A country twice the size of France whose desert landscape often fails to feed its fast-growing population, Niger was for years propped up by the oil-fueled largesse of Muammar Qaddafi in everything from agriculture to tourism.

Now, while many Nigerians are unsettled by the conflict next door and the prospect of Libyans fleeing across its border, for some the upheaval in the north is just another chance to profit.

“When they hear Libyan, they see money,” said Boubacar Diallo, head of the country’s media federation.

“There are many empty villas around Niamey, all well equipped and mostly rented out when there is a big event in town. This is the kind of opportunity they had been waiting for,” Diallo said.

The “big event” this week was the arrival in the capital Niamey of top Qaddafi loyalists including the chief of security brigades Mansour Dhao. More are due shortly in the shape of three of Qaddafi’s generals who fled across the border and turned up in the northern town of Agadez on Thursday.

Niger has cited humanitarian grounds to grant them refuge, at an undisclosed location believed to be in Niamey’s plush villa district. But it has pledged to respect commitments to the International Criminal Court if Qaddafi himself, wanted by the ICC, shows up.

That has not stopped street gossip that Qaddafi, along with his billions, may already be in the country — speculation that the government has firmly and repeatedly denied.
 

Such rumors may be expected in a country where average income stands at $2 a day and which has been battered over the years by a cruel mix of drought, rebellion, corruption and, most recently, Al-Qaeda-sponsored militancy.

Historically a crossroads in the Sahara where nomads met sedentary populations to trade in everything from slaves to salt, gold and ivory, Niger was for centuries also the field of battle for some of Africa’s pre-colonial kingdoms.

The arrival of European travelers in the 19th century led to six decades of French colonialism. A new start beckoned with independence in 1960, but recent decades have been marred by the on-off rebellions of Tuaregs who wander the deserts of Niger, Mali and Libya.

The ancient trade in salt and slaves has been replaced by the uranium industry of northern Niger on which the French nuclear sector relies, and more bleakly by the trafficking of Western hostages for ransom by local allies of Al-Qaeda.

The 11-year rule of Mamadou Tandja, including his mishandling of a 2005 hunger crisis and the suspension of most US aid over democratic failings, ended abruptly in February 2010 with a military coup quietly applauded by many abroad.

The applause grew louder a year on when the junta staged a presidential election won by ex-premier Mahamadou Issoufou, who is promising to tackle graft, use the uranium riches to benefit the poor, and who in 2012 will see Niger’s first oil pumped.

Despite the chaos next door, life for Niamey’s nearly 1.5 million residents continues as usual as baptism and marriage ceremonies regulate weekend life, and the rainy season swells the banks of the River Niger to near bursting point.

But the Libyan conflict is an undoubted headache for the government, which wants good relations with its neighbor’s new rulers while not disavowing those in Qaddafi’s inner circle with longstanding ties to the Nigerien political elite.

Issoufou’s cabinet director Massaoudou Hassoumi said the government had decided to schedule regular news conferences to try and quell the rumor mill.

On the street, some in Niamey think it is time the country started stepping out from under Libya’s shadow.

“If the government wants the country to be safe, all I can say is that they (Libyans) should not stay here,” said butcher Souleiman Boubacar. “The government should send them elsewhere. If not, they will create problems.”