Sanoussi Jackou

Sanoussi Tambari Jackou (born 1940[1]) is a Nigerien politician and the President of the Nigerien Party for Self-Management (PNA-Al'ouma).[1][2] He was Vice-President of the National Assembly of Niger from 1993 to 1994 and served in the government as Minister of State for Higher Education, Research, Technology, and African Integration later in the 1990s. He was a Deputy in the National Assembly from 2004 to 2010.

Early life and civil service career

Jackou was born in Kornaka, located in what is now the Dakoro Department of Maradi Region.[1] His father was a high caste Tuareg while his mother was Hausa.[3] He worked in the civil service beginning in 1970.[1]

Following a failed coup attempt against the regime of Seyni Kountché on March 15, 1976, Jackou was arrested on March 20. He was imprisoned for over 11 years; following Kountché's death, he was released on November 23, 1987. He returned to the civil service in March 1988.[1]

Political career during the 1990s

In the early 1990s, Jackou was a founding member of the Democratic and Social Convention (CDS-Rahama).[1] He was elected to the National Assembly in the February 1993 parliamentary election[4] as a CDS candidate in Maradi constituency.[5] Following the election, he served as Vice-President of the National Assembly of Niger from 1993 to 1994.[2]

During the rule of Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara, Jackou joined the government as Minister of State for Higher Education, Research, Technology, and African Integration.[6] As a result, he was expelled from the CDS, of which he had been the deputy leader;[7] he formed a new party, the PNA-Aloumat, in early 1997,[1][8] allying himself with President Maïnassara.[9] In April 1998, however, he broke with Maïnassara,[10] who was killed during a coup d'état one year later.

Fifth Republic

The PNA-Aloumat won no seats in the 1999 parliamentary election, and Jackou was an opposition leader without representation in the National Assembly for the next five years.[11] In the December 2004 parliamentary election, Jackou was elected to the National Assembly as a candidate in Maradi constituency;[12] he was the only PNA-Aloumat candidate to win a seat. During the 2004–2009 parliamentary term, Jackou was part of the opposition, participating in the parliamentary group of the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism (PNDS).[13] He also served as President of the Economic Affairs and Planning Commission in the National Assembly during that parliamentary term.[14]

In addition to running for a seat in the National Assembly, Jackou also ran for a seat on the municipal council of Dakoro in 2004.[15]

Jackou was one of 14 deputies who filed a censure motion against the government of Prime Minister Hama Amadou on May 26, 2007.[16] Amadou's government was subsequently defeated in a no-confidence vote on May 31.[17] Jackou also opposed the election of Seyni Oumarou to replace Amadou.[18]

Like the leaders of the PNDS, Jackou was outspoken in his condemnation of attempts to extend President Mamadou Tandja's term beyond December 2009, when it was originally scheduled to end. At a rally on 22 December 2008 in Niamey, Jackou called such attempts a "nightmarish" "coup d'état" by the government's supporters.[19]

Sixth Republic

Jackou and the PNA-Aloumat chose to participate in the October 2009 parliamentary election, which was boycotted by the major opposition parties. In an August 2009 interview, Jackou explained that the PNA-Aloumat decided to participate because doing so was necessary "to ensure the survival of our party"; he said that participation in elections was essential to the purpose of a political party and that he had no interest in leading a party that did not take part in elections. He cited the example of the opposition boycott of the 1996 parliamentary election, which he said was a mistake. Despite his decision to participate in the election, Jackou said in the same interview that his party was not breaking with the broader opposition. Regarding the August 2009 constitutional referendum, Jackou said that he supported the move to a presidential system of government, noting that he had long favored such a system, but he was critical of other constitutional changes; he said that the proposed Senate would serve no meaningful legislative purpose and would only delay legislation, while wasting money.[11]

Standing as a PNA-Aloumat candidate, Jackou was re-elected to the National Assembly in October 2009; he was again the only PNA-Aloumat candidate to win a seat.[20] The National Assembly began meeting for the new parliamentary term on November 14,[21] and Jackou presided over the initial meetings due to his status as the oldest Deputy in the National Assembly. In his opening speech, Jackou described the new National Assembly as the best one Niger had ever had, while he also stressed the importance of the National Assembly's work: "We have no margin for error. We are true representatives of the people and we face enormous challenges." Although customary practice would have the oldest deputy (the président du bureau d'âge) presiding for only a very brief time before the National Assembly elected a President to lead its work, Jackou said that, because a new constitution had been promulgated since the previous parliamentary term, it was first necessary for the National Assembly to formulate and adopt new internal regulations that would fit the new constitutional structure. Consequently, nine deputies, including Jackou, were chosen to sit on an ad hoc technical committee that was tasked with formulating the new internal regulations.[22]

The resulting draft of the National Assembly's internal regulations was adopted by a unanimous vote.[23] Jackou presided for the last time on November 25, 2009, when the deputies unanimously elected Seyni Oumarou as President of the National Assembly.[24] Oumarou praised Jackou for the "diligence" he showed in presiding over the initial meetings.[25] Shortly thereafter, when the National Assembly's permanent commissions were established, Jackou was again designated as President of the Economic Affairs and Planning Commission.[25][26]

In the local elections held on 27 December 2009, Jackou was elected as a municipal councillor in Dakoro.[15] On 18 February 2010, President Tandja was ousted in a military coup d'état. A junta called the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (CSRD) took power and immediately dissolved the National Assembly, along with other state institutions.[27]

Jackou supported the candidacy of Mahamadou Issoufou in the second round of the January–February 2011 presidential election, declaring that "the time has come for Mahamadou Issoufou to lead Niger".[28] Issoufou won the election; after he took office as President, he appointed Jackou as Special Adviser to the President, with the rank of Minister, on 20 April 2011.[29]

At the PNA-Aloumat's fifth ordinary congress in February 2014, Jackou was re-elected as party leader.[30]

Policy positions

Jackou, whose father was Tuareg and mother Hausa, has taken special interest in Nigerien Tuaregs conflicts with other groups. He was quoted in 2005 castigating deputies for covering up the continued existence of slavery in the nation and claiming some deputies kept slaves.[31][3]

In a 2007 televised debate, he warned that the parliamentary opposition also opposed the Tuareg rebels of the MNJ: "I say this to the insurgents: watch out, the forces of democracy are not with you as they were in the 1990s."[32]

Jackou has been outspoken in criticism of the lack of punishment for those who killed President Baré in the April 1999 coup.[33]

As a deputy from a small party, Jackou has been active in voting reform legislation, supporting the introduction of a single ballot for the 2009 elections, but also proposing the scraping of rules requiring French language ability among candidates, and supporting national single lists for some Assembly seats.[34]

Jackou supported a controversial 2008 pay raise for deputies, which was opposed by civil society groups. He argued that the level of compensation was reasonable when compared to that received by parliamentarians in neighboring countries.[35]

Press owner

Jackou also owns a weekly newspaper based in Niamey, La Roue de l'Histoire. On 18 May 2002, he was arrested, along with the paper's publisher, for comments criticizing Prime Minister Hama Amadou, as well as comments directed at Minister of Trade Seini Oumarou. Jackou was eventually sentenced to a four month suspended sentence, a 100,000 CFAF fine, and the paper was forced to pay 2 million CFAF damages to the two officials.[36]

In December 2004, Jackou was again arrested for "arousing ethnic hatred" during his appearance on a radio talk show, only to be released on 9 January 2005.[37] Jackou erved as a mediator between civil society groups led by the Coalition for Quality and Fairness Against Costly Living, protesting consumption tax rises, and the government in April 2005.[38]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Sanoussi: Ni Sujet, Ni Vassal du PNDS", L'Action, number 15, July 20, 2007, page 6 (French).
  2. 1 2 Page at National Assembly website at the Wayback Machine (archived June 11, 2007) (French).
  3. 1 2 "Niger: The government says slavery no longer exists, the slaves disagree", IRIN, 24 June 2005.
  4. ↑ "Afrique de l'Ouest - Niger - Cour suprême - 1993 - Arrêt no 93-10/cc du 18 mars 1993", droit.francophonie.org (French).
  5. ↑ "Afrique de l'Ouest - Niger - Cour suprême - 1993 - Arrêt no 93-3/cc du 1er février 1993", droit.francophonie.org (French).
  6. ↑ "GOUVERNEMENTS DU PRESIDENT IBRAHIM MAINASSARA BARRE", Nigerien presidency website (French).
  7. ↑ Africa South of the Sahara 2004 (2003), Routledge, page 795.
  8. ↑ Omar Kané, "Politique Vers une autre rénovation au CDS ?", Le Canard déchaîné, number 266, April 2, 2007 (French).
  9. ↑ "Niger: New presidential alliance", IRIN-WA Update 137 of Events in West Africa, 3 February 1998.
  10. ↑ "Presidential ally breaks ranks", IRIN-WA Update 196 of Events in West Africa, 28 April 1998.
  11. 1 2 Mahaman Bako, "M. Sanoussi Tambari Jackou, président du Parti National pour l'Autogestion (PNA Al'ouma) : " Nous avons choisi de participer aux prochaines élections législatives et locales pour assurer la survie de notre formation politique "", Le Sahel, 21 August 2009 (French).
  12. ↑ List of deputies at National Assembly website (French).
  13. ↑ Page on parliamentary groups on National Assembly website (French).
  14. ↑ Page on commissions in the National Assembly at the Wayback Machine (archived February 13, 2005) (French).
  15. 1 2 "Cheiffou Amadou élu conseiller municipal", Roue de l'Histoire, number 488, 31 December 2009 (French).
  16. ↑ "Assemblée nationale Débats et vote d’une motion de censure contre le gouvernement aujourd’hui", Sahel Quotidien, May 28, 2007 (French).
  17. ↑ "Niger government falls after a "no confidence" vote", African Press Agency, May 31, 2007.
  18. ↑ "Niger impasse continues", Sapa-AFP, June 5, 2007.
  19. ↑ Mandat présidentiel au Niger : L’opposition contre la prolongation après 2009. AFP/Le Soleil Senegal). 23 December 2008.
    "Ils nous invitent à violer ensemble la Constitution et c’est de nature à installer notre pays dans une phase de précarité et de troubles", a-t-il poursuivi. Le député d'opposition Sanoussi Jackou a pour sa part qualifié la demande faite au Parlement de "cauchemardesque", estimant qu’elle s’apparente à "un coup d'État".
  20. ↑ Siradji Sanda, "Point de presse du ministre d'Etat, ministre de l'Intérieur de la Sécurité publique et de la Décentralisation sur la proclamation des résultats définitifs des élections législatives : 112 des 113 députés retenus", Le Sahel, 11 November 2009 (French).
  21. ↑ Page on 2009 election at IPU-PARLINE website.
  22. ↑ Siradji Sanda, "Cérémonie officielle d'installation de l'Assemblée nationale : mise en place du bureau d'âge et début des débats sur l'élection du président de l'institution", Le Sahel, 16 November 2009 (French).
  23. ↑ "Adoption, hier, par les députés du projet de résolution du règlement intérieur de l'Assemblée nationale : 112 voix pour, 0 voix contre et 0 abstention", planeteafrique.com, 21 November 2009 (French).
  24. ↑ Wata Fassouma Moustapha, "Assemblée nationale : SEM. Seïni Oumarou plébiscité au poste de président de l'institution", Le Sahel, November 26, 2009 (French).
  25. 1 2 "Clôture de la session d'installation de l'Assemblée nationale : mise en place du Bureau et des différentes commissions permanentes", Le Sahel, November 30, 2009 (French).
  26. ↑ "Elhadj Seïni Oumarou plébiscité à la présidence de l'institution", La Hache Nouvelle, number 156, page 3 (French).
  27. ↑ "Niger soldiers say coup 'patriotic'", Al Jazeera, 18 February 2010.
  28. ↑ "Meeting du candidat du PNDS-Tarayya à Maradi : forte mobilisation des militants des partis de la coalition qui soutiennent la candidature de Mahamadou Issoufou", Le Sahel, 9 March 2011 (French).
  29. ↑ "Le Chef de l'Etat signe plusieurs décrets de nomination", Le Sahel, 22 April 2011 (French).
  30. ↑ Seini Seydou Zakaria, "5ème congrès ordinaire du Parti Nigérien pour l'Autogestion (PNA Al'oumma) : Elhadj Sanoussi Tambari Jackou, reconduit à la tête du parti", Le Sahel, 3 February 2014 (French).
  31. ↑ Robyn Dixon, "Secret Lives of Servitude in Niger. The government has banned slavery and denies it exists. Though few speak of it, the practice is a tradition many do not question", Los Angeles Times, September 3, 2005.
    Prominent opposition lawmaker Sanoussi Jackou, founder of the Niger Party for Self-Management, says even some government ministers keep slaves. Until the anti-slavery law last year, the practice was an open fact of life. "The law is only just designed to avert international criticism. The government does not want people to know that Niger is one of the last countries on the planet to have slavery", he said. He predicted that, without a serious government effort to end slavery, the practice would persist. "Slavery will continue, in secret", he said, "because the masters are afraid, the slaves are afraid and members of the government want to be seen in a good light by the international community."
  32. ↑ Nick Tattersall, "Tuareg rebels risk provoking backlash in Niger", Reuters, 15 July 2007.
  33. ↑ Alfred Lino, "10ème Anniversaire de l’assassinat du Président Baré: La famille Baré et le RDP exigent que la lumière soit faite", Kybia, number 162, 23 April 2009.
  34. ↑ "Niger introduces single ballot paper for all elections", African Press Agency, 11 June 2008.
  35. ↑ "President of Niger endorses controversial law on MP's wages", African Press Agency, 14 March 2008.
  36. ↑ "Attacks on the Press 2002: Niger", Committee to Protect Journalists, 2003.
  37. ↑ "Niger: Human Rights Report, 2005", United States Government Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, March 8, 2006.
  38. ↑ "Niger government yields to anti-tax movement", Voice of America, 20 April 2005.
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