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