The Songhai people are an ethnolinguistic group in West Africa who speak the various Songhai languages. Their history and lingua franca is linked to the Songhai Empire which dominated the western Sahel in the 15th and 16th century. Predominantly adherents of Islam, the Songhai are primarily located in Niger and Mali within the Western Sudanic region. Historically, the term "Songhai" did not denote an ethnic or linguistic identity but referred to the ruling caste of the Songhay Empire known as the Songhaiborai. However, the correct term used to refer to this group of people collectively by the natives is "Ayneha". Although some Speakers in Mali have also adopted the name Songhay as an ethnic designation, other Songhay-speaking groups identify themselves by other ethnic terms such as Zarma or Isawaghen. The dialect of Koyraboro Senni spoken in Gao is unintelligible to speakers of the Zarma dialect of Niger, according to at least one report. The Songhay languages are commonly taken to be Nilo-Saharan but this classification remains controversial: Dimmendaal (2008) believes that for now it is best considered an independent language family.
Dakoro is a town and commune located in the Maradi Region of Niger. As of 2012, it had a population of 71,201. It is the capital of the Dakoro Department.
Gaya is a city in the Gaya Department of the Dosso Region of Niger. The city is situated 254 km southeast of the capital, Niamey, is located on the banks of the Niger River, and is near the borders with Benin and Nigeria. Gaya has a population of 63,815. The wettest area in Niger, Gaya averages 800 mm in rainfall a year.
Say (Saayi) is a town in southwest Niger, situated on the Niger River. It is the capital of the Say Department in the Tillabéri Region. Say was a small Songhai town prior to the arrival of the Fulani marabout Alfa Mohamed Diobo in the nineteenth century who converted the town to a center for Islamic learning and established the Emirate of Say. The municipality has 58,290 inhabitants, and its economy is dominated by agriculture, herding and small trade. Today, the inhabitants of Say are mostly Peulh, Songhai and Zarma.
The Zarma people are an ethnic group predominantly found in westernmost Niger. They are also found in significant numbers in the adjacent areas of Nigeria and Benin, along with smaller numbers in Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, and Sudan. In Niger, the Zarma are often considered by outsiders to be of the same ethnicity as the neighboring Songhaiborai, although the two groups claim differences, having different histories and speaking different dialects. They are sometimes lumped together as the Zarma-Songhay or Songhay-Zarma.
Say is a department of the Tillabéri Region in Niger. Its capital city is Say, and includes the towns of Guéladjo, Tamou, and Torodi. It abuts the urban Region of Niamey, and lies across the Niger River to the southwest of the capital. It extends to the Burkina Faso border over 60 km to the west, and the northernmost border with Benin in the south. The Say area is today divided between the riverine valley in the east of the Department, and the more sparsely populated areas to the west, which are intercut with a series of eastward flowing tributaries. The Niger river, a broad shallow channel at Niamey and at Say, passes through a series of gorges and cataracts, called the "W" bend for the shape the river takes, in the south of the Say Department. To the west of these rapids lies what is now the W Regional Park, a sparsely populated area historically plagued by insect borne diseases of both humans and cattle. Now a park and tourist attraction, its history as a "no mans land" has made it a refuge for remaining wild animals, as well as several undisturbed archeological sites. From at least the 16th century CE, the Songhai proper moved south into this area from the north around what is now Tera. The inhabitants at the time were related to the Gourma people, who form most of the population of the northwestern part of the Department today. In the 18th and 19th century, the town of Say was founded by Fulani migrants from the Gao region of modern Mali, with others expanding from what is now northeast Burkina Faso. Between 1810 and the arrival of European writer Heinrich Barth in 1854, Fulani Muslims led by Alfa Mohamed Diobo of Djenné had established the Emirate of Say. The reputation for piety and learning of Mohamed Diobo and his followers helped turn Say from a small river village into a town of 30,000, famed across West Africa as a center of learning.
Téra is a department of the Tillabéri Region in Niger. Its capital lies at the city of Téra. As of 2011, the department had a total population of 579,658 people.
Akoubounou, or Akabinu in the local Tin Sert language, is a village located in the west to the town of Abalak, in the Tahoua Region of Niger.
The Kurtey people are a small ethnic group found along the Niger River valley in parts of the West African nations of Niger, Benin, Mali, and Nigeria. They are also found in considerable numbers in Ghana, Togo, Ivory Coast, and Burkina Faso.
Azarori is a village and rural commune in Niger.
Hamdallaye is a village and rural commune in Niger. In 2012, it had a registered population of 57,002 inhabitants. It is located in the southwest of the country, near the Niger River, the border with Mali and Burkina Faso and the national capital, Niamey. It is the location of a U.S. Peace Corps training site, a weekly market and a mosque.
Harikanassou is a large village and rural commune in the Boboye Department of the Dosso Region of southwest Niger, 90.7 kilometres (56.4 mi) by road southeast of the capital of Niamey. At the time of the 2012 census, the rural community had 23,567 residents living in 3,340 households. Onion cultivation is a chief source of income for many, along with the cultivation of lettuce, beans, squashes, and tomatoes.
Liboré is a rural commune (municipality) in the Kollo Department, Tillabéri Region, in Niger. As of 2012, it had a population of 26,243.
Sinder is a rural commune located in the Tillabéri region of Niger and is home to the Wogo people. The primary language spoken is Wogo ciné, which belongs to the Songlai/Zarma family of languages. The primary occupations in Sinder are agriculture and fishing. Staple crops in the region include rice, maize, pepper, onions, and cereals such as manioc, millet, and sorghum, as well as Okoro during the rainy season.
Tondikandia is a rural commune in Filingué Department, Tillabéri Region, Niger. Its chief place and administrative center is the town of Damana.
Torodi is a small town and a rural commune in Niger. As of 2012, it had a population of 109,342. As a rural center, Torodi hosts a large weekly market and the seat of local tribal authority (canton). Torodi is in the Say Department of the Tillaberi Region, which surrounds the national capital, Niamey. Say Department, with its capital at the large Niger River town of Say, abuts Niamey to the southwest and across the river to the west. The town of Torodi lies about 60 km due west of the city of Say and 50 km east of the border with Burkina Faso. Torodi itself lies on a tributary of the Niger, the Gourbi river.
Boubon is a large village in southwestern Niger, 27.8 km to the northwest of the centre of the capital Niamey.
It lies on the left bank of the Niger River in the Commune of Karma, Department of Kollo, Region of Tillabéry. On the eastern side Boubon is bordered by the sandy bed of an intermittent stream, the Guendiora, that flows into the Niger here. On the northern and western sides, Boubon is hemmed in by low rocky slopes of the Nigérien plateau.
The road from Niamey to Boubon is tarmacked. Facing Boubon on the opposite shore of the Niger River are the villages Béri, Dambou Béri, Sarando Béné and Sarando Ganda.
The Songhaiborai are a distinct subgroup within the larger Songhai ethnolinguistic family. Residing predominantly in Niger's Songhai region, Northern Mali, and a minority presence in Burkina Faso. Notably, they trace their lineage to the ruling dynasties of the ancient Songhai Empire.
Sikié is a Songhai town near Namaro in Niger. Sikié was the place where the defeated Songhai Empire army led by Askia Muhammed Gao installed their base hoping for a possible passage of the Moroccan army.
Koulikoira is a Songhai village in the rural municipality of Gothèye in Niger.
Niger 
