Niger military government has officially made Hausa the country’s new national language, moving away from its colonial past where French played a central role.
Since overthrowing civilian president Mohamed Bazoum in July 2023, Niger’s military rulers have severed relations with France, kicking out French soldiers and renaming streets and monuments that bore French names.
The change was announced in a new charter released on March 31, published in a special edition of the government’s official journal.
According to the document, “The national language is Hausa and “the working languages are English and French.”
Nine other languages, including Zarma-Songhay, Fula, Kanuri, Gourmanche and Arabic, now become “the spoken languages of Niger”, the charter added.
Hausa is the most widely spoken language in the country of 26 million, particularly in the central-southern regions of Zinder and Maradi, and in Tahoua in the west. In comparison, only around three million people, just 13 per cent, can speak French.
The new charter also added nine other official local languages, including Zarma-Songhay, Fula, Kanuri, Gourmanche, and Arabic, as “the spoken languages of Niger.”
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