Chris+G.+-+ALD+-+SP11

1. Maj Solou Djibo

2. He is the head of the military which kicked President Tandja out of office and pledged to make the Republic of Niger a democracy. Niger has a population of about 16 million, with a GNI per capita of $340. Niger is a very arid and dry country, and is very vulnerable to draught.

3. Maj trained to be in the Nigerien military in many places including the Ivory Coast. He worked his way up the military ranks in Niger from second lieutenant all the way up to colonel. For a time he taught at the Agadez military center. He is now the head of the Supreme Council for Restoration of Democracy and so he is the leader of Niger.

4. References: Johnathan Goodluck of Nigeria, Boni Yayi of Benin, and Toumani Amadou of Mali.

5. 1. Safety of Rule and Law: After President Tandja changed Niger's constitution so he could stay in office, Maj Solou Djibo organized a military coup and overthrew him. The country of Niger is now being ruled by the Supreme Council for Restoration of Democracy, which he is the head of. Niger is a country where homosexuality is allowed and gays are also allowed to get married. Since this is one of the poorest countries in the world, there is some raiding and stealing going on when people need things and have no way to get them. Social unrest is minimal. There are 9,000-43,000 slaves in Niger.

2. Participation and Human Rights: Maj felt that after Tandja changed Niger's constitution, the country was heading towards a dictatorship instead of a democracy. Maj used the government to oust President Tandja, and now Niger is under the rule of the Supreme Council for Restoration, which he is the leader of. If Maj would not have stepped in, Tandja may have changed many more things that could have made Niger a less democratic place. The living conditions in the prisons of Niger is very bad, many who go to them die. Freedom of speech is getting better, there are many radio stations not run by the government and people are not prosecuted for what they say. Niger is part of at least 49 international coalitions.

3. Sustainable Economic Opportunity: Most of the people in Niger are involved in agriculture and most of those people farm for subsistence.While only 4% of the employed people in Niger have jobs in the service industry, services account for 44% of the GDP in Niger. Niger is getting a lot of aid from other countries. Niger has large deposits of uranium, which are currently being mined by other governments and companies because Niger does not have the capital to mine it. Uranium is their largest export. It is a mineral, which means it is not sustainable, but with the money Niger is getting from it, they will be able to develop other industries which will be more sustainable.

4. Human Development: In the UNDP Human Development Index for 2010, Niger ranked 167th of 169, ahead of only Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This is a miserable ranking, but Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, with a GDP of $5.38b. With this little money in a country of 16,000,000 people, it is hard to maintain a high standard of living, education, and healthcare. In Niger, the fertility rate (average number of children per woman) is 7.68, the highest in the world. The infant mortality rate is 114.5/1000 births on average, 3rd highest in the world. The population growth is 3.66%, the highest in the world. With all of these new inhabitants, Niger doesn't have enough money and resources to support the people it has now, and the high amount of births will only put more stress on the already small sum of money present in Niger. Tough times are ahead for Niger.

Bibliography

"BBC News - Niger country profile." //BBC News - Home//. N.p., 4 Feb. 2011. Web. 24 Feb. 2011. [].

"The CIA Factbook: Niger." //Central Intelligence Agency//. N.p., 14 Feb. 2011. Web. 24 Feb. 2011. [].

Green, Jeff. "Niger - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. N.p., 22 Feb. 2011. Web. 24 Feb. 2011. [].

"Junta Sets Conditions for Presidential Aspirants in Niger."//Newstime Africa//. N.p., 27 May 2010. Web. 24 Feb. 2011. [].

*Ousseini, Issa. "Niger." New Internationalist Sept. 2009: 36. Student Resource Center - Gold. Web. 24 Feb. 2011.*

