Nigeria, June 27 -- Last week I was in Paris, following a surprise invitation to attend a conference on the internationalisation of African higher education and research. The conference was opened by the French Minister in charge of Francophonie and international partnerships, Thani Mohamed Soulihi, and maybe this reflects a pivot away from some of France's traditional partners, towards some Anglophone Africa countries. It was focused on building partnerships and networking between universities in France, Nigeria, Angola, Senegal, South Africa, Kenya, Morocco, and Egypt. The meeting was closed by Ambassador Hajo Sani, Nigeria's representative to UNESCO. Other Nigerians in attendance were Professor Adamu Abubakar Gwarzo, president of the A...