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Say (Saayi) is a town in southwest
Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...
, situated on the
Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, Nige ...
. It is the capital of the
Say Department Say is a department of the Tillabéri Region in Niger. Its capital city is Say, and includes the towns of Guéladjo, Tamou, and Torodi. It abuts the urban Region of Niamey, and lies across the Niger River to the southwest of the capital. It e ...
in the
Tillabéri Region Tillabéri (var. ''Tillabéry'') is one of the seven regions of Niger. The capital of the region is Tillabéri. Tillabéri Region was created in 1992, when Niamey Region was split, with Niamey and its immediate hinterland becoming a new ''capital ...
. Say was a small Songhai town prior to the arrival of the Fulani marabout Alfa Mohamed Diobo in the nineteenth century who converted the town to a center for Islamic learning and established the Emirate of Say. The municipality has 58,290 inhabitants, and its economy is dominated by
agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
,
herding Herding is the act of bringing individual animals together into a group (herd), maintaining the group, and moving the group from place to place—or any combination of those. Herding can refer either to the process of animals forming herds in ...
and small trade. Today, the inhabitants of Say are mostly Peulh, Songhai and Zarma.


Overview

The town houses the
Islamic University of Niger The Islamic University in Niger (IUIN) is an international university in Say, Niger west of Niamey. Students and faculty study in Arabic, French, and English. The university's vice-chancellor's office is in Niamey. History IUIN began following ...
(''Université Islamique de Say''), an institute of international scope, whose founding was decided following a meeting of the
Organisation of the Islamic Conference The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC; ; ), formerly the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1969. It consists of 57 member states, 48 of which are Muslim-majority. The Pew Forum on ...
in 1974, but that opened only in 1986. In 1996, it had 400 students, who paid fees much lower than those of the University of Niamey. In Say there is also a forty-year-old College of Secondary Education (''Collège d'enseignement secondaire''), with nine teachers and 675 students.


History

Say was part of the
Songhay Empire The Songhai Empire was a state located in the western part of the Sahel during the 15th and 16th centuries. At its peak, it was one of the largest African empires in history. The state is known by its historiographical name, derived from its la ...
, which peaked in the 16th century. When the Songhay collapsed after the 1591
Battle of Tondibi The Battle of Tondibi was the decisive confrontation in the 16th-century invasion of the Songhai Empire by the army of the Saadi dynasty in Morocco. The Moroccan forces under Judar Pasha defeated the Songhai under Askia Ishaq II, guaranteeing t ...
, some of the refugees sheltered in the Say area. In the nineteenth century, Say became an
Emirate An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalent ...
under the leadership of the Marabout Alfa Mohamed Diobo. The town was occupied by France on 9 May 1897 and administered from
Dahomey The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African List of kingdoms in Africa throughout history, kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. It developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in ...
until 1907. In 1928, it became part of the cercle of Niamey. Located 57 km from
Niamey Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. As the Niamey Urban Community (, CUN), it is a Regions of Niger, first-level division of Niger, surrounded by the Tillabéri Region, in the western part of the country. Niamey lies on the Nige ...
, not far from the
W National Park The W National Park () or W Regional Park () is a major national park in West Africa around a meander in the Niger River shaped like the letter W (). The park includes areas of the three countries Niger, Benin and Burkina Faso, and is governed b ...
. The town (now an urban commune) has today 70,000 people but bears little resemblance to the ancient center of Islamic learning. In recognition of its former role, however, Niger's first
Madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...
(Islamic School) was set up here in 1957, and in 1974 the
Organization of the Islamic Conference The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC; ; ), formerly the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1969. It consists of 57 member states, 48 of which are Muslim-majority. The Pew Forum on ...
designated Say as the site for an Islamic university for West Africa, The new university, the Islamic University of Say, opened its doors in October 1986, with Dr. Abdallah Ben Abdel Mohsen At-Turki as its rector. Say is connected to the capital Niamey by an all-weather road and has a colorful Friday market to which many tourists flock.


Mining

Say is the location of some potential iron ore mines with reserves of about 650MT.Niger-MINING
/ref> An extension of the railway from
Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...
to
Niamey Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. As the Niamey Urban Community (, CUN), it is a Regions of Niger, first-level division of Niger, surrounded by the Tillabéri Region, in the western part of the country. Niamey lies on the Nige ...
is proposed which would serve the iron ore mines at Say.


Gallery

File:Femme de Say-1898.jpg, Woman from Say, 1898 File:Femmes de Say-1898.jpg, People of Say, 1898 File:Indigènes de Say-1898.jpg, People of Say, 1898 File:Marabouts de Say Niger 1912.jpg, Marabouts of Say, 1912


See also

* Iron ore in Africa


References


External links

* {{Authority control Mining communities in Africa Mining in Niger Communes of Tillabéri Region