Say, Niger

Say (Saayi) is a town in southwest Niger, situated on the Niger River. It is the capital of the Say Department in the Tillabéri Region. Say was a small Songhai town prior to the arrival of the Fulani marabout Alfa Mohamed Diobo in the 19th Century who converted the town to a center for Islamic learning and established the Emirate of Say. The municipality has 70,234 inhabitants, and its economy is dominated by agriculture, herding and small trade. Today, the inhabitants of Say are mostly Peulh, Songhai and Zarma. Overview The town houses the Islamic University of Niger (Université Islamique de Say), an institute of international scope, whose founding was decided following a meeting of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference in 1974, but that opened only in 1986. In 1996, it had 400 students, who paid fees much lower than those of the University of Niamey. In Say there is also a forty...