- Also called:
- Yerwa or Yerwa-Maiduguri
Maiduguri
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What is Maiduguri?
Maiduguri is the capital and largest city in Borno state, northeastern Nigeria. Modern Maiduguri is made up of twin towns, Yerwa and Maiduguri. Yerwa was established in 1907 as the traditional capital for the Kanuri people, while Maiduguri was selected by the British as a military headquarters.
The city is a key commercial center in northeastern Nigeria, trading livestock, hides, leather products, dried fish, and gum arabic. Maiduguri is also an important industrial and educational center, home to the University of Maiduguri and other colleges. The city is dominated by the palace and mosque of the shehu of Bornu and lies on the historic pilgrim route to Mecca.
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Where is Maiduguri located in Nigeria?
Maiduguri is the capital and largest city in Borno state, northeastern Nigeria. It lies along the seasonal Ngadda (Alo) River, whose waters disappear into the "black cotton" swamps of Lake Chad, northeast of the city.
Maiduguri is the main industrial center of Borno state. It has an airport and is served by a railway to Bauchi and the south, as well as by trunk roads to Potiskum, Bauchi, Yola, and Ndjamena (Chad).
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Why is Maiduguri important in Nigeria?
Maiduguri is the capital and largest city in Borno State, northeastern Nigeria. Modern Maiduguri is made up of twin towns, Yerwa and Maiduguri. Yerwa was established in 1907 as the traditional capital of the Kanuri people, while Maiduguri was selected by the British as their military headquarters in 1908.
The arrival of the railway in 1964 increased Maiduguri’s importance as the chief commercial center of northeastern Nigeria. The city is also an important industrial and educational center, with facilities such as the University of Maiduguri (1975), Ramat Polytechnic, and the Lake Chad Research Institute.
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What is the climate like in Maiduguri?
Maiduguri has a variable climate. The mean monthly maximum temperature can exceed 100 °F (38 °C) during the hottest months of April and May; frosts may occur at night during the same season. Humidity is generally high but falls during the harmattan, the hot, dry northeast trade wind, which blows for more than three months in the north but rarely for more than two weeks along the coast. Nigeria has a tropical climate with variable rainy and dry seasons, depending on location.
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Which people and cultures are found in Maiduguri?
Maiduguri is the capital and largest city of Borno state in northeastern Nigeria. The city is made up of the twin towns of Yerwa and Maiduguri.
The population of Maiduguri mainly consists of Muslim Kanuri and Shuwa peoples, along with Christian Nigerians from the south. The Kanuri people are the central fragment of the old Bornu empire.
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What challenges has Maiduguri faced in recent years?
Maiduguri, Nigeria, has faced significant challenges in recent years, primarily due to the presence of Boko Haram, an Islamic militant group known for violence, which has disrupted regular activities in the city and surrounding areas since 2009. Boko Haram's attacks have increased in frequency and magnitude, targeting police, military, government, Christian churches, schools, and Muslim individuals critical of the group. The group has also bombed large towns and cities, raided villages, and terrorized civilians.
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Maiduguri, capital and largest city of Borno state, northeastern Nigeria. It is located along the seasonal Ngadda (Alo) River, the waters of which disappear in the firki (“black cotton”) swamps of Lake Chad, northeast of the city.
Modern Maiduguri actually comprises the twin towns of Yerwa and Maiduguri. In 1907 Yerwa was founded on the site of the hamlet of Kalwa and was named by Shehu (“Sheikh” or “Sultan”) Bukar Garbai as the new traditional capital of the Kanuri people (replacing Kukawa, 80 miles [130 km] north-northeast, the former capital of the Bornu kingdom [see Kanem-Bornu]). Meanwhile, the market village of Maiduguri, just to the south, was selected by the British to replace nearby Mofoni (Maifoni, Mafoni) as their military headquarters, and, in 1908, they built a residency in what then became the capital of British Bornu. The combined city—locally called Yerwa—was divided into the urban district of Yerwa and the rural district of Maiduguri in 1957, but outside Borno both political units are now known simply as Maiduguri.
The arrival of the railway in 1964 reinforced Maiduguri’s importance as the chief commercial centre of northeastern Nigeria. Livestock (mainly cattle but also goats and sheep), cattle hides, goatskins and sheepskins, finished leather products, dried fish (brought from Lake Chad), and gum arabic are the city’s chief exports, and there is also local trade in sorghum, millet, corn (maize), peanuts (groundnuts), and rice. There is a large cattle ranch at nearby Gombole, and there is poultry farming in the surrounding countryside. The Monday market at Yerwa, a tradition brought from Kukawa, is the largest in the state.
Maiduguri’s population consists mainly of Muslim Kanuri and Shuwa peoples with an admixture of Christian Nigerians from the south. Since the mid-1960s the city has become an important industrial and educational center for Borno state. Besides food-processing facilities, its industries manufacture leather goods, wooden and metal furniture, nails, and aluminum and steel structural products.
Educational facilities include the University of Maiduguri (1975), Ramat Polytechnic, Borno State College of Legal and Islamic Studies, and Kashim Ibrahim College of Education. The university operates a teaching hospital, and there is also a general hospital in the city. The Lake Chad Research Institute is located in Maiduguri.
The city is dominated by the palace and adjacent mosque of the shehu of Bornu, an important traditional Muslim leader in Nigeria. The city lies astride the historic pilgrim route from Senegal to Mecca. It is the terminus for the main railway line linking northeastern Nigeria to Port Harcourt. Served by the main highway system, it is a hub for secondary highways serving the state. There is an airport located 5.5 miles (9 km) west of Maiduguri. Since 2009 regular activities in the city and surrounding areas have been disrupted by the presence of Boko Haram, an Islamic militant group known for committing acts of violence. Pop. (2016 est.) urban agglom., 1,065,000.