Maiduguri

About Maiduguri

Maiduguri ( my-DOO-guurr-ee) is the capital and the largest city of Borno State in north-eastern Nigeria, on the continent of Africa. The city sits along the seasonal Ngadda River which disappears into the Firki swamps in the areas around Lake Chad. Maiduguri was founded in 1907 as a military outpost by the British Empire during the colonial period. As of 2022, Maiduguri is estimated to have a population of approximately two million people, in the metropolitan area.

The region was home to the Kanem–Bornu Empire for centuries. Maiduguri actually consists of two cities: Yerwa to the West and Old Maiduguri to the east. Yerwa was founded in 1907 by Abubakar Garbai of Borno as the capital of the Bornu Kingdom. The location before that had been a small village known as Kalwa. This involved the transfer of the capital of the Kanuri people from Kukawa.

Old Maiduguri was selected by the British as their military headquarters in 1908, replacing Mafoni. The same year it became the location for the British Resident Commissioner over British Bornu. In 1957, Yerwa became the designated name for the urban centre while 'Maiduguri' was officially applied as the name...

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.