Gaya is a city in the
Gaya Department
Gaya is a department of the Dosso Region in Niger. Its capital lies at the city of Gaya. As of 2012, the department had a total population of 261,638 people.
Communes
* Bana
* Bengou
* Gaya
* Tanda
* Tounounga
Tounounga is a village and ...
of the
Dosso Region
Dosso is one of the seven regions of Niger. The region has an area of , with a population of 2,754,500 as of 2020.
History
The region of Dosso is the historic centre of the Dosso Kingdom, which had its capital at Dosso. Today the palace of t ...
of
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 ...
.
[ ] The city is situated 254 km southeast of the capital,
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 located on the banks of 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 ...
,
and is near the borders with
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 ...
and
Nigeria
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
. Gaya has a population of 63,815 (2012 census). The wettest area in Niger, Gaya averages 800 mm in rainfall a year.
There is a bridge connecting Gaya to the town of
Malanville in Benin.
Geography
Gaya is located in the south-west of the country on the Niger River in the Dendi landscape in the
Sudan region
Sudan is the geographical region to the south of the Sahara, stretching from Western Africa to Central and Eastern Africa. The name derives from the Arabic ' () and ' (), both meaning "the land of the Blacks", referring to West Africa and nort ...
. There is a border crossing to the neighbouring state of Benin near the city. Gaya's neighbouring municipalities in Niger are
Tanda in the north-west,
Bana in the north-east,
Bengou
Bengou is a village and rural commune in 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, ...
in the east and
Tounouga in the south-east.
The municipality is divided into 13 neighbourhoods and a rural area with nine villages, 39 hamlets and two camps. The neighbourhoods are called Bagueizé, Koiratégui II, Koiratégui III, Koussou, Koyzé Kounda, Lawaye, Plateau I, Plateau II, Quartier Bagueyzé, Quartier Peul, Sakabatama, Sakongui and Zongo.
Climate

The hottest month in Gaya is April and the coldest is January. In the period from 1977 to 2004, average monthly temperatures of 27.28 °C to 40.43 °C were measured in April and 18.74 °C to 33.33 °C in January. The average annual rainfall between 1931 and 2004 was 788.19 mm, a very high figure by national standards. Humidity varies between 20% in February and 80% in August.
History
Gaya was an important regional trading centre even before European colonization. According to legends, a
Songhai named Alfa from the north settled in Gaya at the beginning of the 19th century. Alfa had three brothers who settled in Brigambou, Gawèye and Karey Kopto. The brothers and their descendants thus controlled important strategic points along a long stretch of the river. At the end of the 19th century, the townspeople lived in constant fear of raids by the
Tukulor.
In the course of the military occupation of the later
Niger colony by France, Gaya was initially incorporated into the French colony of
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 ...
in 1899. In 1902, the city became part of the Third Military Territory (''troisième Territoire militaire''), from which the Military Territory of Niger (''Territoire militaire du Niger'') emerged in 1904. The French military base in Gaya had to be closed in 1903 and relocated to
Kirtachi, as the unclear demarcation between the French sphere of influence and
British Nigeria
Colonial Nigeria was ruled by the British Empire from the mid-nineteenth century until 1st of October 1960 when Nigeria achieved independence. Britain annexed Lagos in 1861 and established the Oil River Protectorate in 1884. British influen ...
caused too much uncertainty.
Local elections were held for the first time in 2002. Teacher Hassimi Dambaro (
MNSD-Nassara
The National Movement for the Society of Development, also known as the National Movement for the Development of Society (, MNSD-Nassara) was a political party in Niger. Founded under the military government of the 1974–1990 period, it was th ...
) became mayor.
Demographics
In the 2012 census, the municipality had 63,815 inhabitants. Around 45,000 people lived in the urban area.
The strong immigration is due to the economic importance of the city and leads to a lively real estate activity. The city is home to a large number of ethnic groups that settled here between the 16th and 19th centuries. Among the most important are
Tyenga,
Songhai,
Zarma, various
Hausa
Hausa may refer to:
* Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa
* Hausa language, spoken in West Africa
* Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states
* Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse
See also
...
groups and
Fulbe
The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people are an ethnic group in Sahara, Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, South Sudan, Darfur, ...
.
Culture
One of the special festivals in Gaya is the annual fishing festival, which also attracts young people from Benin and Nigeria. There is also an annual festival where the river spirits are invoked. The martial art
lutte traditionnelle
Lutte Traditionnelle (fr. for ''Traditional Wrestling'') is a style of West African folk wrestling, known as Laamb in Senegal and in The Gambia, Evala in Togo, and KoKowa / Kokawa in Hausa people, Hausa areas of Nigeria and Niger, or simply ''L ...
, which is popular throughout Niger, is called denbé in Gaya. A Roman Catholic chapel was built in 1997.
Economy

Gaya is particularly important for trade with Benin and Nigeria, where livestock and plant-based foods such as black-eyed peas and peanuts are sold and where sweet potatoes and ready-made products come from. Cereals, peanuts and black-eyed peas are also sold from Gaya to other areas of Niger.
Particularly in the eastern and north-eastern parts of Gaya, for example in the Plateau district, the cityscape is characterised by large warehouses. The rainfall favors agricultural activities.
See also
*
Bayajidda
Bayajidda ( Hausa with tone markings: Bàyā̀jiddà) (real name: Abu Yazid) was, according to the legends surrounding most West African states before the 19th century, the founder of the Hausa states.
Most accounts say that Bayajidda came from B ...
References
External links
Niger country profile
{{Authority control
Communes of Niger
Benin–Niger border crossings
Dosso Region