For other enlistees, the institution of the tirailleurs sénégalais provided an opportunity to
escape oppressive, patriarchal, and gerontocratic hierarchies of socio-political authority. Bakary
Diallo, a Senegalese soldier who served in Morocco, joined the tirailleurs sénégalais to flee poor
familial relations and life employment as a shepherd. Diallo claimed other recruits also viewed
military service as an economic opportunity for themselves and their families. Veterans, and
active tirailleurs sénégalais, served to positively influence West Africans to enlist in the colonial
military institutions. These men sported uniforms, exhibited wealth, and carried the authority of
the French military. A French general observed that men living near French posts, who had
more contact with the French and their African intermediaries, were more likely to see France’s
cause as their own.

https://escholarship.org/content/qt4x19q2xb/qt4x19q2xb_noSplash_2942fea742a58073726feee3e08216d5.pdf

This piece actually also goes through some of the disillusionment present in the Great War and the effect of military service on post-WW2 nationalism in Francophone colonies, which you may find interesting. Sadly, short it is not.

Race, Empire and First World War Writing is great if you can get your hands on a copy. I'll try to find something online that's more article length though.