This study traces the history of the Sawaba movement in Niger and its rebellion against the French-protected regime during the 1960s. Tracing the story from a social history perspective, the book... Show moreThis study traces the history of the Sawaba movement in Niger and its rebellion against the French-protected regime during the 1960s. Tracing the story from a social history perspective, the book places an entire generation of activists, removed from the offical record, back into mainstream Nig‚rien history. It analyses Sawaba's guerrilla campaign and failure, followed by the movement's destruction. The book is based on interviews with survivors and a vast range of archival resources, including those of France's secret service. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
Bruijn, M.E. de; Oostrum, K. van; Obono, O.; Oumarou, A.; Boureima, D. 2011
This article deals with the rebellion of 'Sawaba' against the PPN (Parti progressiste nigeI_rien) regime in Niger. Sawaba was a political party that represented a social movement and formed the... Show moreThis article deals with the rebellion of 'Sawaba' against the PPN (Parti progressiste nigeI_rien) regime in Niger. Sawaba was a political party that represented a social movement and formed the first autonomous government of Niger during the last years of French suzerainty (1957-1958). For a number of reasons, the French assisted in Sawaba's removal from government. Together with the new regime, they proceeded to persecute the Sawaba party, which was driven underground. Sawaba organized a clandestine domestic opposition and made preparations for a violent take-over with the help of friendly countries such as Ghana, Algeria and Mali. Assisted with arms, money and training, its commandos invaded Niger from the south and west in the autumn of 1964. Despite Algerian support before the invasion, the revolt failed and Sawaba was condemned to the political wilderness. This article focuses on the Algerian dimension of the revolt. It discusses the political evolution of Niger from the spring of 1957 to independence in August 1960 and how this connected to developments in Algeria. It then discusses Niger's security situation and how this was linked to control over its nomadic population and incursions made by the two countries across their common frontier. Subsequent sections analyse Sawaba's clandestine organization and the support provided by Algeria, discussing Sawaba's cell in Tamanrasset (southern Algeria) and its military training further to the north. The conclusion assesses the consequences of the failure of the revolt for the relations between Niger and Algeria. Notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract] Show less
The papers in this volume were earlier presented at the conference 'Globalization and new questions of ownership', which was held in Leiden, The Netherlands, from 26-27 April 2002. The volume... Show moreThe papers in this volume were earlier presented at the conference 'Globalization and new questions of ownership', which was held in Leiden, The Netherlands, from 26-27 April 2002. The volume challenges the dominant view that globalization is a primary threat to African societies. Instead, it emphasizes African agency in situating globality, that is, in selectively and creatively appropriating elements of the emerging global culture. Contributions: Situating globality: African agency in the appropriation of global culture (Wim van Binsbergen, Rijk van DijkandJan-Bart Gewald); Global and local trends in media ownership and control: implications for cultural creativity in Africa (Francis B. Nyamnjoh); Global media and violence in Africa: the case of Somalia (Jan-Bart Gewald); Can ICT belong in Africa, or is ICT owned by the North Atlantic region? (Wim van Binsbergen); 'Man will live well': on the poetics of corruption in a global age (Sanya Osha); 'Beyond the rivers of Ethiopia': Pentecostal Pan-Africanism and Ghanaian identities in the transnational domain (Rijk van Dijk); Global connections, local ruptures: the case of Islam in Senegal (Roy Dilley); How is a girl to marry without a bed? : weddings, wealth and women's value in an Islamic town of Niger (Adeline Masquelier); The social life of secrets (Senegal, Ferdinand de Jong); The persistence of female initiation rites: reflexivity and resilience of women in Zambia (Thera Rasing). [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
One of the least-studied revolts in postcolonial Africa, the invasion of Niger in 1964 by guerrillas of the outlawed Sawaba party, was a dismal failure and culminated in a failed attempt on the... Show moreOne of the least-studied revolts in postcolonial Africa, the invasion of Niger in 1964 by guerrillas of the outlawed Sawaba party, was a dismal failure and culminated in a failed attempt on the life of President Diori in the spring of 1965. Personal aspirations for higher education, access to jobs and social advancement, probably constituted the driving force of Sawaba's rank and file. Lured by the party leader, Djibo Bakary, with promises of scholarships abroad, they went to the far corners of the world, for what turned out to be guerrilla training. The leadership's motivations were grounded in a personal desire for political power, justified by a cocktail of militant nationalism, Marxism-Leninism and Maoist beliefs. Sawaba, however, failed to grasp the weakness of its domestic support base. The mystifying dimensions of revolutionary ideologies may have encouraged Djibo to ignore the facts on the ground and order his foot soldiers to march to their deaths. Notes, ref., sum. [Book abstract] Show less
One of the least-studied revolts in postcolonial Africa, the invasion of Niger in 1964 by guerrillas of the outlawed Sawaba party, was a dismal failure and culminated in a failed attempt on the... Show moreOne of the least-studied revolts in postcolonial Africa, the invasion of Niger in 1964 by guerrillas of the outlawed Sawaba party, was a dismal failure and culminated in a failed attempt on the life of President Diori in the spring of 1965. Personal aspirations for higher education, access to jobs and social advancement, probably constituted the driving force of Sawaba's rank and file. Lured by the party leader, Djibo Bakary, with promises of scholarships abroad, they went to the far corners of the world, for what turned out to be guerrilla training. The leadership's motivations were grounded in a personal desire for political power, justified by a cocktail of militant nationalism, Marxism-Leninism and Maoist beliefs. Sawaba, however, failed to grasp the weakness of its domestic support base. The mystifying dimensions of revolutionary ideologies may have encouraged Djibo to ignore the facts on the ground and order his foot soldiers to march to their deaths. Includes bibliographical references, notes, and summary. Show less
This chapter examines the lack of evidence regarding slave resistance in German East Africa and the related question of whether the colonial stereotype of the 'docile slave' is true. It starts... Show moreThis chapter examines the lack of evidence regarding slave resistance in German East Africa and the related question of whether the colonial stereotype of the 'docile slave' is true. It starts with a brief surmise of the history of slavery and an analysis of slave actions in the period concerned (1890-1914). The labour history of population movements in Unyamwezi in central Tanzania is taken as a case study. The chapter concludes that the colonial stereotype of the submissive slave is highly misleading. The social heterogeneity of servility prevented slaves from taking concerted militant action. However, it should be acknowledged that this diversity was the result of protracted everyday struggles by individual slaves for a better life in their places of residence. [Book abstract] Show less
Hoewel meerpartijenstelsels nu alweer zo'n tien jaar functioneren, bestaat er grote scepsis over de kwaliteit van democratie in sub-Sahara Afrika. De auteur stelt dat veel van de negatieve... Show moreHoewel meerpartijenstelsels nu alweer zo'n tien jaar functioneren, bestaat er grote scepsis over de kwaliteit van democratie in sub-Sahara Afrika. De auteur stelt dat veel van de negatieve oordelen over democratie in Afrika op sterke argumenten berusten, maar toch enige bijstelling behoeven. Hij betoogt dat niet verkiezingsfraude het grootste probleem voor Afrika's politieke stelsels vormt, maar het karakter van de wisselwerking tussen politieke klasse en maatschappelijke belangenorganisaties, het gebrek aan regeringswisselingen en de negatieve gevolgen van structurele economische problemen. Bij deze economische dimensie lijkt een belangrijke rol weggelegd te zijn voor het Westen. Deze aspecten worden ge‹Ilustreerd met enkele kanttekeningen bij de verkiezingen die gehouden zijn in Namibi‰ (1999), Mozambique (1993) en Niger (1993). Noten, samenv. in het Engels (p 281) Show less
Many local tenure arrangements in Niger were largely implicit, not recorded in any codified form. In the process of codification now underway, chiefs are regarded as the key interpreters of... Show moreMany local tenure arrangements in Niger were largely implicit, not recorded in any codified form. In the process of codification now underway, chiefs are regarded as the key interpreters of tradition, mutating the implicit into the explicit. Land tenure reform is not without contradictions. How are chiefs to maintain a level of flexibility and dynamism within the codified, rigidified form that the local tenure arrangements will have once they are made explicit? How are chiefs to determine which implicit local customary practice is to have primacy in a codified form, since their parameters are always changing from season to season and from year to year? As the new 'Code rural' in Niger shows, the invention-of-tradition approach which has gained prominence in English-language research has failed in its French counterparts. Both planner-administrators and academics are engaged in a discourse that seems to take tradition as an undisputed given. The remarkable thing is that is appears to work. The 'Code rural' has been considered path-breaking and innovative because it seeks to modernize tenure rules without breaking with tradition. The conclusion is that land tenure legislation can be modernized by integrating traditional chiefs into the legal framework. Show less
