Niger is the poorest country in the world. The country is located in Western Africa and received its independence from France in the 1960s. The people in the country are referred to as Nigeriens, not to be confused with Nigerians from Nigeria.

Niger was once called the Songhai Empire. When European explorers began entering Africa in the late 18^th century, many colonized the different nations. Niger became a French colony in 1922 and the national language of Niger is French. Niger became an independent state in 1960.

Niger has a population of nearly 14 million people who live within the poorest country of the world. The GDP, per capita, is at $872 per year, which makes it the poorest country in the world. One of the reasons for the immense poverty was an early regime that ran the country for the first 14 years that was accused of rampant corruption. During the drought of 1974, a coup overthrew the government and started a new government ruled by military leader Senyi Kountche. Kountche ruled Niger until his death in 1987, when he was succeeded by Ali Saibou. Saibou promoted a new constitution and released political prisoners who were held since the time of the presidency of Hamani Diouri, who was the first leader of the country and politically corrupt.

The new constitution called for democratic elections that were debated during the term of the transitional government. The new government came to power in 1991 and while the country continued to deteriorate during this time, it did see the adoption of electoral codes and the process of holding free and non-violent elections nationwide. In addition, freedom of the press began to flourish under the new government of Niger.

The third republic of Niger, which held so much promise, was overthrown by military leader Bare Mainassara who drafted a new constitution for the fourth republic of Niger. Bare also organized an election in 1996 at which time he replaced the commission with his own people and was, not so surprisingly, elected to office.

Bare failed to organise economic assistance after the coup that was perceived to be largely unjustified, and turned to Libya, ignoring an embargo, to seek funds to aid the economy of Niger. Freedom of the press was gone and journalists were often imprisoned and deported. People who opposed the new government were also arrested and imprisoned and basic civil liberties were ignored. Independent media offices were burned.

Bare was killed in a coup in 1999 by Major Daouda Malam Wanke, who began the Fifth Republic of Niger. Modeled after French style elections, the voting was found to be free and fair and yet another new constitution of the Fifth Republic of Niger was enacted in 1999. Under this new constitution, the president and prime minister shared power of the state.

The new constitution also provides for local and municipal elections and these took place successfully in 2004. The country is divided into eight regions and each region has a governor, who is elected by the people.

The economy of Niger continued to suffer with the massive changes in political power and continued civil unrest. In June, 2007, Seyni Oumarou was nominated as the new prime minister after the former prime minister was forced out of office.

Today, Niger is part of the United Nations and retains good relations with its neighbors and especially with France. France has supplied the largest share of military assistance to the country during times of trouble. Niger truly appears to be a country that wants to make things better for its people, but the continued coups and lack of faith in the government have hurt the economy in Niger, which is one reason this is the poorest country on earth.

Niger is a landlocked country that has an economy based upon agriculture and livestock as well as uranium deposits. Severe droughts have destroyed much of the crops and livestock in recent years and the drop in the demand for uranium have further hurt the it’s economy. Much of the economy in Niger is now dependent upon the weather, which has remained erratic in Africa over the past few years, adding to the poverty.

In addition to the severe droughts experienced by the nation, locust infestations in 2005 further set the country back and led to severe food shortages for the people of Niger. When the land has insufficient rain, as it has in many of the past years, the country is thrown into economic turmoil.

There is hope for the future of Niger, however. There are deposits of phosphates, coal, limestone and gypsum that have been found in the country. ExxonMobile is now conducting an investigation as to the possibilities of developing oil fields in the region. If oil can be produced in Niger, this could be the end to the poverty, as long as the money from the oil falls into the hands of the citizens and not yet another corrupt government.

In addition, coal is also being exported from Niger and may be exploitable for revenue. Foreign aid has, in recent years, accounted for 80 percent of the budget of the nation. Donors include France, the European Union, The World Bank, The UN, The United States, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, China, Italy, Libya, Egypt, Morocco, Iran, Denmark, Canada and Saudi Arabia as well as various human rights organization. Economic reform is possible in the poorest nation on earth with the help of these different countries as well as the development of the natural resources that lie beneath the soil in Niger.

The government of Niger has implemented economic reform and made additional expenditures on health care, education, AIDS prevention, and other programs to reduce poverty in their country. With the assistance of world powers and the UN, who will act as a watchdog on the current regime, Niger may be able to tap into some of their natural resources, produce their own revenue and make their way from the poorest nation on earth to one of prosperity.

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By Team Haaba: We love Africa!
Haaba.com provides coverage of the latest news events across Africa. Visit Haaba.com for the latest Africa news, politics, business and sports coverage. Haaba’s hub site for Nigeria (ng.haaba.com) features the latest news from Nigeria and West Africa.

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