Maradi, Niger
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Maradi is the second largest city in Niger and the administrative centre of Maradi Region. It is also the seat of the
Maradi Department The Region of Maradi is one of seven Region of Niger. It is located in south-central Niger, east of the Region of Tahoua, west of Zinder, and north of the Nigerian city of Katsina. The administrative centre is at Maradi. The population of the ...
and an Urban Commune.


History

Originally part of Katsina, a Hausa state, it became independent in the 19th century. From the early 19th century, Maradi was home to one of several Hausa traditional rump states, formed by rulers and nobility who fled the rise of the
Sokoto Caliphate The Sokoto Caliphate (), also known as the Fulani Empire or the Sultanate of Sokoto, was a Sunni Muslim caliphate in West Africa. It was founded by Usman dan Fodio in 1804 during the Fulani jihads after defeating the Hausa Kingdoms in the Ful ...
.Geels, Jolijn, (2006) ''Bradt Travel Guide – Niger'', pgs. 203–212 Elements of the Katsina ruling class continued to claim the area as the seat of a Katsina state in exile ruled by the ''Sarkin Katsina Maradi''. Maradi was constrained by the more powerful
Gobir Gobir (Demonym: ''Gobirawa'') was a city-state in what is now Nigeria. Founded by the Hausa in the 11th century, Gobir was one of the seven original kingdoms of Hausaland, and continued under Hausa rule for nearly 700 years. Its capital was the ci ...
exilic state to the west, the Sultanate of Damagaram based at Zinder to the east, and Sokoto to the south. The arrival of the French in 1899 saw the bloody destruction of the town by the Voulet-Chanoine Mission, but later the town recovered to become an important regional centre of commerce by the 1950s. The expansion of the city in the first half of the 20th century was dynamic, albeit modest, with the population nearly doubling between 1911 and 1950.''Les alhazai de Maradi – l’histoire d’une groupe de riche marchands saheliens''
Emmanuel Gregoire. Éditions de I'ORSTOM. 1990.
Up until 1945, the ancient city of Maradi was located in the valley bordering the Goulbi N'Maradi, a seasonal waterway with its source in Nigeria. The urban area, roughly circular in shape, was protected by a mud wall with four doors; the ancient city was flooded by this river at the end of the rainy season of 1945. To avoid future inundation, the French colonial administration decided then to adjust the urban layout. In the process, the city lost its traditional, irregular layout in favour of a grid system. The French sought to create cash-crop agriculture, mostly groundnuts, which increasingly made the city an important regional commercial centre. Aided by economic growth after the 1950s, Maradi experienced a demographic boom, with the population increasing from 8,661 in 1950 to 80,000 by 1983. By the time of Niger's independence in 1960, Maradi was a centre of Hausa culture, vying with the larger traditional Hausa centre of Zinder to the east. In 2000 a riot broke out in the town by Muslim groups opposed to the staging of the Festival International de la Mode en Afrique (FIMA) in Niamey, resulting in the destruction of various buildings deemed un-Islamic, such as brothels and bars.


Geography

The city is divided into three urban municipalities:
Maradi I Maradi I is an urban commune in Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages
,
Maradi II Maradi II is an urban commune in Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages
and
Maradi III Maradi III is an urban commune in Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages


Climate

Maradi experiences oppressive, mostly cloudy wet seasons, windy, partly cloudy dry seasons, and hot temperatures all year long ranging from 58°F to 104°F, rarely falling below 53°F or above 107°F.


Demographics

At the 2012 census, the official population of Maradi was 267,249, making it the second largest city in the country, with the predominant ethnic group in the city being Hausa, with a few urbanised Fulani and Tuaregs living there as well. Various ethnic groups from Nigeria, particularly Ibo and
Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...
, can also be found in skilled trades or in small shops.


Places of worship

There are several large mosques in the town. There are also some
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
churches and temples, with the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Maradi The Roman Catholic Diocese of Maradi ( la, Maraden(sis)) is a diocese located in Maradi in Niger. It is a suffragan in the province which includes the metropolitan archdiocese of Niamey. History * March 13, 2001: Established as Diocese of Mara ...
, Our Lady of Lourdes Cathedral, various Protestant churches and the
Assemblies of God The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination."Assemblies of God". ...
having a presence.


Economy

Maradi is the major transport trade and agricultural hub of Niger's south central Hausa region.Britannica
Maradi
britannica.com, USA, accessed on July 7, 2019
It lies on the major east–west paved highway which crosses from Niamey in the west to
Diffa Diffa is a city and Urban Commune in the extreme southeast of Niger, near the border with Nigeria. It is the administrative seat of both Diffa Region, and the smaller Diffa Department.Geels, Jolijn, (2006) ''Bradt Travel Guide - Niger'', pgs. 2 ...
in the far east. It also has an airport. Maradi has long been a merchant city, on the route north from Kano, Nigeria. This explains why one can use either the West African CFA franc (Niger's official currency) or the Nigerian Naira for currency in Maradi. The city lies in a region known for groundnut cultivation.


Education

Université Dan Dicko Dankoulodo UDDM Institut Universitaire de Technologie IUT The Free University of Maradi was founded in 2004. There is a
Maryam Abacha American University Niger Maryam Abacha American University of Niger, acronym (MAAUN). It is the first English speaking university in the Republic of Niger and also the first bilingual university in the Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, th ...
located in the city of Maradi.


Culture


Notable people

*
Siradji Sani Siradji Sani (born 4 February 1980 in Maradi, Niger, Maradi) is a former Niger, Nigerien Association football, football striker who last played for MŠK - Thermál Veľký Meder, Thermál Veľký Meder. He also holds Slovak citizenship. Externa ...
, Nigerien footballer *
Mariama Gamatié Bayard Mariama Gamatié Bayard (born 1958 in Maradi) is a Nigerian politician and women's rights activist. Early life and education Bayard was born in 1958 in Maradi, Niger. She completed her education in 1976 at the Lycée Kassaï in Niamey. She studied ...
, 2011 presidential candidate


Gallery

File:Gouvernaurat.JPG, Regional government building File:To market.jpg, Street scene in Maradi File:Mosqué a Maradi 2.JPG, A mosque in Maradi File:Mosque de Tchana Maradi 2.jpg, Worshippers at the Tchana Mosque File:Sultanat de Katchina.JPG, Traditional-style
Hausa architecture Hausa architecture is the architecture of the Hausa people of Northern Nigeria. Hausa architectural forms include mosques, walls, common compounds, and gates. Hausa traditional architecture is an integral part of how Hausa people construct a sense ...
buildings


References

* Finn Fuglestad. ''A History of Niger: 1850–1960''. Cambridge University Press (1983) * Jolijn Geels. ''Niger''. Bradt UK/ Globe Pequot Press USA (2006) * Samuel Decalo. ''Historical Dictionary of Niger'' (3rd ed.). Scarecrow Press, Boston & Folkestone, (1997) * Derrick J. Thorn. "The City of Maradi: French Influence Upon a Hausa Urban Center". '' Journal of Geography'', Volume 70, Issue 8 November 1971, pages 472 – 482


External links

* {{Authority control Populated places in Niger Tuareg