With 7.6 children per woman, Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world, holds the planetary fertility record. The annual population growth rate is 3.9% per year (also world record). At this rate, the population will grow from 23 million today to 70 million in 2050 if nothing changes. In such a context, questions related to the family take priority alongside those related to the insecurity imposed by the jihadists. This probably explains why, in the interview with AFP, the presidential favorite and candidate of Mahamadou Issoufou’s party addressed the issue head-on.
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Demography, family, girls’ education: important issues
“Whatever efforts are made (economically and socially), unfortunately (economic) growth is hampered by strong demographic growth,” Mohamed Bazoum analyzes. “We will focus on the education” of young girls to “keep them as long as possible in school,” says the candidate. “They are given in marriage at the age of 13 or 14”, from the end of primary school, for lack of being able to go to college, “and they begin to reproduce. My recipe is to create boarding schools in rural colleges. By staying in class until third, we will avoid them two or three layers. And if they can continue, so much the better. I will put all my energy ”to apply this measure, promises Mohamed Bazoum. “They are given the level of education that allows them to control their bodies. We are going to reduce the fertility rate. Over 10 years, we will have results, ”he hopes.
Many observers believe that it is difficult to “change mentalities”, and in some areas of the country, rigid Muslims are opposed to the education of women, but Mr. Bazoum is convinced that the majority of Nigeriens will join. “I met ulemas and traditional leaders who are involved in this battle over demography. Do not think that there is a doctrinaire position of the communities on these questions. What parents want is for girls to succeed, ”says Bazoum.
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Fight against insecurity and bring the displaced back to their homes
Another major problem in Niger is the insecurity linked to Sahelian jihadist groups in the west and Boko Haram in the east. These have been responsible for hundreds of deaths since 2010 and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people (300,000 refugees and displaced persons in the east, 160,000 in the west). “17% of our budget is devoted to security”, recalls Mr. Bazoum who believes that the jihadists are linked to “exogenous groups” of Mali for the west and Nigeria for the east, even if he recognizes that ‘there are “young Nigeriens in the Islamic State in the Great Sahara”. To fight against the jihadists, he advocates an increase in the internal security forces with in particular the integration into the national guard of young people from the affected regions.
500 young people from the Diffa region have been recruited and trained for 9 months and will be deployed in the East in the coming days. 500 other young people from the Tillabéri region will follow a similar course in the coming months. The objective is that they bring information to the military but also that the populations are not hostile to the troops, often perceived as foreign forces. “My bet to me is that in the last quarter of 2021, I bring all the displaced populations (in the East) to their villages and that we end with this situation which has lasted for seven years”, he promises.
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The answer to the doubt about its origins
Mohamed Bazoum also referred to the debate on his ethnicity launched by political opponents during the presidential campaign. “I am Nigerien and I am Arab, both! I don’t think it brought anything back to my slayers. It sent back a shameful image of individuals leaning into racist arguments. “” We are going to make a great revolution in Africa, as happened in the USA (election of Obama, Editor’s note). We can bring to power someone from a minority community! He says.
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