students.

Mali and CAR to dominate security talks

Shortly after the attack, Nigeria appealed to France and to the governments of neighbouring Francophone countries – notably Cameroon, Niger and Chad – to assist in the battle against Islamist militants who have set up bases in the porous, sparsely populated border regions.

“We need international cooperation with France and with French-speaking West Africa to work together to address this problem before it becomes a major problem for France and for Western interests in West Africa,” said Nigerian Information Minister Labaran Maku.

French troops are currently stationed in Mali and Central African Republic (CAR), assisting African forces in the two former French colonies and sparking questions over whether France is slipping back to an interventionist past when Paris played gendarme in its African “pré carré” (backyard).

But Hollande, who hosted more than 40 African leaders for a summit on the continent’s security in December, also faces calls for France to do more to help Nigeria and other countries in the region address the threat posed by the growing strength and influence of Islamist groups.

The French interventions – following UN Security Council resolutions – in Mali and CAR has underscored the continent’s failure to set up a permanent pan-African military force, despite decades of diplomatic discourse, commitments and false starts.

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{{The trial next week of double-amputee Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius on charges of premeditated murder will be about more than the shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. }}

The widely publicised case against the athlete who beat the odds to become an international sensation has sparked concern over South Africa’s image, Kelly Phelps, law professor at Cape Town University, said.

“Pistorius is an icon of the country, a kind of representative of South Africa, a symbol of South African history and diversity.”

His trial is also expected to reignite domestic debate on issues such as gender violence, gun control and the power of money in court cases.

It is also likely to cast high crime rates – police reported an average of 45 murders a day last year – back in the spotlight. Pistorius, 27, was born without calf bones and his legs were amputated below the knee before his first birthday.

But he soared to fame on the track, becoming the first amputee to compete against able-bodied athletes at the 2012 London Olympics.

His carbon-fibre prostheses earned him the nickname Blade Runner. His achievements and tenacity were admired by black and white South Africans alike. His arrest on 14 February 2013, on suspicion of murder drew public shock and disbelief.

{{Additional charges }}

Police had been called to the sprinter’s upmarket high-security home in Pretoria. Pistorius told investigators he had shot Steenkamp mistakenly, thinking she was an intruder.

He said the two had spent a blissful evening together before he heard noise coming from the bathroom and, thinking a burglar had entered, grabbed a gun, moved towards the door on his stumps and opened fire.

Prosecutors say Pistorius fired four shots through the bathroom door, knowing that Steenkamp was inside. The 29-year-old model and law graduate was hit in the head, hip and elbow. More than 100 witnesses are due to testify in what is expected to be a three-week trial.

Prosecutors are expected to call witnesses who would testify the couple had been arguing before the shooting. Pistorius fell from grace after the shooting, with sponsorships withdrawn and reports portraying a man with a foul temper, an obsession with security and a love for guns.

The athlete is to face additional charges in his trial over two separate gun-related incidents, in which he is alleged to have fired a gun through the sunroof of a car and discharged a firearm under a table in a restaurant.

“For us South Africans, it is impossible to watch Oscar Pistorius run without wanting to break down and cry and shout with joy,” commentator Justice Malala wrote when Pistorius was arrested.

Phelps says the peaceful transition from apartheid to democracy “brought South Africa much appreciation and also foreign capital, which helped our economy to recover. So South Africans are very sensitive when it comes to their image in the world.”

Women’s rights activists have adopted Steenkamp as a figurehead for their campaign against gender violence. A woman is killed by a partner every eight hours – double the rate of such murders in the United States, according to South Africa’s Medical Research Council.

News24