That's right. While some embassies offer services to 16 countries, Canadian consulates located in other French-speaking African countries are unable to provide any services at all. In order for their application to be processed, nationals of certain countries are therefore obliged to travel or send their file to where these 14 or 16 countries are represented.
What's the point of having a consulate in a country if you can't get any consular service? Perhaps it's time to look into the possibility of re‑establishing consular services in these French-speaking countries. It has often been said that the recruitment pool is much larger in sub-Saharan Africa than in any other part of Africa. Consulates in French-speaking African countries should be given far more resources to provide consular and visa services. That way, nationals wouldn't have to spend a fortune travelling from one country to another just to pick up a visa or permit. I cite the example of the Canadian embassy in Senegal, which offers services to many surrounding countries.