3rd August: Niger Independence Day

Niger Independence Day, from France, this date in 1960. 10 facts you might not know about Niger:

The President of Niger, Mamadou
Tandja, in 2005

1. The name of the country comes from the Niger River, which is 4,180 kilometers (2597 miles) long.
2. Niger is landlocked and borders with seven other countries: Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Algeria, Libya and Chad.
3. At 1,270,000 km2 (slightly less than twice the size of France) it is the twenty-second largest country in the world. 80% of it is covered by the Sahara Desert, so most of the population of around 17,138,707 live in the south west.
4. Zinder was the capital until 1926. Now, the capital is Niamey, located in the south west corner of Niger.
5. A dinosaur named Nigersaurus was discovered in Niger. It had a long neck and a mouth like a hammerhead shark with up to six hundred teeth teeth for grazing ferns.
6. The national flag consists of three equal horizontal bands of Orange, white, and Green with a small orange disk centred in the white band; the orange band represents the drier northern regions of the Sahara; white stands for purity and innocence; green represents hope and the fertile southern and western areas. The orange disc represents the sun and the sacrifices made by the people.
7. Niger has competed in all the Summer Olympic Games since 1964. So far, they have won just one medal. Issaka Daborg won a bronze medal in light welterweight boxing in 1972. The country has never competed in the Winter Olympics.
8. The highest point is Mont Idoukal-n-Taghès in the Aïr Mountains at 2,022 m (6,634 ft).
9. Niger has some of the world's largest deposits of uranium. More recently, some companies have been looking for oil there.
10. In September, there is a traditional festival called the Cure Salee in the northern Niger town of Ingall. It marks the end of the rainy season, and is a time when nomadic peoples get together before travelling south for the dry season. The name means "salt cure" in French, and although medicinal cures were a part of it, it is largely a social festival and a time for young nomadic men and women to find marriage partners. Hence there are tests of skill, and lots of dancing in traditional costume, so the young women can pick a husband.

My Books

As well as this blog, I also write fiction and have published two novels (Death and Faxes and Glastonbury Swan) and a collection of short stories (Jigsaw). If you like ghost stories, crime stories, a bit of romance and anything slightly bizarre you might enjoy them. 

Further details on my books page