Idé Oumarou

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Idé Oumarou (* 1937 in N'Dounga ; † February 12, 2002 in Niamey ) was a Nigerien politician, diplomat and writer. He was Foreign Minister Nigers (1983–1985) and Secretary General of the Organization for African Unity (1985–1989). In 1978 he was awarded the Grand Prix littéraire de l'Afrique noire for his novel Grosplan .

Life

Idé Oumarou attended from 1957 to 1959 the École normal William Ponty near Dakar , one of the most prestigious schools in French West Africa , where he trained as a teacher. With the help of a scholarship, he then studied economic research with a focus on planning at the Institut des Hautes Études d'Outre-Mer in Paris . In Niger, which became independent from France in 1960, Oumarou initially worked in the General Commissariat for Planning. In 1961, President Hamani Diori appointed him director and editor-in-chief of the state weekly newspaper Le Niger . Within the unity party PPN-RDA , Oumarou was considered particularly influential. He received the post of Director General for Information in the Ministry of Information in 1963, which he held until he was appointed Director of Post and Telecommunications in June 1972.

President Hamani Diori was deposed in April 1974 in a military coup and the PPN-RDA party was dissolved. Idé Oumarou quickly won the confidence of the new head of state, General Seyni Kountché , who appointed him his cabinet chief in 1974 . For a short time, he succeeded Abdou Gaoh as President of the Fédération Nigérienne de Football , the national football association. As head of cabinet he was one of the head of state's closest collaborators for the next five years. In 1980 General Kountché promoted him to Niger's Ambassador to the United Nations in New York City . In this capacity, Oumarou took over the chairmanship of the United Nations Security Council several times between May 1980 and January 1981 . He returned home when Kountché appointed him Foreign Minister of Niger on November 14, 1983. He held this office until July 1985, when he was elected Secretary General of the Organization for African Unity (OAU). Up until that point in time, the OAU was considered incapable of tackling the continent's problems, including the famine in the Sahel , due to disagreements among its member states . Oumarou announced that he wanted to work to ensure that member states put their political disputes behind them and focus on Africa's economic problems, and called for a " Marshall Plan for Africa". He also unsuccessfully sought Namibia's independence and the release of Nelson Mandela during his tenure. When he applied to extend his term of office as OAU General Secretary in July 1989, he had to admit defeat to Tanzanian Salim Ahmed Salim . Idé Oumarou then returned to Niger, where he was appointed advisor to Kountché's successor Ali Saibou with the rank of Minister of State . Oumarou campaigned unsuccessfully for the re-establishment of the international PPN-RDA parent party RDA . Under President Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara , who was in office from 1996 to 1999 , he again served as head of cabinet in the presidential office. He has also been entrusted with several crisis management missions in African countries. From April 2000 until his death he represented the Francophonie in the Facilitator College during the political crisis in Togo .

Oumarou died of a myocardial infarction in his Niamey apartment at the age of 65 .

Literary work

Idé Oumarou wrote two novels in French . In his first novel Gros plan , published in 1977, he describes scenes from everyday life in Niamey, which reflect developments within Nigerien society. In 1978 he received the Grand Prix littéraire de l'Afrique noire literary prize for Gros plan . His second novel, Le Représentant , came out in 1984 and was less successful. In it, Oumarou describes, among other things, the influence of greed on human relationships. Characteristic of Idé Oumarou's literary work is the exact, albeit subtle, description of political grievances. Oumarou also wrote several short stories and plays as well as a political autobiography published in 1995 in which he reviews his work under Seyni Kountché.

Works

  • Mariama . Niamey 1969.
  • Great plan . Nouvelles éditions africaines, Dakar / Abidjan 1977, ISBN 2-7236-0146-3 .
  • Le representative . Nouvelles éditions africaines, Dakar / Abidjan 1984.
  • Dialogues et temps forts with Seyni Kountché . ACCT / Nouvelle Imprimerie du Niger, Paris / Niamey 1995.

literature

  • Amadou Maïlele: Le petit peuple dans l'oeuvre d'Idé Oumarou . In: Marie-Clotilde Jacquey (ed.): Littérature nigérienne (=  Notre librairie . No. 107 ). CLEF, Paris 1991, p. 126-127 .
  • Jean-Dominique Pénel, Amadou Maïlélé: Littérature du Niger. Rencontre . Volume I: Kélétigui Mariko, Mamani Abdoulaye, Idé Oumarou, Yazi Dogo, Hawad, Ibrahim Issa. L'Harmattan, Paris 2010, ISBN 978-2-296-12858-3 , Chapter III: Idé Oumarou , p. 97-152 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Didier Samson: Union africaine. La disparition d'un serviteur de l'Afrique. In: RFI. 2002, accessed July 23, 2013 (French).
  2. ↑ a b César Ebrokié: Afrique: Décès de Idé Oumarou. In: allAfrica.com. February 14, 2002, accessed July 23, 2013 (French).
  3. ↑ a b c d Abdourahmane Idrissa, Samuel Decalo: Historical Dictionary of Niger . 4th edition. Scarecrow, Plymouth 2012, ISBN 978-0-8108-6094-0 , pp. 253-354 .
  4. ↑ Presidents. Fédération Nigérienne de Football, accessed July 26, 2017 (French).
  5. ↑ Abdourahmane Idrissa, Samuel Decalo: Historical Dictionary of Niger . 4th edition. Scarecrow, Plymouth 2012, ISBN 978-0-8108-6094-0 , pp. 305 .
personal data
SURNAME Oumarou, Idé
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Nigerien politician, diplomat and writer
DATE OF BIRTH 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH N'Dounga
DATE OF DEATH February 12, 2002
Place of death Niamey