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Niger's Outgoing President Wins Coveted Mo Ibrahim Prize
Niger's Outgoing President Wins Coveted Mo Ibrahim Prize
Ibrahim prize
Mahamadou Issoufou awarded the 2020 Ibrahim Prize for leading his people on a ‘path of progress’.
8 Mar 2021
Mahamadou Issoufou, who is stepping down as president of coup-prone Niger after two terms in office,
has won Africa’s top prize for leadership.
Issoufou was awarded the 2020 Ibrahim Prize on Monday for facing “seemingly insurmountable
challenges”, ranging from deep poverty to armed rebellion and desertification.
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Despite these enduring problems, “Issoufou has led his people on a path of progress”, said a statement
by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation’s award committee chairman Festus Mogae, who is also a former
president of Botswana.
“Today, the number of Nigeriens living below the poverty line has fallen to 40 percent, from 48 percent
a decade ago,” the statement said.
“While challenges remain, Issoufou has kept his promises to the Nigerien people and paved the way for
a better future.”
Issoufou is the sixth recipient of the award. The prize has not been awarded in some years because of a
lack of a suitable winner.
Past winners include former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and South African apartheid
fighter and former President Nelson Mandela, both of whom were also Nobel Peace laureates.
Winners receive $5m over 10 years.
Niger is the world’s poorest nation, according to the UN’s benchmark of human development, and is
struggling with soaring population growth.
It is also fighting two armed rebellions that have forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.