Niger drops French, adopts Hausa as official language

The military government in Niger Republic says the country is adopting Hausa as the national language, replacing French.

The change was announced in a new charter released on March 31, which said, “the national language is Hausa” and “the working languages are English and French”.

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.

Hausa is the most widely spoken language in Niger, with around 26 million people reportedly using it, particularly in the central-southern regions of Zinder and Maradi, and in Tahoua in the west.

However, only about 13 percent of the population, just over three million people, speak French.

The junta’s decision to adopt Hausa as the national language is seen as a break from France, with whom Niger has had a complicated relationship since gaining independence.

The country has been taking steps to sever ties with France, including removing French troops, ending diplomatic relations, and renaming streets and monuments that bore French names.

Niger is not alone in this effort, as other former French colonies in the region, such as Mali and Burkina Faso, are also taking similar steps.

All three countries have quit the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), a post-colonial entity that resembles the Commonwealth.