From Africa around the World.: The Curfew has been lifted, only a day after Niger's coup.

By, Uwe Paschen.

The coup is over, the curfew has been lifted, Niger has a new government, a military government that is. Its new President is Squadron chief Salou Djibo. This is not the first coup that Niger had to endure and maybe it wont be the last either.

However, unlike other coups, this one had minimal causalities, only 10 people are reported to have died so far. All but three Ministers have been released and went home.

It is said that the remaining prisoners would be freed in a couple of days. Col Goukoye Abdul Karimou, earlier told the press that President Mamadou Tandja was "safe and well".

His faith is uncertain though, the options are numerous, from exile, to a trial, no one can say at this point.

However, Niger is not in the habit of executing its Presidents as a rule, it is most likely that Tandja will either be send into exile or empoisoned has Hamani Diori was, whose administration was rife with corruption, and unable to implement the much-needed reforms to ease the widespread famine brought on by the Sahelian drought of the early 1970s.

On 15 April 1974, Lieutenant colonel Seyni Kountché led the military coup that ended Diori's rule and made Kountche President of Niger. Hamani Diori was imprisoned for six years. After his release in 1980, he remained under house arrest until 1987.

After his release from house arrest, he moved to Morocco, where he died on 23 April 1989 at the age of 72.

Tandja who has now been removed from power by force, ruled Niger has Diori did, suspending democratic rights and ruling by decree. He plunged Niger into famine are disarray; all the wile oppressing all those that opposed him.

Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the outgoing president of the regional bloc, saw Mr Tandja as a threat to West African democracy and submitted evidence against Niger that led the European Union to discontinue aid to Niamey.

Niger may very well see a rapid restoration of its democratic system, for one there seems to be no opposition to the coup with in the population at large. Further, all seems to be back to normal only a day after the coup wish suggest that no one seemed to be fearful nor in disaccord with the Military coup leaders.

On the other hand, many in Niger long for another Lieutenant Colonel Seyni Kountché who surprised many through out Africa and Europe for his dedication to the Country of Niger and its entire citizen. All though he was a Dictator, he was the one that in1984 established the commission that drafted a pre-constitutional document, termed a 'national charter'. This lead to the Constitution Wish Tandja suspended last summer and that in part gave cause for this latest coup that was executed yesterday.

Wile Niger is struggling to bring justice, equality and democracy to all Citizen, the stock market in New-York seems to worry solely about the Uranium mining operation, especially since Niger is today the World third largest producer and exporter of Uranium and by 2012 is projected to become the world largest Uranium producer.

There are those in Niger that wish there was no Uranium at all, especially the Tuareg seem to feel that way.

BBC News Video. : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8524610.stm