African Studies
Utafiti: Journal of African Perspectives
Call for Papers: Utafiti is inviting you to submit your manuscript – any topic in the humanities - for consideration in the next issues.
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Two years into president Mahamadou Issoufou’s second term, relations with the opposition were as poor as ever, despite a brief improvement during talks on electoral reform, as administration hardliners were determined to neutralise opposition leader Hama Amadou for good, in part tied to manoeuvring ahead of the 2021 elections. The opposition aimed to strengthen its position with a new platform and boost its international standing by posing as the moderate alternative to Issoufou’s implacable government. However, its marginality left a void that was filled by civil society groups, which mobilised continuing discontent over 2017/18 budget measures. The administration dug in its heels and, after several demonstrations, cracked down on ngo leaders, using the threat posed by armed jihadists as an excuse to ban protest. With regard to the latter problem, the armed forces held their own, benefiting from Western hardware and collaborating with the French and us military. The foreign military presence (object of popular displeasure) only grew. Niger now harboured the second largest us presence on the continent. Western powers continued to see Niger as a key interlocutor on migration and terrorism, to the point of ignoring social discontent and administration heavy-handedness. Donor aid continued to stream in. In the north-west and south-east, attacks by insurgent groups continued intermittently. The situation in the west was compounded by declining security on the border with Burkina Faso, now also an operational zone for jihadist groups. Insurgents kidnapped a German aid worker and an Italian missionary. In the south-east, violence by Boko Haram forces increased during the last quarter. As in the previous year, several women were abducted and taken to hideouts in Nigeria or Chad. Economic performance benefited from higher oil prices and a rebound in Nigeria. New taxes, applauded by the imf and eu, were introduced to tackle the growing deficit. Both at the Algerian border and in the east, new oil wells were struck. Heavy rains led to floods, destroying houses, fields, and cattle and damaging infrastructure, including the Arlit-Agadez-Niamey motorway, vital for the country’s uranium exports.