Niger

Niger, officially the Republic of Niger, is a land-locked nation in West Africa, named after the Niger River which flows through it. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east. Approximately 80% of the territory is covered by the Sahara Desert, and thus sparsely populated, with the majority of the population (approximately 10 million in 1995) concentrated in the far south and west of the country. The capital city is Niamey.

Niger is particularly notable in economic terms for it's rich deposits of Uranium, which can be used for nuclear power and nuclear weaponry production. Aside from this most of Niger's economy is mostly based upon agriculture although other minerals such as gold are mined in Niger also.

History
In the 19th century, contact with the West began when the first European explorers explored the area, searching for the source of the Niger River. Although French efforts at "pacification" began before 1900, dissident ethnic groups, especially the desert Tuareg, were not fully subdued until 1922, when Niger became a French colony. Niger's colonial history and development parallel that of other French West African territories. France administered its West African colonies through a governor general in Dakar, Senegal, and governors in the individual territories, including Niger. The 1946 French constitution conferred citizenship on the Nigerean people and provided for decentralization of power and limited participation in political life for local advisory assemblies.

The passage of the Overseas Reform Act (Loi Cadre) of 23 July 1956, followed by reorganizing measures enacted by the French Parliament early in 1957 removed voting inequalities and provided for creation of governmental organs, assuring individual territories a large measure of self-government. After the establishment of the Fifth French Republic on 4 December 1958, Niger became an autonomous state within the French Community but following full independence on 3 August 1960 membership was allowed to lapse.

First Tiberium War
"Kane needs Niger."

- Seth

While not initially aligned to either GDI or Nod in 1995 it was one of the poorest and least developed nations on the planet. The endemic poverty and political instability helped Nod extend its influence over the country. Niger along with Gabon was the origin point for the Brotherhood's campaign to wrest Africa from the GDI and so a key objective for the GDI counter-offensive.

The Attack on Mauritania was aimed at crippling GDI's ability to use their full airpower in West Africa, allowing Nod forces to remain in control of Niger by outmanuevering any GDI assault on the country.

As a result of Nod's success in preventing the GDI offensive, Niger remained securely under the control of Nod for the whole of the First Tiberium War. It could be assumed that Niger's rich Uranium deposits were crucial to the construction of Nod's nuclear weaponry over the course of the war, such as those arming the Temples of Nod in Bosnia and Herzegovina and eventually South Africa.

Third Tiberium War
By 2047, Tiberium had significantly altered the environment and Niger was designated part of Yellow Zone Y-2.