Kantche

Region

Kantché is a rural commune in Niger and formally the capital of the department Kantché.

Geography

Kantché is located at the junction of the Sahel to large landscape Sudan. The neighboring municipalities are Garagoumsa in the north, Ichirnawa in the northeast, Matamèye the southeast, Tsaouni in the south, southwest and Korgom Daouché in the northwest. The municipality is divided into 42 administrative villages, 16 villages and 43 hamlets traditional. The main town of the country church is the administrative village Kantché.

History

Kantché was at the beginning of the 19th century, a province of Katsina. 1812 conquered by the Fulani the kingdom, but had in 1819 after several battles the North Katsina give up. There, a first independent state formed out of Maradi. The ruler of Maradi gave the credit for making him the Sultan of Zinder had given asylum in the chaos of war, Kantché and Korgom the Sultanate of Zinder. Ténimoun Sultan of Zinder continued Dan Balhadé one as his governor in Kantché, who founded a dynasty there.

The French colonial administration made ​​Kantché to the main town of a canton of the same name, which belonged to the district Magaria. The management of a canton was responsible for a local Canton Chef ( chef traditionnel ). In 1954, the territory of the canton Kantché from the district Magaria was removed and a separate, underlying an administrative level above the Canton district. Since the local chef of the Canton traditionnel Kantché no higher-ranking colonial official who should manage the district, but wanted to have in the same place, he moved to his official residence in the village lying seven kilometers Matamèye, while he himself remained in the village Kantché. So Matamèye was instead of Kantché to the main town of the district, the district was now Matamèye. During the Canton Kantché persisted unchanged in 1964 showed the district Matamèye and 1998, the Department Matamèye with extended self-government from the district Matamèye.

As capital Matamèye had benefited from numerous infrastructural measures. The canton chief of Kantché tried to correct a perceived as such historical errors and enforce Kantché as the capital of the new department. In fact, he succeeded yet the end of 1998: The Department Matamèye was officially in department Kantché - with Kantché as its capital - renamed. However, the authorities of the department were never moved to Kantché not least for lack of money and so remained Matamèye de facto the departmental capital. In 2002, the territory of the then still existing canton Kantché was divided into nine newly created municipalities in the course of further administrative reform as well. The place Kantché not received it as the only departmental capital of Niger, the status of a municipality, but the a rural community. The de facto capital Matamèye, however, was elevated to municipality.

Population

At the 2001 census Kantché had 36,608 inhabitants. For the year 2010 49.706 inhabitants were calculated. In Kantché members of the mainly agriculture based Hausa subgroup Katsinawa live. Specializing in Agropastoralismus are the Fulani subgroups Daourawa and Tchilanko'en and the Tuareg subgroups Iguimirdan and Tafazarak. In addition, members of the Fulani live subgroup Tountoumankej in the municipality who practice mainly remote pasture.

Economy and infrastructure

In Kantché is a 1953 Opened school where many later politicians and diplomats of the country received their basic education. Kantché is located on the National Road 10, which leads to the border with Nigeria.

Personalities

• Amadou Issaka (1924-2004), politician, minister and chief of Canton Kantché