Niger Profile

GEOGRAPHY

The Republic of Niger is an entirely landlocked West African country. It covers an area of 1,267,000 square kilometers (490,000 square miles) - approximately twice the size of Texas - bordered by the following countries: Chad to the East, Mali to the West, Algeria and Libya to the North, Nigeria to the South, and Benin and Burkina Faso to the Southwest.

Relief

Niger is a vast, undulating plain at an average altitude of 985 feet above sea level. There are, however, a number of extensive depression, usually filled with sand, the tops of the ridges sometimes being formed of volcanic structures, the highest of which is Mount Greboun (7,580 feet) in the Aïr Massif.

The Aïr:
This massif, which extends over 180 miles from north to south and some 120 miles from east to west, lies in the northern part of the country and is strikingly similar to the Algerian Hoggar. It evokes the history and the wandering of the Tuaregs. The elevation of this massif, which enables it to retain the last shreds of the Guinean monsoon, ensures green pastures in the middle of the desert, while its mountain climate is less dry than that of the rest of the country.

Sunsets in the Aïr are a unique experience, the character of the light, the towering shapes and huge shadows leaving a completely unforgettable impact on the senses.

The southern slopes of the Aïr plunge down into a long depression overshadowed by the Tigidit Cliff, a towering buttress reminiscent of Tassili in southern Algeria.

To the West extends the sandy Talak plain, extensively watered by the mountain oueds (rivers) and hence far less desolate than most of the Saharan ergs (stretch of dunes). It contains only one live erg, the Jadal, and encompasses the Azawak and the Tamesna. This is the kingdom of fossil valleys and the vestiges of a zone once rich in fauna and flora.

The Ténéré:
To the east of the Aïr extends the Ténéré, a vast arid plain where the live sand dunes cover the whole of eastern Niger, from the sandstone hamada (plateau) of Mangeni, dominated by the Djado Massi, to the Chad basin. The Ténéré covers some 156,000 square miles and includes three rather different regions: 1) The Tafassasset Ténéré, between Aïr and Djado; 2) the Ténéré itself, with endless expanses of sand and where not even a hint of vegetation mitigates the harsh landscape. This is the kingdom of air, sand and light with chains of dunes running continuously for 12 miles and rise up to ten feet in height. They form massive barriers, making it practically impossible for vehicles to cross the areas; and 3) lastly, the erg known as the Great Bilma Erg or Kaoura. This is a transitional zone between the Sahara proper and the Sahel.

The Southern Niger:
Until recently, this part of Niger was considered to be the "useful" part of the country, in contrast with the austere and inhospitable desert areas. It consists of an almost horizontal strip, 780 miles long, bounded on the south by the borders of the country. The area presents a less contrasted landscape than the north of the country. More abundant rainfall has maintained lake-like features of the clay basins. But the landscape presents a picture of alternating low sandstone plateaus, sometimes covered with sand, and no less sandy depressions, indicating the existence of ancient basins of dallols (valleys.)

At its western end, the low-lying plateau is crossed by the River Niger Alluvial plain, then by the Bosso and Maouri dallols. In the center lies the vast ferrous sandstone plateau of Adar-Doutchi, which in certain places rises to an elevation of over 300 feet. Deep valleys and basins, sometimes enclosing lakes, cut into this plateau, which precedes the Goulbi zone (Maradi-Tessaoua), a region of broad valleys of rich soil, watered by fast-flowing seasonal rivers during the monsoon.

To the east lies a monotonous succession of sandy wastes, interrupted only by the granite outcrops of Damagaram (above 1,640 feet), the clay depressions of Damergou and the Massif of Minana (1,475 feet) and Koutous (1,970 feet). The manga zone, which marks the end of this strip and which itself ends at Lake Chad, is mainly sandy, with scattered flat-bottomed basins which are usually fertile.

Hydrography

Apart from a few more or less permanent pools and seasonal water courses, Niger's main hydrographic network consists of one major river, the Niger, whose eccentric position prevents it from sewing the country as a whole, and a smaller river, the Komadougou Yobé, likewise eccentric.

The River Niger:
The Niger crosses the country over a distance of 340 miles. It is strengthened by several small affluents flowing its right bank, all with a marked Sahelian character; they almost entirely dry up between December and June or July, but flow very strongly in the rainy season (June-September). Moving downstream, are the Goroual, the Dargol, the Sirba, the Diamangou, the Tapoa, and the Mekrou.

Inside the country, the River flows for 125 miles in a bed of crystalline rocks, which causes it to scatter a multitude of small islands in its wake (between Ayerou and Gotheye). Then, in the Boubon region, its banks become steep and rocky, to level out as the river flows towards Niamey, the capital.

Downstream from Niamey, there are few alluvial basins, overlooked by quaternary terraces between Kollo and Say. Thereafter, the river's path becomes difficult, forcing it to twist and meander through a hairpin course. The best-known loop of the river is the W National Park, an extensive zone rich in vegetation and wildlife.

River Niger

The Kamdougou Yobé:
This thousand-km long river marks the boundary between Niger and Nigeria over a distance of 90 miles. It rises from Nigeria and flows into Niger through the Maïne-Soroa region, and then eastwards into Lake Chad. The river has a strong but erratic flow. Its banks are low-lying and rich in alluvium.

Lake Chad:
The Niger part of Lake Chad covers some 1,170 square miles. The lake itself is the vestige of an ancient quaternary sea, at an altitude of 915 feet and today at no point more than 13 feet deep. Islands proliferate in the lake and the evaporation rate is extremely high. 98% of its water supply comes from the Chari River and from rainfall. High water levels occur in December-January, and the lowest levels in June-July.

CLIMATE

Niger is situated in one of the sunniest regions of the world, and has a mainly dry climate with considerable temperature variations. Potential evaporation is 7 to 10 feet per annum, while rainfall in no place exceeds 32 inches and even falls to below 4 inches over almost half the country. The rainfall pattern may be described as follows:

• Saharan in the North, with some 6.5 inches falling in less than one month of the year, except in the desert where it practically never rains, and
• · Sahelian in the South, where some 24 inches of rain falls during three to four months (June-September), with dry and rainy seasons alternating. A thin covering of grasses makes it possible to raise livestock on a nomadic basis, and maintain a low level of agricultural activity.
• · The rainy season - monsoon season - begins in June and continues until September. Temperatures remain relatively high and humidity levels around 80% (in Niamey during August) make the climate particularly difficult to bear for the population who is more used to dry heat. Rainfall varies from a region to another and its distribution is very erratic with levels falling sharply as one moves northwards. For example:
• 34 inches of rainfall in Gaya in 80 days
• 24 to 26 inches in Niamey in 65 days
• 22 to 24 inches in Zinder in 50 days
• 10 to 12 inches in N'Guigmi in 30 days
• 6 to 8 inches Agadez in 30 days
• 0.8 to 1 inch in Bilma in 3 days
• Cold from November to February, when temperatures drop considerably, particularly with nightfall.
• Hot from March to June, period of the harmattan (wind). Temperatures can exceed 40 degrees C in the shade. During this period come the first rains usually announced by heavy clouds moving across the sky.

VEGETATION

The vegetation of Niger is Sahelo-Saharan, varying with the nature of the soil and determined by climate.

The Saharan zone, covering some 60% of the country, has very little vegetation and plant life is completely absent from the Ténéré.

In the Aïr Koris and in the oasis, date palms, doums and a few cereals grow. In Bilma, where springs abound, there are a few other species of trees, such as eucalyptus, flamboyants and some fruit trees. The high summits of the northern fringe of the Aïr still display a few surviving examples of an ancient Mediterranean flora, such as Laperrine olives and cypresses.

The Sahelina band is mainly covered with thorns, momiseae, acacia, graminaceae, doum and scattered pastures of grass, providing rich grazing for both nomad and settled herders. Vegetation becomes more dense towards Niamey and further south in the country's small Sudanian zone with many beautiful trees: gao, baobab, silk cotton, tamarind, mahogany and karité (shea nut).

POPULATIONS, CUSTOMS, AND TRADITIONS

Niger, at the crossroads between Arab-Berber Africa and Sudan-Sahelian Africa is a crucible where people of diverse origins have lived together for thousands of years. Although each of these peoples maintains its own individuality, particularly noticeable in their life-styles, physical features, customs, dress, language and outlook, today they are welded into several quite distinct major groups, each with an internal homogeneity. A first major distinction may be drawn between the black populations, the main settled farmers, and the white populations, principally nomadic.

Nomadic populations live mainly in the northern part of the country and comprise:

• The Tuaregs (8%), to be found within a long strip of land running from the Mali border in the West to Gouré in the East, and
• The Fulani (8.5%), who, together with their herds, are concentrated in the Dosso-Agadez-Maine-Soroa triangle. Some have also settled in the West, around Téra, Say and Niamey and they predominate in certain parts of Maradi, Tessaoua, Mirriah and Magaria Districts, where they live alongside Tuaregs and Toubous.

The Nomads:
The Tuaregs, despite their remarkable cultural and linguistic unity (their writing is called Tifinar and their language, Tamjaq, is related to Tamazight), are split into several tribes in Niger, the main ones of which are the Kel-Aïr, living mostly in the Aïr; the Kel-Gress, today concentrated in the Madaoua and Konni regions; the Iwilli-Minden, who live in the Azawak region; and the Immouzourak, with Tanout as their stronghold.

In historical times, the Tuaregs were fearsome warriors, living mainly from raiding. Their social organization is based on classes: bords, marabouts (Muslim priest) and artisans. Matriarchy is the rule. Women are usually literate, play musical instruments; they value corpulence, and jewelry is an important feature of their attire. Women play an important role in social life, are held in much esteem and consulted on many important issues. Marriages are monogamous, but divorce exists. The traditional shelter is the tent. Clothes are flowing and a veil or cloth is usually worn over the face by adults. The main diet is composed of milk, dates and millet. The Tuaregs, who typically live side by side with Bouzous and Bella, usually raise camels and goats in the Saharan zone, and sheep and cattle in the Sahel. Traditionally they cover considerable distances with their herds, but unfortunately the drought of recent years and the resulting reduction of grazing land, coupled with the development of mining in the Agadez region, is slowly but surely inducing the Tuaregs to lead a settled life. Many engage in market gardening in the oasis and seek temporary employment in the mining areas.

The Fulani form the second largest nomadic group in Niger. Like the Tuaregs, they also have long-standing customs and traditions which are very much alive today. But in spite of their great concern to maintain their specific social structure, they have often come under the influence of neighboring populations so much so that the Fulani in one area may differ slightly from those of another, depending on where and with whom they live. Ethnic unity, however, is never destroyed.

Within this major category, there are the Bororodjis, often referred to as Bororo Fulani, living in the Dakoro-Tanout region, who are all nomadic herders spending the entire year seeking good grazing. They practice the cult of beauty and pay great attention to bodily care, expending considerable effort on enhancing the attractiveness of their faces, adding sparkle to eyes and teeth. They have an amazing taste for decoration, though it is mainly the men who spend most of their time in such pursuits. Clothing, on the contrary, is relatively scanty, though here again the taste for decoration is apparent in the amount of jewelry worn: earrings, intricate hairstyles interwoven with coins, bead necklaces and multicolored charms.

Faithful to their ancestral paganism, the Bororos, whose deep attachment to their herds seem to have links with ancient eastern cults, have been only very superficially marked by Islam and usually only accept conversion once passed the age of forty. They therefore have their own particular conception of certain social institutions, such as marriage. The young Bororo must first seduce his fiancée and then arrange to kidnap her from her family. The couple then embarks on a journey which takes them all over the region and sometimes beyond the country's borders. They will decide to settle once the "wife" has become a mother and when she feels that she has traveled enough and is tired of this bohemian existence.

Every year the Bororos organize a traditional and colorful festival known as the Guérewol, which is the occasion for celebrations, engagements, kidnappings of wives, and baptisms.

The Settled Populations:
Leaving the north of the country to the nomads, the settled populations occupy the southern strip between the border with Nigeria and the 12-inch isohyet, in the zone where agriculture is possible.

The Songhaï and the Zarma (22%), in the west of Niger, are usually considered to form one single people, but their history has not always followed the same path.

The Songhaï are fishermen and canoers, along the banks of the river. They have a prestigious past with illustrious emperors, such as Soni Ali-Ber, Askia Mohamed Touré and Askia Daoud who made glorious and unforgettable contributions to the pages of Africa's history.

The Zarma are said to have originated in Macina and Egypt and are now mainly concentrated in Zarmaganda. They adopted the language of the Songhaï and then moved southwards in search of fertile land. Today they form the majority of the population of Niamey and its surroundings, and of Boboye and Dosso. Many also live in the districts of Filingué, Tillabéry, Say and Gaya.

Great warriors in the pre-colonial era, the Songhaï and the Zarma are today mainly farmers engaged in agriculture and small-scale breeding. One feature of their civilization is the tolerant nature of their Islamic conversion; certain animist practices dating to a very ancient ancestor worship are still maintained. Traditional housing is the round house, often made entirely of straw.

The Hausa (56%) live in central Niger, between Dongondoutchi and Zinder. They are probably the descendants of Saharan populations who were driven southwards by the Tuaregs. Today they are the major ethnic group, forming over half the population of Niger. Although one cannot speak of a truly homogeneous ethnic group, a common bond is the language, Hausa, often written in Arabic characters.

Hausas enjoy a considerable reputation as farmers (growing millet and peanuts), and as leather and textile craftsmen. Many are also traders.

Hausa decorated banco houses

In Niger, the Hausas are divided into a number of groups:

• the Kourfeyaoua or Soudje, who live in the Filingué District, are said to have originated in the Maine-Soroa region and lived for a period in the Adar Tahoua. They not only speak Hausa but nearly all of them also speak Zarma;
• the Maouri, who live in the Arewa region, between Filingué. Dosso, Adar Tahoua and Konni. This is a very fertile area, and the Maouri are well-known for their hardworking spirit;
• the Adaroua, as their name indicates, live in the Adar; and
• in addition there are the Goviraou (from Gobir) and the Katinaoua (Maradi, Tessaoua) the Damagaaoua (from Damgaram or Zinder) and several other groups, almost all of whom have taken the name of the region they inhabit.

The Kanouri (4.3%) live in the eastern part of Niger (between Zinder and Lake Chad). The Hausa, alongside whom they frequently live, often call them the Beriberi. The origins of the Kanouri are an amalgam of several other groups. Among them are the Manga, Mobeurs, Kanembous, Boudouma, Dagara and their respective subgroups. The Kanouri are expert salt processors, and some are highly successful fishermen and herders.

The Toubous of Niger (1.2%) are spread out between the area north of Gouré, north of Guigmi and Kaouar. They form a small minority and are supposed to have originated in the rocky regions of Tibesti. Although generally black-skinned, they are probably of mixed black and white race. Toubous have a taste for exploits and adventure, for arms and expeditions. They have a strong sense of independence. Of the thousand or so who live in Niger, some belong to the Kecherda group, leading a semi-nomadic existence. They are excellent caravan leaders, good herders and hunters. The other group, the Wandalla, are almost all settled farmers today.

HISTORY

Niger once shared the destiny of several great African empires and kingdoms which, in the past, extended far beyond the country's current borders.

First there was the Songhaï Empire, born in the Niger River region and expanding outwards towards the present-day Niger-Malian border. The town Gao, which has been mentioned in Arab chronicles since the 8th century as a center of trade between the kingdom of Ghana and Egypt, was the famous capital of this Empire. It reached the pinnacle of its glory between the 15th and 16th centuries under Sonni Ali Ber, who extended the borders as far as Oulata, and then under Askia Mohamed, who perfected its remarkable military and administrative organization.

The Kanem-Bournou Empire, one of the largest in Africa at the end of the 16th century, thanks to the leadership of Idriss Alaoma, included Kanem, extended as far as Kaouar and the Aïr and eastwards as far as Ouaddaï (Chad). After resisting Songhaï's ambitions in the 14th century, and later in the 19th century, repulsing the attacks of the Fulani settled in the north (present-day Nigeria), it finally fell in 1893, after a ten-century existence, under the onslaught of Rabah who dreamed of carving himself a kingdom between Sudan and Chad.

There were also a number of smaller Hausa kingdoms between the Songhaï and the Bornou, each independent and each forming a prosperous center of trade and learning. From the 13th century on, there were receptive to Islam and adopted Arabic writing. In spite of internal quarrels, they were all able to resist attacks by the Songhaï and Bornou, despite the latter's better military organization. They were finally unified and Islamicized in the 19th century by the Fulani, led by Ousmane Dan Fodio.

These empires have now disappeared because of the exploration and colonization of the African continent.

Principal explorers in Niger were:

• Mungo Park (British), 1805-1819
• Heinrich Barth (German), 1850-1855
• Nachtigal (German), 1870
• Lt.-Col. Monteil (French), 1891-1892

The conquest of Niger was accomplished by soldiers rather than by civilians, which resulted in the French presence in large tracts of commercially useless land, whereas Britain, whose military expeditions in West Africa were largely devoted to trade considerations, obtained much smaller but more commercially valuable areas.

There was ethnic resistance to this conquest, particularly in the north where the Tuareg revolt took place in the Aïr from 1916-1919. All the resistance movements were defeated by the armed superiority of the invaders. In 1900, Niger became a military territory and then a French colony in 1922. Its first capital was Zinder (capital of the Damagaroun region), but in 1927, the Colonial Administration decided to transfer its headquarters to Niamey.

Niger colonial history and development paralleled that of other French West African territories. French West Africa was administered from Paris through a Governor General in Dakar, Senegal and Governors in the individual territories, including Niger. The French Constitution of 1946, in addition to conferring citizenship on the inhabitants of the territories, provided for a certain decentralization of power, and limited participation in political life to local advisory assemblies.

A further revision in the organization of overseas territories began with the passage of the Overseas Reform Act (framework law) of July 23, 1956, which was followed by reorganizational measures voted by the French Parliament in early 1957.

In addition to removing the remaining voting equalities, these laws provided for the creation of governmental organs assuring individual territories some degree of self-government.

On December 4, 1958, after the establishment of the Fifth Republic, Niger became an autonomous Republic within the French community (similar to the British Commonwealth). Niger became an independent Republic on August 3, 1960. According to a Constitution adopted on November 8, 1960, the Republic had a President and National Assembly, elected for five years.

That Constitution was suspended by the military government headed by Lt.- Col. Seyni Koutché who took power on April 15, 1974 in a coup against Diori Hamani, President since Independence.

President Seyni Koutché died on November 10, 1987 at la Pitié-Salpetrière Hospital in Paris, where he had been admitted for brain tumor treatment. Colonel Ali Saibou, who was previously Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces was then elected to run the country.

After a National Conference (July-October 1991), a new Constitution was drafted which led to multiparty elections in 1992, with delegates from several parties winning seats in the National Assembly. Presidential elections in March 1993 brought Mahamane Ousmane to power. He was in turn ousted in a coup by Col. Ibrahim Baré Mainassara in 1996. Baré was then assassinated in April 1999 and succeeded by the current President, H. E. Mamadou Tandja, who was democratically elected in November 1999.

ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATION

Breaking away from the colonial division of the territory into circles and sub-divisions, Niger is today divided into seven departments, each administered by a Prefect. Each Department is sub-divided into districts, headed by a sub-Prefect, and each district has one or more administrative posts. One hundred fifty communes were also established. Niamey, Maradi, Tahoua, Zinder now enjoy the status of cities, and each has a mayor appointed by a decree issued by the head of state. The mayors of the cities come under the jurisdiction of the Prefects, while mayors of communes are under the authority of Sub-Prefects. In April 2001, in an effort to further decentralize administration, the number of communes was increased to 229.

ECONOMY

A particularly harsh climate and inhospitable geographical features - less than 3% of the land is arable -, a completely land-locked situation, such are the underlying economic realities of the Republic of Niger. However, subsistence farming and stock-rearing contribute approximately 50 to the GDP and nearly three-quarters of the labor force is employed in this sector. Based principally on agriculture and livestock breeding, the country's economy is still largely at the mercy of the vagaries of the climate.

Recently, however, a considerable effort of industrialization has been made, initiated and maintained by the development of mining.

Agriculture

The main purpose of agricultural policy in Niger is to achieve food self-sufficiency independently of climate hazards and through the following conditions:

• Dry-cropping in rural areas must be encouraged through various projects
• Hydro-agricultural projects, the use of depressions and water-points must be expedited to bring more irrigable land under cultivation;
• The land capital must be more nationally exploited;
• Soils must be improved by the introduction of phosphates, nitrogen-based fertilizers and manure; and
• Traditional farming techniques must be replaced.

The following means are being employed to achieve these aims:

1. Rural productivity projects to farm rain-fed crops on dune lands. These projects aim to increase the production of cereals (millet, sorghum), as well as cash crops such as peanuts and cotton, through a better use of regional potential. Each department has its productivity project:
• Niamey -- cereals, rice;
• Zinder - peanuts, millet;
• Dosso - cereals, black-eye beans, peanuts, and cotton;
• Maradi - cereals and peanuts.
2. Hydro-agricultural projects in the River Valley, depressions, basins, etc.
3. Agricultural extension services and use of fertilizers.
4. Training and deploying an adequate number of competent agricultural technicians.

The main food crops are: millet, sorghum, peanuts, black-eye beans, rice, maize, potatoes, sugar cane, manioc.

Animal Husbandry

This continues to be one of the principal activities of the country, in spite of enormous losses sustained as a result of drought. Stock is raised on an extensive scale, the herd being constantly on the move in the Saharan and north Sahelian zones. In the agricultural Sahelian zone, stockraising is a sedentary activity.

The main livestock are: cattle, sheep, goats, dromedaries. Cattle are sold to neighboring countries, and hides and skins overseas.

Mining

The mining sector is currently the major source of growth in income because of Niger's uranium resources - approximately one-fifth of the world's total deposits. A processing plant at the Arlit uranium mine began production in 1971.

The mining company, Société des Mines de L'Aïr (SOMAIR) is under French control. The majority interest is with the French government's Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique and French private bodies with the Niger government holding a 33% share.

Production at the country's second uranium mine, at Akouta, was begun in late 1978 by a consortium the Compagnie Minière d'Akouta (COMINAK) of the government , the Compagnie Générale des Matières nucléaires (COGEMA) in France, the Japanese Overseas Uranium Resources Development, and the Spanish Empresa Nacional des Uranio (ENUSA).

The decline in demand for uranium has slashed foreign exchange earnings by one half since prices peaked in 1983. Still, uranium accounts for about three-quarters of export earnings.

Other mineral resources include: cassiterite ore, phosphates, molybdenum, salt, and coal. Foreign firms are involved in explorations for gold along the Burkina Faso border, and for ail in the Lank Chad region. Coal mining has also seen an increase in foreign investment recently.

Uranium mines

Manufacturing

Manufacturing in Niger includes sugar refining, brewing, cotton ginning, tanning, rice milling, and small-scale production of cement, metals, textiles, plastics, soft drinks and construction materials.

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