Niger - Níger

Introduction Niger, officially the Niger Republic (in French: Republic of Niger), is a country located in the Africa western. It limits the south with Nigeria Y Benin, west with Burkina faso Y Mali, north with Algeria Y Libya, and to the east with Chad. Much of the Nigerian territory comprises the desert areas of the Sahara and the Sahel, while the southern zone lies along the valley of the niger river.

Capital Niamey Idiom French Surface 1,267,000 km² Population 17 138 707 (2012) Currency CFA franc Time zone UTC 1 Telephone prefix 227

Some countries recommend their citizens not to travel to this destination Most of Niger is not safe for any travel. The capital Niamey is safer only in comparison and even that city is dangerous to visit. The areas near the border with Mali are essentially illegal. Islamists linked to the terrorist organization Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) control the regions of Mali bordering Niger. Several Western tourists have been kidnapped and at least two have been killed by an Al Qaeda affiliate. Agadez has suffered from periodic disturbances for several years and, on occasion, the government has required special permits to travel in the region and military escorts for convoys of vehicles. The Nigerian government recommends armed escorts when traveling in the region. There is an increased risk of kidnapping in southwestern Niger, especially in the border regions with Mali and Burkina Faso. As of March 2018, a state of emergency and a curfew were in effect in the Diffa region of southern Niger. States of emergency were also in effect in the Nigerian states bordering southern Niger. Travel north of Niamey or north of Niger is not recommended; there is an increased risk of armed robbery north of the Tahoua-Zinder-Diffa axis. Some of the countries that have issued alerts are: Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, United Kingdom Y United States.

Understand

History

It was not until 1993, 35 years after independence from France, that Niger had its first free and open elections. A 1995 peace agreement ended a five-year-old Tuareg insurgency in the north. The coups d'état in 1996 and 1999 were followed by the creation of a National Reconciliation Council that transitioned to civilian rule in December 1999. In 2009, a coup d'etat overthrew the elected government-turned-dictatorship and returned Niger to an electoral democracy.

Economy

Niger's economy is focused on agriculture, animal husbandry, re-export trade and less and less on uranium, due to declining global demand. The 50% devaluation of the West African Franc in January 1994 boosted exports of cattle, cowpeas, onions and the products of Niger's small cotton industry. The government relies on bilateral and multilateral aid, which was suspended after the April 1999 coup, for operating expenses and public investment. Between 2000 and 2001, the World Bank approved a $ 105 million structural adjustment loan to help support fiscal reforms. However, reforms could prove difficult given the government's bleak financial situation. The IMF approved a $ 73 million growth and poverty reduction facility for Niger in 2000 and announced $ 115 million in debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Niger is the second poorest country in the world and has the lowest standard of living in the world.

People

Niger has a population of 20 million people. The Hausa (Zarma and Songhai) are the largest ethnic group in the country.

More than 20% of Nigerians are made up of nomadic and herding tribes, including the Fulani, Tuareg, Wodaabe, Kanuri, Arabs, and Toubou.

Regions

North niger

Southern niger

Niger southwest

Cities

• Niamey: Although it is the administrative capital and commercial center, possibly the least crowded and hectic capital of West Africa
• Agadez- A commercial center along the trans-Saharan trade routes for more than five centuries, home to a magnificent palace and several mosques, and a gateway to the nearby Air Mountains
• Ayorou- Along the picturesque section of the Niger River with one of the best markets in Niger and a starting point for river trips to Gaya
• Diffa- City of Peul amid shifting sand dunes and disappearing swamps, serving as a gateway to Southeastern Niger and Lake Chad
• Dosso- It has a small ethnic museum, a colorful market and an even more colorful chief's palace
• Maradi: center of agriculture (especially peanuts), home to a colorful chief's palace and close to seasonal rivers / floodplains that have caused interesting landforms in the south
• Tahoua - Stop on the way to Agadez
• Zinder- The cultural capital of Niger, this city of Peul-Hausa has perhaps the most colorful handicraft markets (pottery and tanning are local specialties), as well as a remarkable regional museum and the Sultan's palace.

Other destinations

• National Park W: magnificent National Park, most easily accessed from Niamey
• Koure- See the last herd of giraffes in West Africa
• Balleyara Market- Two hours from Niamey, one of the largest animal markets in West Africa, plus a colorful array of other traditional and artisan goods (Sundays)
• Ayorou- A riverside town three hours from Niamey with a colorful, laid-back Sunday market, as well as canoe tours to see hippos and islands.
• Bilma - an oasis located in the northeast
• Boubon - Bar / restaurant and cabins for rent for the night on an island in the Niger River
• Termit & Tin Toumma National Natural and Cultural Reserve: One of the largest reserves in Africa (twice the size of Costa Rica), the park protects several animals (including the critically endangered addax, Dama gazelle, and desert cheetah of extinction), protects nomadic culture and features a large number of scenic desert landscapes. Established in 2012, it will take a few years for guides, ecotourism and facilities to be available.
• Air and Ténéré Nature Reserve : a nature reserve in the desert, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list

To get

Visa is required for all nationals except:

1. National African countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo and Tunisia, as well as Hong Kong.
2. Foreign residents with a Valid Séjour permit or one Séjour visa.
3. Passengers in transit who continue their journey within 24 hours who do not leave the airport.

An International Certificate of Vaccination against Yellow Fever is mandatory, but certification of vaccination against cholera is required only if traveling from a neighboring country where an outbreak of the disease has been reported.

By plane

There is an international airport (Aéroport International Diori Hamani de Niamey) in Niamey.

Since August 2017, there are flights from the capitals of North and West Africa, Istanbul and Paris.

• Air Algerie flies from Algiers a few times a week (sometimes with a stopover in Ouagadougou)
• Asky Airlines and Air Burkina connect Niamey with Ouagadougou.
• Air Côte d'Ivoire offers daily flights from Abidjan.
• Ethiopian Airlines flies from Addis Ababa a few times a week.
• Afriquiyah connects Niamey with Tripoli (Mitiga) a few times a week.
• Royal Air Maroc flies almost daily from Casablanca
• Asky Airlines and Air France fly from Lomé.
• Turkish Airlines offers flights from Istanbul via Bamako.
• Air France flies to Paris.
• Tunisair connects Niamey with Tunisia.

There are some private companies and a mission aviation group (SIMAir) that do charter flights from Niamey on small planes.

By car

Travelers can reach Niger overland by road from Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, and Nigeria.

Some adventurous souls still cross the Sahara from the north (Algeria), but that area is not safe.

Libya "temporarily" closed its land border with Niger on December 16, 2012. It is unclear when the border will reopen.

By bus

There are a number of private companies offering bus services from Niger to neighboring countries and even to Dakar and Nouakchott (eg Rimbo Transport Voyageurs or SONEF). They are daily services to Lomé and Cotounú (stopping in Parakou and a few cities along the way), as well as Abidjan, Bamako, Dakar, Nouakchott (all via Ouagadougou). Service to Gao in Mali was suspended due to safety tests. Tickets can be purchased at the respective companies or at a sales office in the city.

Along the Nigerian border there are local minibuses and taxis connecting Maradi and Zinder with Katsina and Kano. You do not normally have to change vehicles at the border.

Travel

There are no railways in Niger.

By highway

Of the 10,000 km of roads, over 2,000 km is paved and efforts are made to improve a certain amount of the sections that have previously been endlessly under repair. You can travel from Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso up to Diffa, near Lake Chad on roads that are in decent for tolerable condition. The road from Niamey to "park W" in the south is paved. The Zinder-Agadez route is being repaved after being in severe disrepair for years. The Birni Nkonni Agadez Arlit road is in bad shape.

The country has 27 airport / landing strips, 9 of which have paved runways.

From mid-December to March the Niger River is navigable for approximately 300 km, from Niamey to Gaya on the Benin edge.

Taxis in Niamey charge about CFA 200 if the distance is not too long, or CFA 400 to almost cross the city. At the airport in Niamey there is a taxi monopoly and the lowest you will get a taxi for is CFA 3,000 - and that is if you haggle enough! However, if you guide heading south from the airport you will hit a main road and for CFA 100-150 you can get a one push up van ride to the Marché Grandioso (Main Market), luggage included .

By bus

The Nigerian government operates a bus service along the main routes of the country. Taking cars is exciting and interesting, they are dangerous, extremely hot, and more expensive. Plus, they stop on the road after midnight due to banditry. Because these cars often only go out at night, it can take several days to travel a relatively small distance. The big buses are brand new Mercedes buses and they carry a soldier at night so they can drive all night. Plus, due to their large size, they can quickly examine potholes that would destroy smaller vans.

The car rental company

There is almost no possibility to rent a car in the usual sense, although in 2005 a Hertz franchise came for Toyota RAV4s and Niamey for rentals. Also, you can rent a jack (4x4 from the quatre-quatre French for "the cat - cat" in life size with a driver / guide, but in most cases you will have to make an agreement with companies that organize expeditions.

• Tidene Expeditions, BP 270 Agadez, 227 440568, fax: 227 440 578

By plane

Niger Airlines operates flights between Niamey (NIM), Zinder (ZDR), Agadez (AJY), and Diffa (DZRF) as of Mar 2020.

To buy

Money

The country's currency is the West African CFA Franc, denoted as CFA, it is also used in seven other West African countries. It is interchangeable on a par with the Central African CFA Franc (XAF), which is used by six countries. Both currencies are fixed at a rate of 1 euro = 655,957 CFA francs.

The West African CFA franc will be renamed "eco" in late 2020. It will continue to target the euro.

US dollars and other foreign currencies are not accepted in daily transactions, only to change to local money through a bank or black market. Exception: near the Nigerian border, the devaluing Nigerian Naira currency is accepted.

ATM

Ecobank takes Mastercard and Visa cards at ATMs in Niger.

Shopping

Bargaining and haggling are essential and expected. It is best to keep a low price and a maximum price in mind before starting a negotiation. If the price is higher than desired, just say thank you and walk away, if you offered a fair price you will be called back. If you were offering too low a price, you won't be called back, but you can always come back later and offer more.

Niger's artisan specialties include:

• Intricately printed leather cases (ranging from small 5cm boxes to full size trunks).
• Leather articles
• Silver jewelry
• Colorful hand-woven wedding blankets
• Colored straw mats (not the plastic mats from China)
• Fabric (only the Enitex brand is made in Niger, but there are many other types that are good too)

Eat and drink

Food

Local, traditional food includes:

• A thick porridge of millet with an okra sauce, a pepper sauce, a tomato sauce, or a crush sauce on top, sometimes with vegetables and a few pieces of the meat pair
• The rice with the sauces above
• Doughy macaroni pasta with an oily red sauce
• Rice and beans
• Corn couscous mixed with moringa leaves, black beans, and salsa (designated dumbou in Djera / Zarma, and only available in Djerma / Zarma regions)

Availability varies widely by region, but visitors may have a desire to try the following delicious specialties, usually available as street food:

• Dumbou (see above)

• The kilishi: Bolster with more jerkey folks that comes in three flavors: Plain, Peanut Spiced, and Chili Spiced
• The dough: Delicious sourdough pancakes eaten with a pepper / ginger spice / hot peanut mix or a brown sauce
• Fari dough: Fried balls of dough served with either a crush / tomato sauce or sugar
• The chichena: Like fari masa on top, but made from flour beans instead of wheat flour
• Koudagou (Djerma / Zarma): The fried sweet potato rattles with sauce

Less exotic but also tasty:

• Skewers - meat kabobs made from either red meat, lamb, or goat
• The omelette sandwiches
• Mangoes: If their time, they are bigger and juicier than any available in the western world
• Yogurt: Pasteurized sweet,, and available anywhere there is a fridge
• Fried fish sandwiches
• Ground red meat sandwiches
• Pea dishes or (usually in bars and restaurants) garlic-flavored green beans

Be careful of salads - even in the city, they are not usually good for western travelers.

The drink

• Drink plenty of filtered or bottled water. You will be dehydrated during your trip to Niger at one point. It can sometimes be difficult to find bottled water, but ask as "Purewater" (pronounced pure-wata) that goes in sealed plastic bulks for usually 25 CFA (50 CFA in some hard to reach places). You will also need to refill your salts more frequently than you are used to.

Remember that drinking alcohol is generally forbidden in Muslim culture, so take extra caution to maintain drunken, inappropriate behavior behind closed doors and out of the public light.

The national beer is appropriately called Biere Niger. The only other locally produced beer is a franchise of the French West African Flag brewery. While the taste is in the beerholder's eye, Biere Niger is decent. They are both made in the same tank of the same ingredients with the slightest variation on how much reconstituted malt they put in each amount of stuff. All other beer, boxed wine, and heavy liquor are imported.

In rare pockets of the capital you can find homebrew millet beer, brewed by Burkinabe immigrants. This is drunk out of pumpkin squash bowls. Some compare the taste to a dry, unsweetened cider. See the Niamey section for directions.

Locally made non-alcoholic drinks are delicious. Safety depends on water quality: Generally pass in capital and NOT pass in rural areas. They are one or the other made sales by women outside their homes (ask), by young women with trays on their heads, or by young men pushing around coolers. These drinks include:

• Lemu-hari: A sweet lemony-gingery drink
• The hinge: A dark red kool-aid-type drink made from hibiscus leaves
• Apollo: A thick, slightly pinkish brown drink made from the baobab fruit
• El degue: Sweet yogurt with small millet bunches like a ball (like tapioca)

To drink, you bite into the corner outside the bag.

external links

• Wikipedia has an article on Niger.w: Niger
• Wikimedia Commons houses multimedia content about Niger. Commons