Niger
The largest ethnic groups in Niger are the Hausa, who also
constitute the major ethnic group in northern Nigeria, and the
Djerma-Songhai, who also are found in parts of Mali. Both groups,
along with the Gourmantche, are sedentary farmers who live in the
arable, southern tier of the country. The remainder of Nigeriens are
nomadic or semi-nomadic livestock-raising peoples--Fulani, Tuareg,
Kanuri, Arabs, and Toubou. With rapidly growing populations and the
consequent competition for meager natural resources, lifestyles of
agriculturalists and livestock herders are increasingly threatened.
Niger's high infant mortality rate is comparable to levels recorded
in neighboring countries. However, the child mortality rate (deaths
among children under age of 5) is particularly high (198 per 1,000)
due to generally poor health conditions and inadequate nutrition for
most of the country's children. Nonetheless, Niger's fertility rate
(7.8 births/woman), is among the highest in the world, and is far
higher than the sub-Saharan African average of 5.4. Two-thirds
(66.7%) of the Nigerien population is under age 25. Primary school
net enrollment rate is 49% for boys and 31% for girls. Additional
education occurs through thousands of Koranic schools. |
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Considerable evidence indicates that about 600,000 years ago, humans
inhabited what has since become the desolate Sahara of northern
Niger. Long before the arrival of French influence and control in
the area, Niger was an important economic crossroads, and the
empires of Songhai, Mali, Gao, Kanem, and Bornu, as well as a number
of Hausa states, claimed control over portions of the area.
During recent centuries, the nomadic Tuareg formed large
confederations, pushed southward, and, siding with various Hausa
states, clashed with the Fulani Empire of Sokoto, which had gained
control of much of the Hausa territory in the late 18th century.
In the 19th century, contact with the West began when the first
European explorers--notably Mungo Park (British) and Heinrich Barth
(German)--explored the area searching for the mouth of the Niger
River. Although French efforts at pacification began before 1900,
dissident ethnic groups, especially the desert Tuareg, were not
subdued until 1922, when Niger became a French colony.
Niger's colonial history and development parallel that of other
French West African territories. France administered its West
African colonies through a governor general at Dakar, Senegal, and
governors in the individual territories, including Niger. In
addition to conferring French citizenship on the inhabitants of the
territories, the 1946 French constitution provided for
decentralization of power and limited participation in political
life for local advisory assemblies.
A further revision in the organization of overseas territories
occurred with the passage of the Overseas Reform Act (Loi Cadre) of
July 23, 1956, followed by reorganization measures enacted by the
French Parliament early in 1957. In addition to removing voting
inequalities, these laws provided for creation of governmental
organs, assuring individual territories a large measure of
self-government. After the establishment of the Fifth French
Republic on December 4, 1958, Niger became an autonomous state
within the French Community. Following full independence on August
3, 1960, however, membership was allowed to lapse.
For its first 14 years as an independent state, Niger was run by a
single-party civilian regime under the presidency of Hamani Diori.
In 1974, a combination of devastating drought and accusations of
rampant corruption resulted in a military coup that overthrew the
Diori regime. Lieutenant Colonel Seyni Kountche and a small group of
military ruled the country until Kountche's death in 1987. He was
succeeded by his Chief of Staff, Brigadier General Ali Saibou, who
released political prisoners, liberalized some of Niger's laws and
policies, and promulgated a new constitution. However, President
Saibou's efforts to control political reforms failed in the face of
union and student demands to institute a multi-party democratic
system. The Saibou regime acquiesced to these demands by the end of
1990. New political parties and civic associations sprang up, and a
national conference was convened in July 1991 to prepare the way for
the adoption of a new constitution and the holding of free and fair
elections. The debate was often contentious and accusatory, but
under the leadership of Prof. Andre Salifou, the conference
developed consensus on the modalities of a transition government. A
transition government was installed in November 1991 to manage the
affairs of state until the institutions of the Third Republic were
put into place in April 1993. While the economy deteriorated over
the course of the transition, certain accomplishments stand out,
including the successful conduct of a constitutional referendum; the
adoption of key legislation such as the electoral and rural codes;
and the holding of several free, fair, and nonviolent nationwide
elections. Freedom of the press flourished with the appearance of
several new independent newspapers.
Rivalries within a ruling coalition elected in 1993 led to
governmental paralysis, which provided Col. Ibrahim Bare Mainassara
a rationale to overthrow the Third Republic and its President,
Mahamane Ousmane, in January 1996. While leading a military
authority that ran the government (Conseil de Salut National) during
a 6-month transition period, Bare enlisted specialists to draft a
new constitution for a Fourth Republic announced in May 1996. After
dissolving the national electoral committee, Bare organized and won
a flawed presidential election in July 1996 and his party won 90% of
parliament seats in a flawed legislative election in November 1996.
When his efforts to justify his coup and subsequent questionable
elections failed to convince donors to restore multilateral and
bilateral economic assistance, a desperate Bare ignored an
international embargo against Libya and sought Libyan funds to aid
Niger's economy. In repeated violations of basic civil liberties by
the regime, opposition leaders were imprisoned; journalists often
arrested, beaten, and deported by an unofficial militia composed of
police and military; and independent media offices were looted and
burned with impunity.
In the culmination of an initiative started under the 1991 national
conference, however, the government signed peace accords in April
1995 with all Tuareg and Toubou groups that had been in rebellion
since 1990, claiming they lacked attention and resources from the
central government. The government agreed to absorb some former
rebels into the military and, with French assistance, help others
return to a productive civilian life.
In April 1999, Bare was overthrown and assassinated in a coup led by
Maj. Daouda Mallam Wanke, who established a transitional National
Reconciliation Council to oversee the drafting of a constitution for
a Fifth Republic with a French style semi-presidential system. In
votes that international observers found to be generally free and
fair, the Nigerien electorate approved the new constitution in July
1999 and held legislative and presidential elections in October and
November 1999. Heading a coalition of the National Movement for a
Developing Society (MNSD) and the Democratic and Social Convention
(CDS), Mamadou Tandja won the presidency.
In July 2004, Niger held municipal elections nationwide as part of
its decentralization process. Some 3,700 people were elected to new
local governments in 265 newly established communes. The ruling MNSD
party won more positions than any other political party; however,
opposition parties made significant gains.
In November and December 2004, Niger held presidential and
legislative elections. Mamadou Tandja was elected to his second
5-year presidential term with 65% of the vote in an election that
international observers called generally free and fair. This was the
first presidential election with a democratically elected incumbent
and a test to Niger's young democracy.
In the 2004 legislative elections, the National Movement for the
Development of Society (MNSD), the Democratic and Socialist
Convention (CDS), the Rally for Social Democracy (RSD), the Rally
for Democracy and Progress (RDP), the Nigerien Alliance for
Democracy and Progress (ANDP), and the Social Party for Nigerien
Democracy (PSDN) coalition, which backed Tandja, won 88 of the 113
seats in the National Assembly.
A previously unknown group, the Mouvement des Nigeriens pour la
Justice (MNJ), emerged in February 2007. The predominantly Tuareg
group has issued a number of demands, mainly related to development
in the north. It has attacked military and other facilities and laid
landmines in the north. The resulting insecurity has devastated
Niger's tourist industry and deterred investment in mining and oil.
The government has labeled the MNJ criminals and traffickers, and
refuses to negotiate with the group until it disarms. |
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