Hamsou Garba (sometimes Habsou) (25 December 1958 – 5 December 2022) was a Nigerien singer. A native of Maradi, Garba attended a French-run school for a while when she was a child, but left it to transfer to an Arabic-French ''

madrassa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

'' instead, which afforded her the opportunity to sing. Her emergence as a performer was so important politically that she was granted a state position at city hall, with wages. Besides singing, she has worked as a

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

host during her career as well; she has also performed with the group Anashua or Annashuwa, of which she was a founding member at its establishment in 1991. Her first album, ''Gargadi'', was only released in 2008; it was followed in 2009 by ''Tout est possible'', and as of 2011 she was working on two more, ''Les hommes de l’histoire'' and ''Aouran dollé''. As a performer she has traveled widely throughout

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

. Her songs cover traditional themes such as love and religious affairs, as well as more political subjects such as public health. Garba has remained politically active throughout much of her career, and has been an outspoken supporter of the

Nigerien Democratic Movement for an African Federation The Nigerien Democratic Movement for an African Federation (french: Mouvement démocratique nigérien pour une fédération africain, MODEN/FA-Lumana) is a political party in Niger, led by Hama Amadou. History The party was established on 12 M ...

and its leader,

Hama Amadou Hama Amadou (born 1949) is a Nigerien politician who was Prime Minister of Niger from 1995 to 1996 and again from 2000 to 2007. He was also Secretary-General of the National Movement for the Development of Society (MNSD-Nassara) from 1991 to 200 ...

. For this she was jailed in

Niamey Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. Niamey lies on the Niger River, primarily situated on the east bank. Niamey's population was counted as 1,026,848 as of the 2012 census. As of 2017, population projections show the capital di ...

for a time in 2016, having been accused by the authorities of inciting civil disobedience for writing and performing a song describing Amadou as "Niger's

Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...

" and calling for the presidency of

Mahamadou Issoufou Mahamadou Issoufou (born 1 January 1952) is a Nigerien politician who served as the President of Niger from 7 April 2011 to 2 April 2021. Issoufou was the prime minister of Niger from 1993 to 1994, president of the National Assembly from 1995 t ...

to end like that of

Goodluck Jonathan Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957)Lawson Heyford, ''The Source'' (Lagos), 11 December 2006. is a Nigerian politician who served as the President of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to fo ...

. Garba's work has been discussed in the book ''Engaging Modernity: Muslim Women and the Politics of Agency in Postcolonial Niger'' by

Ousseina Alidou Ousseina D. Alidou (born March 29, 1963) is an Africanist scholar focusing on Muslim women, and a professor in the Department of African, Middle Eastern and South Asian Languages and Literature at Rutgers University. She received a Master of Art ...

. Garba died on 5 December 2022, at the age of 63.Niger Singer Hamsou Garba Dies At 64
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garba, Hamsou 1958 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Nigerien women singers 21st-century Nigerien women singers People from Maradi Region