ABSTRACT
Long before the arrival of French influence and control in the area, Niger was an important economic crossroads and the empires of Songhai, Mali, Gao, Kanem, and Bornu, as well as a number of Hausa states claimed control over portions of the area. By the 1990s, Nigerians were aware of political changes sweeping West Africa and mass demonstrations erupted, eventually forcing the government into multiparty elections in 1993. However, a military junta overthrew the elected president, Mahamane Ousmane, in 1996. Peaceful elections in 1999 and 2004 witnessed victory for Mamadou Tandja. Burkina Faso and Mali have jointly submitted a boundary dispute to the International Court of Justice for binding adjudication. The Mali-Niger boundary extends for approximately 816 km between the Upper Volta and Algeria tripoints. The line is not demarcated by pillars. Although it follows several valleys, more than two-thirds of the boundary consists of straight-line segments.
