The military government in Niger Republic has decided to make Hausa the country’s new national language.
The development is a move away from the country's colonial past where French played a central role.
The change was confirmed in a new charter released on March 31, published in a special edition of the government’s official journal.
According to the document, “The national language is Hausa,”; and “the working languages are English and French”.
Hausa is already the most commonly spoken language in the country, especially in the Zinder, Maradi and Tahoua regions.
Most of the country’s 26 million population understand and speak Hausa. But only around three million people, which is just 13 per cent, can speak French.
The new charter also lists Zarma-Songhay, Fula, Kanuri, Gourmanche, and Arabic, as “the spoken languages of Niger”.
