The driver took me to see where Muammar Gaddafi’s son, Saif al-Islam, had lived. The house was all locked up, the windows bolted with steel plates, the garden a mess. To me, the house seemed deserted and there were no guards.
When politicians are non-committal... it indicates that they consider the closure to be possibly only temporary- John Attard Montalto
“Strange,” I half told my driver, fishing for a reaction. His opinion of the Gaddafis, like that of many others I asked later, was negative. He told me that Libya had lost about 4,000 men in an incursion into Niger.
This was last month and I was in Niger, the country that, for a while, seemed to be the refuge that Saif al-Islam was hoping to reach. I was not there on an official visit but I took advantage of my friendship with a very senior politician to ask what he thought. Significantly, he was non-committal.
Ordinary people may express strong sentiments. When politicians are non-committal about what appears to be a closed chapter, it indicates that they consider the closure to be possibly only temporary.
The recent flare-ups in Libya of skirmishes between forces loyal to the new government and Gaddafi loyalist forces suggests that, in Niger, the politicians may be rightly wary that their country may yet be dragged into the conflict again.
Not that Niger has been out of the news since Mr Gaddafi Jnr’s capture. It has still been very much in the news as a possible source of the uranium of Iran’s nuclear programme. The controversy goes on.
Another news item from midweek suggests why Niger is likely to continue to figure in unlikely international connections. A food crisis is engulfing western Africa and Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world, is going to be one of the hardest hit.
Economic vulnerability combined with geography and a history of political instability will repeatedly make it a target for rogue groups and networks, which will use it as a platform for their activities.
Niger is a landlocked state, although connected by river to other states. It is a transit country between Saharan and sub-Saharan countries. Two of its neighbours are Algeria and Libya, meaning two of the largest African countries, rich in petroleum resources but facing political instability. Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb is said to be eyeing both hungrily.
Niger itself has a history of political instability. It is on its fifth republic, the last three succeeding each other rapidly over the last 18 years.
The idea of Africa as a “heart of darkness” is now a tired cliché. In Niger, it has a fresh twist, however. In many other countries, it is the uncanny sense of danger that lends itself to enchantment. My impression of Niger was of an opposite feeling, of a sense of enchantment that is dangerous.
For example, take the Sahara, probably Niger’s best feature. Niger is at this magnificent desert’s edge but it is a vital part of the Saharan experience. Flying low over it, I could see a small camel caravan working its way through the dunes. From above I could see the mud brick quarters with dots marking human or animal activity.
It would be an ideal feature to develop for touristic purposes. Yet, for the moment, it is unsafe. It is difficult to patrol for a country with a total population of just under 16 million and armed forces totalling only 12,000 personnel.
The social and natural habitats have an austere beauty. Driving along the river banks, on mud roads and beautifully cultivated land, the different shades of green were evidence of a subtly variegated vegetation. The houses were made either of mud brick or natural construction material, such as bamboo shoots. I saw a dyeing factory and a washing area made of round stone recipients more than a metre in diameter.
Banks traded almost side by side with camel markets, cattle markets (though cows and bulls were sold separately from goats and sheep) and donkey markets. The donkeys and camels carry most goods. Smaller loads are balanced casually and gracefully on people’s heads.
The roads in the capital, Niamey, always have that edge of red sand. The people of Niger walk through the roads wearing their blue and black mantels, others in blue and white with only their eyes visible. Among the men of Niger one can see one tribe (Wedaaba), whose men are tall with perfect features, which even hold a male beauty contest for eligible bachelors. They paint their lips black to make their teeth sparkle white.
I am not trying to exile Niger into a timeless enchantment. On the contrary, I am pointing out that the charm has an underside. The insufficient development makes it more vulnerable to penetration by modern criminal and terrorist networks.
Watching the sun setting over the Niger river is an unforgettable experience. The red African sunsets are so magnificent and when they reflect in the water of rivers or lakes are indescribable. It would be a mistake, however, to let a tourist’s captivation with the landscape make us forget the potential of the country to be held politically captive by more unsavoury visitors.
Dr Attard Montalto is a Labour member of the European Parliament.