Three of them—the Anfani Group, Sarounia and Tenere—are urban-based commercial-format FM networks in the major towns. In the Sahelian zone of the country, the climate becomes semiarid and the vegetation cover increases. The current Judiciary of Niger was established with the creation of the Fourth Republic in 1999. Following the Overseas Reform Act (Loi Cadre) of 23 July 1956 and the establishment of the Fifth French Republic on 4 December 1958, Niger became an autonomous state within the French Community. Their history does not fit easily within the modern boundaries of Niger, which were created during the period of European colonialism; the following adopts a roughly chronological account of the main empires. Niger is also a member of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA).[101]. [72][73], Maj. Daouda Malam Wanké then took over, establishing a transitional National Reconciliation Council to oversee the drafting of a constitution with a French-style semi-presidential system. Debt relief provided under the enhanced HIPC initiative significantly reduces Niger's annual debt service obligations, freeing funds for expenditures on basic health care, primary education, HIV/AIDS prevention, rural infrastructure, and other programs geared at poverty reduction. Niger, officially the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. Other principal donors include the United States, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, and Saudi Arabia. [19] The Zarma of the Dosso Kingdom in particular proved amenable to French rule, using them as allies against the encroachments of Hausa and other nearby states; over time the Zarma thus became one of the more educated and westernised groups in Niger. [82] Issoufou's time in office has been marked by numerous threats to the country's security, stemming from the fallout from the Libyan Civil War and Northern Mali conflict, a rise in attacks by AQIM, the use of Niger as a transit country for migrants (often organised by criminal gangs), and the spillover of Nigeria's Boko Haram insurgency into south-eastern Niger. [62] On 11 July 1960, Niger decided to leave the French Community and acquired full independence on 3 August 1960; Diori thus became the first president of the country. The Saharan terrain is often baked by the scorching sun, however for 18-year-old Rimana Issoufou Hassane Mayak, the climate that West Africa: Feeding the future through education in Niger. The economy is concentrated around subsistence agriculture, with some export agriculture in the more fertile south, and export of raw materials, especially uranium ore. Niger faces serious challenges to development due to its landlocked position, desert terrain, inefficient agriculture, high fertility rates without birth control and resulting overpopulation,[17] the poor educational level and poverty of its people, lack of infrastructure, poor healthcare, and environmental degradation. [39][42] The empire began declining in the 15th century due to a combination of internecine strife over the royal succession, weak kings, the shift of European trade routes to the coast, and rebellions in the empire's periphery by Mossi, Wolof, Tuareg and Songhai peoples. In the past, foreign aid has contributed to large percentages of the budget. [125], Niger also has the highest fertility rate in the world (6.49 births per woman according to 2017 estimates[126]); this means that nearly half (49%) of the Nigerien population is under age 15. [38] Kountché died in November 1987 from a brain tumour, and was succeeded by his chief of staff, Col. Ali Saibou, who was confirmed as Chief of the Supreme Military Council four days later. Niger's new constitution was approved on 31 October 2010. What is now Niger was created from four distinct cultural areas in the pre-colonial era: the Zarma and Songhai dominated the Niger River valley in the southwest; the northern periphery of Hausaland, made mostly of those states which had resisted the Sokoto Caliphate, and ranged along the long southern border with Nigeria; the Lake Chad basin and Kaouar in the far east, populated by Kanuri farmers and Toubou pastoralists who had once been part of the Kanem-Bornu Empire; and the Tuareg nomads of the Aïr Mountains and Saharan desert in the vast north. [133], Despite relative freedom at the national level, Nigerien journalists say they are often pressured by local authorities. Its drainage basin is 2,117,700 km2 in area. The conference was presided over by Prof. André Salifou and developed a plan for a transitional government; this was then installed in November 1991 to manage the affairs of state until the institutions of the Third Republic were put into place in April 1993. [36][37] This mobility, which would continue in waves for several centuries, was accompanied with further migration to the south and intermixing between sub-Saharan African and North African populations, as well as the gradual spread of Islam. Food crisis worsening in West Africa after COVID-19... dailysabah.com - French Press Agency - AFP • 23h. The Niger Armed Forces (Forces armées nigériennes) are the military and paramilitary forces of Niger, under the president as supreme commander. It is bounded on the northwest by Algeria, on the northeast by Libya, on the east by Chad, on the south by Nigeria and Benin, and on the west by Burkina Faso and Mali. Niger. [19], Several European countries already possessed littoral colonies in Africa, and in the latter half of the century they began to turn their eyes towards the interior of the continent. Despite a number of high-profile kidnappings the rebellion had largely fizzled out inconclusively by 2009. We live in a world permeated by an evil that has invaded and corrupted every aspect of life, leaving humankind separated from the Creator and trapped in sin. Our vision is to make disciples where Christ is least known. A majority of the population lives in rural areas and has little access to advanced education. Humans have inhabited the territory of modern Niger for millennia; stone tools, some dating as far back as 280,000 BC, have been found in Adrar Bous, Bilma and Djado in the northern Agadez Region. Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism, Economic Community of West African States, Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa, National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie nationale), Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, République du Niger, "Loi n° 2001-037 du 31 décembre 2001 fixant les modalités de promotion et de développement des langues nationales." On 24 July 2004, the first municipal elections in the history of Niger were held to elect local representatives, previously appointed by the government. It runs in a crescent through Mali, Niger, on the border with Benin and then through Nigeria, discharging through a massive delta, known as the Niger Delta, into the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. The lowest point is the Niger River, with an elevation of 200 metres (656 ft). Each of these communities, along with smaller ethnic groups like the pastoral Wodaabe Fula, brought their own cultural traditions to the new state of Niger. [38][19][55] After conquering most of Hausaland (though not the Bornu Kingdom, which remained independent) he proclaimed the Sokoto Caliphate in 1809. The river has presence in 5 west African countries – Guinea, Mali, Niger, Benin, and Nigeria. The attack took place just two days before newly-elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, was due to be sworn into office. [19] Formerly a small trading post inhabited by a mixture of Hausa and Tuaregs, the sultanate grew rich due to its strategic position on the Trans-Saharan trade routes. [38] The first action of the military government was to address the food crisis. U.S. Department of State. Alternative Titles: République du Niger, Republic of Niger. [53][19][54] They gradually adopted Islam from the 14th century, though often this existed alongside traditional religions, developing into unique syncretic forms; some Hausa groups, such as the Azna, resisted Islam altogether (the area of Dogondoutchi remains an animist stronghold to this day). Niger pursues a moderate foreign policy and maintains friendly relations with the West and the Islamic world as well as non-aligned countries. [19] The sultanate managed to resist the advance of the Sokoto Caliphate (see below), but was later captured by the French in 1899. [124], About 60 percent of children who finish primary schools are boys, as the majority of girls rarely attend school for more than a few years. Boubou Hama and M Guilhem, "L’histoire du Niger, de l’Afrique et du Monde"; Edicef, H. J. Fisher. [38][77] The legislative and executive configuration remained quite similar to that of the first term of the president: Hama Amadou was reappointed as prime minister and Mahamane Ousmane, the head of the CDS party, was re-elected as the president of the National Assembly (parliament) by his peers. Landlocked Niger — a country twice the size of Ukraine — is ranked last in the UN’s Human Development Index of 189 countries. The West African country, a crossroads for trade and transit in one of the world's roughest regions, is clinging to stability. Niger's climate is mainly very hot and very dry, with much desert area. It is based on the Code Napoleon "Inquisitorial system", established in Niger during French colonial rule and the 1960 Constitution of Niger. Report for Selected Countries and Subjects", World Economic Outlook Database, April 2018, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, "Latest Human Development Index (HDI) Ranking (2018)", "Azelik Takedda et le cuivre médiéval dans la région d'Agadez", Ancient cemetery found in 'green' Sahara Desert, "Stone Age Graveyard Reveals Lifestyles Of A 'Green Sahara, "Graves Found From Sahara's Green Period", "Lakeside Cemeteries in the Sahara: 5000 Years of Holocene Population and Environmental Change". [51][48][52] Bornu prospered during the rule of Mai Idris Alooma (r. circa 1575–1610) and re-conquered much of the traditional lands of Kanem, hence the designation 'Kanem-Bornu' for the empire. Niger’s Dosso Partial Faunal Reserve is a mixed-use reserve along the border of the famous Regional Parc W. It protects a host of wildlife, including the last West African giraffe population. One of the largest reserves of the world, the Aïr and Ténéré National Nature Reserve, was founded in the northern parts of the Niger to protect these rare species. In 2013, Niger's government has adopted a zero-deficit budget of 1.279 trillion CFA francs ($2.53 billion) which is claimed to balance revenues and expenditures by an 11% reduction in the budget from the previous year. As a result of an autochthonous process called farmer- managed…, The Tamou Total Faunal Reserve was created in 1962 to serve as a buffer zone for the W National Park of Niger and for the large transboundary W Regional Park that it is a part of. As a first step, administrative powers will be distributed among 265 communes (local councils); in later stages, regions and departments will be established as decentralized entities. Historically, what is now Niger has been on the fringes of several large states. A new electoral code was adopted to reflect the decentralization context. In addition to the national and regional radio services of the state broadcaster ORTN, there are four privately owned radio networks which total more than 100 stations. With two-thirds of the country lying within the Sahara Desert, it is one of the hottest countries in the world. Niger, West Africa | Africa Imports. Niger, officially the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. [102], A 2005 study stated that over 800,000 people (nearly 8% of the population) in Niger are enslaved. [133] There is also a network of over 80 community radio stations spread across all seven regions of the country, governed by the Comité de Pilotage de Radios de Proximité (CPRP), a civil society organisation. Both paramilitary forces are trained in military fashion and have some military responsibilities in wartime. Niger or the Niger[10][11] (/niːˈʒɛər/ or /ˈnaɪdʒər/;[12][13] French: [niʒɛʁ]), officially the Republic of the Niger,[10][11] is a landlocked country in West Africa named after the Niger River. This process, known as the 'Scramble for Africa', culminated in the 1885 Berlin conference in which the colonial powers outlined the division of Africa into spheres of influence. Travel & Tourism. [116] These small groups, linked to similar groups in Jos, Nigeria, came to public prominence in the 1990s during a series of religious riots.[117][118][119]. [84], On 27 December 2020, Nigeriens went to the polls after Issoufou announced he would step down, paving the way to Niger's first ever peaceful transition of power. [57] The capital of the territory was moved to Zinder in 1912 when the Niger Military Territory was split off from Upper Senegal and Niger, before being moved back to Niamey in 1922 when Niger became a fully-fledged colony within French West Africa. [91] This began a political struggle between Tandja, trying to extend his term-limited authority beyond 2009 through the establishment of a Sixth Republic, and his opponents who demanded that he step down at the end of his second term in December 2009. The National Assembly passed in June 2002 a series of decentralization bills. Niger is a developing country, which consistently ranks near the bottom in the United Nations' Human Development Index (HDI); it was ranked 187th of 188 countries for 2015 and 189th out of 189 countries in the 2018 and 2019 reports. Newly elected President Mohamed Bazoum’s inauguration Friday comes days after Niger’s security forces thwarted an attempted military coup at the presidential palace overnight from Tuesday into Wednesday. The military took over the country and President Tandja was put in prison, charged with corruption. Established by SERVIR-West Africa, a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) partner, the program is designed to encourage students, especially girls, in Niger to become more involved in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) subject areas. U.S. exports to Niger include rice, vehicles, food-preparation goods, machinery, and fats and oils. [38], The situation in the north also deteriorated significantly in this period, resulting in the outbreak of a Second Tuareg Rebellion in 2007 led by the Mouvement des Nigériens pour la justice (MNJ). Illegal hunting, bush fires in some areas and human encroachment upon the flood plains of the Niger River for paddy cultivation are environmental issues. An attempted coup against him in 2011 was thwarted and its ringleaders arrested. Moreover, land potential for agriculture is very unevenly distributed among Niger’s regions, with the southern regions providing nearly 98 percent of the arable land. In a coup d'état in February 2010, a military junta led by captain Salou Djibo was established in response to Tandja's attempted extension of his political term by modifying the constitution. Heavy gunfire was heard in the early hours near the country's presidential palace. [38] Another rebellion, led by dissatisfied Toubou peoples claiming that, like the Tuareg, the Nigerien government had neglected their region, broke out in the east of the country. French West Africa, French Afrique Occidentale Française (AOF), administrative grouping under French rule from 1895 until 1958 of the former French territories of West Africa: Senegal, French Guinea, the Ivory Coast, and the French Sudan, to which Dahomey was added in 1899. While USAID does not have an office in Niger, the United States is a major donor, contributing nearly $10 million each year to Niger's development. Between 1996 and 2003, primary school attendance was around 30%,[129] including 36% of males and only 25% of females. Niger’s natural landscape is what travelers generally seek out, and we too think it’s simply breathtaking. "Mali Empire: The Rise of the Richest Civilization in West Africa", "How Did the Songhai Empire Dominate West Africa? Mamoudou Djibo. It is an annual traditional courtship ritual practiced by the Wodaabe (Fula) people of Niger. [19][38], To the east, the Kanem-Bornu Empire dominated the region around Lake Chad for much of this period.