Niger 🇳🇪

Being intrigued by Africa since my first trip as young teenager with my mother in the 1970es, not everything left great memories from the trips during the last decade, private as well as professional ones.

Especially West Africa did not live up to the expectations, but off the beaten track places such as Niger are always on my curiosity list. And last but not least it is one more step towards the UN 193, now reaching 191 with this visit.

Its capital, Niamey, turned out to be a very easy to manage and navigable city, at around 2 millions which it does not feel like. Everything is in walkable distance, eating, shopping or just browsing ordinary African life. The locals are really friendly as long as you don’t mind all the hagglers (they just want to make a living), yet never go to far.

This country is considered very dangerous and unsafe by western standards since the military coup last July. Yet all the people I talked to welcome that the corrupt president (yes apparently he was elected) is gone together with his entourage. Life goes on and a certain normal has moved in. The Chinese and the Indian continue to be the biggest economic investors, yet most of the foreign products still hail from (hated) France.

I really enjoyed scrolling around town, taking a tour up and down the river beds and venturing off into the desert. Most of Niger is part of the Sahara and Niamey, situated along the Niger river is therefore at the fringe to subsaharan Africa.

Most people try to get by daily life at a very low level, non government jobs are scarce and besides mining in the North not much else to be found. Yet, nobody is complaining and seems to make the best out of it. Friendliness, curiosity and a smile towards foreigners is very common. I can only encourage others to come and experience this place and country!