NIAMEY - Niger's President Mamdou Tandja and his cabinet joined thousands of Muslims who flocked to mosques on Wednesday to pray for rain and assuage "divine discontent" they fear may bring famine.
Religious leaders said God was punishing the West African country by withholding seasonal rains and urged believers to hasten a downpour by confessing their sins, hoping to avert the repeat of a food crisis that left millions hungry last year.
"These droughts are an expression of divine discontent. There are too many sins and God wants to bring us to order," said Imam Moussa Zada, a preacher in the east of Niamey. "We must submit to his will if we want to prosper."
Subsistence farmers have started to worry about a late start to the rainy season and Muslim leaders have called for mass prayers after the 2004-05 harvest was devasted by drought, leaving some 3.6 million people short of food last year.
Niger's national weather service says it expects rains needed for this year's crops soon. But almost a month after the rains were due to start, peasants and farmers are getting nervous.
The National Islamic Council (CIN) rallied at least 2,000 Muslims, to Niamey's main mosque for special prayers on Wednesday, and other towns and villages held similar meetings.
"We invite the faithful to repeat their prayers every week until the rains come in abundance in this country," said religious leader Cheick Ismael Oumarou of the CIN.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
