Tarbiyya Tatali

Colonial Crimes Reparations? The Case of the Central Africa Mission (Voulet-Chanoine Column) in Niger

Marie-Françoise — 2025-07-23T19:54:08Z

Representatives of local communities in Niger (including those of Lougou, Dioundiou, and Birni'n Konni) have appealed to international justice for recognition and reparation for the crimes committed by the Central Africa Mission (Voulet-Chanoine Column) in Niger.

Historical Context

The “Central Africa Mission,” which left Senegal in 1898 and was commanded by Captains Voulet and Chanoine, was to reach Lake Chad to join up with the Foureau-Lamy mission crossing the Sahara from Algeria and the Gentil mission coming up from the Congo. The mission, overcrowded and poorly organized to cope with the difficult conditions (particularly with regard to water supplies), encountered resistance from the populations beyond the Niger River. A series of massacres followed: Sansanné Haoussa, Dioundiou, Lougou, Birni'n Konni, where the population was bayoneted...

Let us quote Joalland, a lieutenant in the mission: Once the city was taken, we had to bury all the corpses, which, under the influence of very high temperatures, decomposed immediately. For five days we worked on this chore.

The news of the first massacres reached France, and the government sent Colonel Klobb to relieve Voulet and Chanoine of their command. Klobb was killed on Voulet's orders on July 14, 1899, in Dankori, and then riflemen killed Voulet and Chanoine. See here .

The Central Africa mission, now under the command of Joalland and Meynier, continued on to Zinder, where the Sultan was killed and replaced by a more docile younger brother. It then reached and skirted Lake Chad to connect with the Lamy and Gentil missions. Together, they defeated Rabah, the Sultan of Bornu, who had inflicted heavy losses on French troops.

This violent episode in the French colonial conquest took place in the context of the rivalry between European powers in the scramble for the African interior after the Berlin Conference of 1885. In this case, the rivalry with England over the demarcation of zones of influence between the territories that would become Niger and Nigeria, respectively.

The Nigerien People's Perspective

Even in Niger, the story was told from the French perspective, obscuring the suffering and devastation endured by the commuities unfortunate enough to be in the path of the column. The story of these colonial crimes remained largely buried in the people's memory. There was, however, the book “Sarraounia” by Abdoulaye Mamani (from which Med Hondo adapted a film that received the Étalon de Yennenga at FESPACO in 1987), which recounts in a highly fictionalized manner the resistance of Sarraounia (queen, in Hausa) Mangou de Lougou to the Voulet-Chanoine column (“one of the fiercest actions of the campaign,” according to Joalland).

Rob Lemkin's film "African Apocalypse," which follows the route of the column, served as a catalyst for the mobilization of local Nigerien communities, culminating in a complaint to the UN.

The approach taken by representatives of local communities in Niger (including those of Lougou, Dioundiou, and Birni'n Konni) to the UN for recognition and reparations for the crimes committed by the Central Africa Mission (Voulet-Chanoine column) in Niger opens a new chapter in this story.

The Consequences of the Complaint

The complaint resulted in a UN communication to the Nigerien and French governments regarding the alleged lack of effective remedies and reparations for the victims of serious human rights violations committed during the “Central Africa Mission,” as well as for their descendants. The responses from both governments were published. The Nigerien government acknowledges that the State of Niger has done nothing in terms of historical remembrance. The French government offers no acknowledgment or apology, only a tentative “openness to bilateral dialogue.” The documents (communications and responses) can be found here:

Role of Tarbiyya Tatali Associations

AECIN and RAEDD have been supporting the Lougou community for many years, particularly regarding its access to water. Aware of the traumas linked to colonization and eager to work towards establishing genuine friendship, our interventions have always been in response to the requests of Saraouniya and the village.

Tarbiyya Tatali has also co-published the book Lougou and Saraouniya with L'Harmattan and regularly posts articles on its website dedicated to local cultural specificities (Tunguma, Tarkama in particular) using videos and photos.

It was through the book Lougou and Saraouniya that we met Rob Lemkin, who wanted to make contacts in Niger, and it was quite natural that the Lougou community then joined the demands for reparations.

Tarbiyya Tatali's goal is to:

Raise awareness of the crimes that accompanied colonization in Niger, far removed from the “civilizing mission” it has claimed to be;
Support local communities in Niger, heirs to a colonized people, in their demands for justice, and in particular the Lougou community;
More generally, contribute to rebuilding international solidarity free from colonialism and neocolonialism, based on a clear recognition of historical responsibilities.

Each of our associations has specific responsibilities: AECIN promotes the approach of the Nigerien communities in France, RAEDD continues to support the village of Lougou, and CulturePlus organizes screenings and discussions of the film African Apocalypse in Lougou and more generally in Niger.

Cultural activities in Dosso

Chantal — 2024-12-21T18:27:51Z

The Culture Plus Niger association conducts numerous cultural activities in Dosso.

Various initiatives

Creation and animation of two film clubs in Dosso. With the closure of movie theaters, it became necessary to create alternative spaces to bring cinema to the public. This project, launched in 2017, was supported by the French Embassy in Niger.
Youth training in film clubs animation in Dosso, entirely self-funded activity without external support (2017).
Co-organization of Festimaj, a cinema festival held in over 30 countries around the world. Making it the world's largest festival considering the number of countries where it is organized simultaneously. CulturePlus participated in 2017, 2018 and 2022.
Training of 50 women in female entrepreneurship in Dosso. This activity was realized in partnership with the Festival Paroles de femmes and with financial support from UEMOA (2019).
Muryar Mata (workshop and festival, exhibition follow-up). The project is supported by the French Institute under its ACCES CULTURE program, and carried out in partnership with AECIN (2020-2021)
Cinébiiga (children's film-making training) in Ouagadougou. This initiative, supported by UNICEF, resulted in about ten films made by children being selected for the latest edition of FESPACO.
Co-organization of the Cinema week festival (2021).
Impala, project of film-documentary distribution, production and co-production in 12 Francophone African countries. It is a project supported by AFD, involving 14 partner associations, including two French organizations (Docmonde and Les Ateliers Varan). In Niger, Culture Plus implements the project. Implementation period 2021-2024.
Baby Show: every year, an artistic and cultural competition is organized for primary and preschool students in Dosso, celebrated with a major event called the Baby Show. (2019, 2021, 2022, 2024)
The Integration day: Dosso is a cosmopolitan city with rich cultural diversity, as it hosts a significant community from West African countries. To celebrate this diversity and promote integration, the first edition of Integration Day, initiated by Culture Plus Niger, took place in partnership with the Municipality of Dosso, with the hope of making it a lasting cultural exchange. (2022). The second edition took place in 2024.
Training in cinema professions: In partnership with the National Center for Cinematography of Niger and the Regional Directorate of Culture of Dosso, Culture Plus organized a training in 2024 for young people in cinema professions. This activity was carried out voluntarily by the Culture Plus team. Twelve young, both girls and boys, benefited from this training, and certificates were issued at the end.
Training in painting
In 2025, the CulturePlus Association, in partnership with the Graba Loga Cultural Center, initiated a training workshop for young painters in Dosso. This two-day training session was led by painter Ali Narey, who came from Niamey for the occasion. The objective of this training was to strengthen the skills of these young talents in the process of artistic creation.

Annour Cultural Space

The CulturePlus association was able to open a cultural space, the Annour Cultural Space, for the benefits of the youth of the city of Dosso, within the premises of the Garba Loga Cultural Center. The work was financed with CulturePlus's own resources, with the support of AECIN. The Annour Space is a setting dedicated to leisure time, as well as initiation and training in arts and cultural professions.

Cultural Activities in Niger

2024-06-07T09:19:54Z

The CulturePlus Association, which is the cultural branch of Nouvel Espoir, organizes numerous cultural events.

Film Screenings and Cultural Days

Screening films in Niger, whether our own productions or other African documentaries, is an essential cultural activity. Since there are no infrastructures in the villages for film screenings, we have to bring our own projection equipment.

In Dosso

Since January 2022, the CulturePlus Association has organized several other screenings of French-speaking African documentary films focusing on the Sustainable Development Goals in Dosso's schools, as part of the Impala project supported by the French Development Agency (AFD).

In Bagagi

A screening evening was organized in 2022 by CulturePlus to introduce the population to season 1 of “Akwai Magana/On va en parler,” which was filmed in the village. Hundreds of people gathered for an unforgettable evening.

In Lougou

In 2023, at the request of the Mayor of Dankassari, AESCD contributed by covering a trip to Lougou for 100 middle school students from the villages of the Dankassari commune. They spent a night there and attended a film screening organized by CulturePlus on May 12. The short film “Tarkama,” documenting the recent funeral of Saraouniya Aljunna, and the “Akwai Magana/On va en parler,” a series of short educational films about the rights of women and girls, were screened. In total, more than three hundred people participated in this activity.

In Fabirdji

On June 17, 2023, the CulturePlus Association participated in organizing the Day of the African Child, funded by the NGO World Vision. Several activities were organized by the children of the rural commune of Fabirdji, including skits, choreography, decoration workshops, and a Q&A session. All these activities were supervised by CulturePlus. A film screening was held the previous evening in the courtyard of the Fabirdji town hall.

Annour Cultural Space Project

The CulturePlus Association is working on setting up a cultural space, the Annour Cultural Space, within the Garba Loga House of Culture in Dosso. The construction is financed entirely by CulturePlus's resources, without any external support so far. The work is progressing well, and the inauguration of this center is planned for December 2023.

Hadinkai/Synergy

Marie-Françoise — 2023-07-29T15:41:47Z

HADINKAI

As part of the Accès Culture call for tenders from the Institut Français, the CulturePlus Association proposed the “HADINKAI” project, which means “synergy” in Hausa. Selected and benefiting from a grant from the French Institute, this project was also made possible thanks to the financial support of the AECIN.

The realizations

Two films were made.

VOLTE-FACE (based on an idea by Issa Moussa Oussama) A husband refuses that his wife works outside. Noting progress in the living environment and informed by his friends that it is women who act for the common good, he reconsiders his position.

LE VOEU (THE WISH) (based on an idea by Salifou Made Abbou) A father raises his daughter alone. He doesn't know how to handle the situation when his daughter's first menstruation occurs. Following the advice of their housekeeper, he asks his daughter what she wants the most. It is the return of his Mum, to which the father consents. .

The project

“HADINKAI” aims to promote artistic decompartmentalization and create a dynamic that will allow the dissemination to a wide audience of artistic works, particularly theater and cinema. Indeed, the very essence of theater as of cinema is to SHOW: the big difference is in the way in which we make and show these works: directly on a stage or indirectly on a screen. Since theater actors cannot always travel, adapting their works in cinema will be beneficial to them because this content will be able to travel on the multitude of digital screens that exist. Professional theater and film artists will work so that these two arts can serve their cause.

An artistic residency

“HADINKAI” consists of setting up an artistic residency for 8 young boys and girls under 35, interested in theater and cinema. Having to justify a certain experience in their respective fields, they are selected on CV and presentation of a scripted story, then on the interview, decisive in the recruitment stage. These young people are coached by professionals from the theater and cinema. During a week of residence, the young artists work in a theatrical version of their projects. The first day is devoted to the theatrical professions and its outlets, then to the development of the idea. The next two days to scripting. With the participation of the cinema trainer, two scenarios are chosen to be adapted into cinema. Then follows the staging, the casting, the sets, the light, the sound system, and the acting. At the end of this training, the two plays are available. The cinema coach comes in the second week. The first day is devoted to the idea, its development, and the adaptation of a theatrical work into cinema. Then the residents' scenarios are adapted for the cinema to prepare them for production. For the filming of the films, the residents are also actors. The films are then edited, then screened with a first broadcast at the Maison de la Culture Loga Garba in Dosso.

A wide distribution

A dissemination plan is designed for the popularization of the two projects carried out. The two films will be broadcast on social networks and the two plays performed on identified community platforms. For the other projects, a remote follow-up and support mechanism has been set up by the coaches to carry them out. A Facebook page (or a website) is created to follow the realization of the projects and their evolution.

Hadinkai is featured in the promotional booklet of the 1^st edition of the Accès Culture program (2020-2023), an excellent tool for promoting the 92 projects that have been implemented across the African continent since 2020.

Muryar Mata Workshop/ Women's Voices

Marie-Françoise — 2020-10-30T10:58:55Z

“Women's expression through art”

Following a request from the association Cultureplus Niger, for a common response to a request from the Institut Français for projects combining cultural and development actions, AECIN accepted a joint action with Muryar Mata/Women's Voices: an original training program, aimed at young women and initiated by a Nigerien association. Its goal is to allow young women from the Dosso region to express their yearning for art through an artistic project.

Their request was granted by the Culture Access Program, supported by the Institut Français and the French Development Agency. The Niger Cultureplus association organizes, with support from AECIN Tarbiyya Tatali, a photography training workshop including its internet use (social networks, blogs, internet sites), aimed at women.

A request for candidates, open to all women from 15 to 35 living in Niger and native from the Dosso area, was launched at the end of 2020, so as to select 15 laureates.

The selection is based on a photo taken by mobile phone, with a legend and statement of intention explaining their motivation for joining the workshop, and the urgency of women's appropriation of speech.

The winners will join two one-week workshops on photography and social network training. In the first part of the training, they will discover the techniques to be used, then, they will return to their social environment to take photos, and will again join the workshop to select and put forward their work.

They will later take part in the Muryar Mata Women's Festival in Dosso where their photos will be exhibited.

Training session

On december 17^th 2020 the social network and photography training session started. Out of the 15 successful candidates, 13 were present, and showed enthusiasm throughout the course . They have been granted a telephone with optical quality allowing good photography.

Following the training, an exhibition was produced.

Exhibition in Dosso

The 13 winners of the Muryar Mata Project exhibited their works in Dosso from February 2^nd to 5^th. Owing to the COVID restrictions, the attendance wasn't as numerous as expected.

Exhibition in Rennes

Tarbiyya Tatali shows their work on its website and facebook site, thus offering them international scope.
Unfortunately, the exhibition planned at the Rennes International Center from March 6^th to the 20^th couldn't be shown, but a virtual varnishing day was organized.,

In 2023, the exhibition will finally take place at the Maison Internationale de Rennes from March 13 to 26 as part of Rennes Métrople's In(di)visibles campaign around International Women's Rights Day.

Other locations

The exhibition was hosted at the Center Culturel Franco Nigérien Jean Rouch in Niamey in May 2021, as well as in Garankedey, in the Dosso region, on the occasion of Nigerien Women's Day. In March 2022, it was exhibited in Marestaing in Occitanie, as well as in Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso.F rom August 5 to 7, 2022 i was s exhibited in Foix as part of the Festival Ingénieuse Afrique.

Video Water comes to Lougou at last !

Marie-Françoise — 2018-10-06T15:50:24Z

The film was produced by Idi Nouhou and Maman Siradji Bakabe within the framework of a coproduction by Tarbiya Tatali and BK TECHNO, financed by support to Cesson-Sévigné Town from DAECT in the Europe and Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Summary : Village daily life is really improved in Lougou, thanks to water supply, made possible by a water tank and water points, Women's chores are lightened, hygiene is improved, the village grows.

The fim was shown in Lougou and Dankassari and on Saraounia TV in October 2020.The film was shown in Lougou and Dankassari and is used for educational purposes in France.

In 2024, the four family planning animators as well as two RAEDD and RAIL managers were equipped with digital tablets containing this film.

Video A girl trio in Dankassari

Marie-Françoise — 2018-10-06T15:33:10Z

A film produced in 2018 by Idi Nouhou and Maman Siradji Bakabe for Tarbiyya Tatali.

Summary : Three Dankassari secondary school girls are determined to complete their schooling with a diploma, and to get a proper job before getting married,, One of them is under the threat of an early marriage, and her two friends support her in refusing it, The booklet ' My Health and my rights as a teenager : what I must know' helps to explain what an early marriage is.

Download [here>https://vimeo.com/268603607].

The film is used in educational actions in Niger and in France.
It was shown on Saraounia TV in October 2019.

In 2024, the four family planning animators and two RAEDD and RAIL managers were equipped with digital tablets containing this video.

Nigerien Cultural Day

Marie-Françoise — 2018-06-22T14:16:14Z

The Nigerien Council in France organized two Nigerien Culture Days in the Paris Region in 2015 and 2016. Tarbiyya Tatali held a stand of books and photos. There was a Nigerien Culture Day in 2017, but we were unable to attend.
In 2018, AESCD and ANIREtook part in the Culture Day organized by ANIRE in Rennes.

Nigerien Cultural Day In Brittany : Program

Saturday; June 23^rd 1918

Location: Parc des Gayeulles, Professeur Maurice Audin Street, 35700 RENNES

11-11.30: Opening Address, Presentation of ANIRE, Presentation of partner Associations.

11.30-12.30: Presentation of Niger and Conference, Debate

1:30-3:30 pm

1- Nigerien Wrestling Workshop
2 Langa Workshop: 2 persons facing each other try to keep standing on one foot as long as possible
3 Presentation of traditional instruments Workshop
4 Tasting Workshop

From 5 p.m : Food Tasting (grilled meat, Nigerien broiled skewers) , kopto (moringa leaves salad), kilichi ( cured meat), fari massa (sugar fritters), kenkena (niebe fritters), bissap (hibiscus leaves tea).

Culture of Arewa

Marie-Françoise — 2012-11-18T18:34:09Z

The history and culture of the region is very rich.

Our dream

The first contact between the Nigerian population and the first disdainful and cruel colonizing soldiers was disastrous. Now we work at establishing contacts based on exchanges mutual respect and a reconciliation of the local population.

Lougou, origin of Arewa

Several meetings were held at Lougou, Bagaji, and Dogondoutchi to check that the different parts of the Arewa accept recognizing Lougou as the origin of their area. They are ready to inform about its real history with the defeats and betrayals, to build their self-development upon a sound basis.

The data of the history of Lougou were discussed with the inhabitants of the village and the region, and blessed by Saraouniya Aljimma.
The book '“Lougou and Saraouniya” was thus achieved, and later republished by Tarbiyya Tatali with l'Harmattan,

Our achievements and projects

Tarbiyya Tatali has published two book of tales and a book titled Lougou et Saraouniya. and a brochure on the Mission School in Dogondoutchi, In 2015, Chronicle of the Kwanawa is published jointly by Tarbiyya Tatali and L'Harmattan.

The films Tunguma, filmed in 1984, and Tarkama, filmed in 2023, illustrate two important rites of Lougou.

We are planning a book on Bagagi and the Baura.

Accueil azna

Lectures in France and in Niger

Marie-Françoise — 2008-07-25T15:40:04Z

Tarbiya Tatali regularly organizes lectures and gets involved in panel discussionsprograms in Niger and France with different partners. Here are two examples:

Panel discussion “Sarraounia and Lougou”

A debate was organized by the multidisciplinary research group “Literature, Gender and Development, visions and perspectives from Niger” from the Literature and Human Sciences College of the Abdou Moumouni University in close cooperation with the France- Niger cultural center Jean Rouch. More than 120 persons attended this panel discussion..

Marie-Françoise Roy, professor of Mathematics and responsible for one of French branches of the network Tarbiyya Tatali and Bori Zamo, responsible of the NGO RAEDD at Dogon
Doutchi made a presentation of their bookLougou et Saraouniya, . They showed endogenous and exogenous approaches towards Lougou and Saraouniya from the biographical, cultural and historical viewpoint and also from the crucial local development standpoint.

Mahamane Saadou, Professor at the Science College made a presentation about «The Botanist's field work :when scientific research and traditional knowledge meet»

Antoinette Tidjani Alou, professor of comparative literature,
member of the research group « Literature, Gender and Development.
Visions and Perspectives from Niger » made a presentation of a few aspects of enquiries at Lougou and Bagagi related to “Politics seen from above, gender conflicts, view points on development”,

Moderator: Alhada Alkache, assistant professor at the economic and legal sciences Faculty.

Speakers: Boureima Alpha Gado, history assistant professor and
Fatimata Mounkaila, Coordinator of the Research group «
Littérature, Gender and Development. Nigerien Visions and Perspectives »

Chad , the search for our origins

This conference jointly organized by Tarbiya Tatali and the «Espace des Sciences » took place at the Ouest-France center in Rennes on Wednesday November 3^rd , 2004.

The speaker Djimdoumalbaye Ahounta, Chad discoverer of our ancestor Toumaï, is a Professor, and natural sciences graduate, assistant of the Collection, Conservation and Valorization department of the paleontological collections of the Chad national center of support to research (CNAR) .

The talk presented the adventure of the French – Chad team of Michel Brunet which led to the discovery of Toumaï (= hope for life) on July 19, 2001 on site 226 in the Chad desert. It gave the opportunity to see how paleontological research is progressing and to evaluate the contribution of other sciences to the reconstruction of the old environment of hominids in Chad.

Toumai

Toumaï