Maghreb Edition

Sahel: Niger labor minister succumbs from Covid-19F

Posted On 5 May 2020

Number of times this article was read : 410

Niamey, May 4, 2020 – The novel coronavirus caused the death of Niger’s minister of employment and labour, Mohamed Ben Omar, public television announced Monday. The minister’s Social Democratic Party (PSD) reported Ben Omar, 55, had died on Sunday at the main hospital in the capital Niamey but did not list the cause. “Alas, it is this terrible disease which took the life of minister Mohamed Ben Omar,” public television Tele Sahel  reported. Before announcing the news, the channel broadcast a recent message from the minister urging workers to protect themselves from the coronavirus.  “COVID-19 is a reality, it’s not a state of mind. It’s deadly. It kills. It spreads at the speed of light,” Mohamed Ben Omar told the station. “We must get a grip of ourselves in order to say ‘stop this virus.’ It is discipline alone that will be the weapon to destroy this virus,” he said. President Mahamadou Issoufou said earlier he had learned the news of his death with a “heavy heart”.

Ben Omar, born January 1, 1965, in the south-central town of Tesker, had led the PSD, which is allied with Issoufou’s Party for Democracy and Socialism. Issoufou’s labour minister since 2017, Ben Omar began his  political life in 1999 under president Mamadou Tandja, serving in parliament or in various ministerial roles in the impoverished Sahel nation. Ben Omar strongly supported a constitutional amendment that allowed Tandja to prolong his second term by three years in 2009, but a military junta overthrew Tandja the following February.

Before he created the PSD, Ben Omar was part of the Rally for Democracy and Progress, the party of Tandja’s predecessor Ibrahim Bare Mainassara, who was assassinated in 1999 by members of his own bodyguard.

Niger has recorded 755 infections of the novel coronavirus, with 37 deaths. The country has already declared a state of emergency as well as closed its borders, places of worship and schools. It has also cut off the capital from the rest of the country.

AFP

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The North Africa Journal is a leading English-language publication focused on North Africa. The Journal covers primarily the Maghreb region and expands its general coverage to the Sahel, Egypt, and beyond, when events in those regions affect the broader North Africa geography. The Journal does not have any affiliation with any institution and has been independent since its founding in 1996. Our position is to always bring our best analysis of events affecting the region, and remain as neutral as humanly possible. Our coverage is not limited to one single topic, but ranges from economic and political affairs, to security, defense, social and environmental issues. We rely on our full staff analysts and editors to bring you best-in-class analysis. We also work with sister company MEA Risk LLC, to leverage the presence on the ground of a solid network of contributors and experts. Information on MEA Risk can be found at www.MEA-Risk.com.