The military government in Niger Republic has announced that the country is adopting Hausa as the national language, replacing French, in addition to their break from Paris, its former colonial master. This move follows a national conference held in February, which strengthened the ruling junta led by Abdourahamane Tchiani, to remain in power for the next five years.
The conference also led to the recognition of nine other local languages as “the spoken languages of Niger”, including Zarma-Songhay, Fula, Kanuri, Gourmanche, and Arabic.
“The national language is Hausa” and “the working languages are English and French”, says in an official journal on March 31.
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.
Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso all former French colonies now ruled by juntas have quit the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), a post-colonial entity that resembles the Commonwealth.
