Maiduguri or Yerwa is the capital of
Borno StateBorno State is a state in north-eastern Nigeria. Its capital is Maiduguri. The state was formed in 1976 from the split of the North-Eastern State. Until 1991 it contained what is now Yobe State.-Role of the emirs:...
in
NigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal Capital Territory. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger...
and sits along the
Ngadda RiverThe Ngadda River is a river in Nigeria that flows into Lake Chad and the Chad Basin. The Alau dam built on the river has interfered with fertile seasonal floodplains in the region of Maiduguri....
. It was founded in 1907 as a military outpost by the British.
The region was the home to Kanem-Bornu Empire for centuries. The city was founded in 1907 as a military outpost by the British. The city eventually grew into one of the largest cities in Northern Nigeria.
Maiduguri is estimated to have a population of 1,197,497 by 2009 as of 2007..
Maiduguri or Yerwa is the capital of
Borno StateBorno State is a state in north-eastern Nigeria. Its capital is Maiduguri. The state was formed in 1976 from the split of the North-Eastern State. Until 1991 it contained what is now Yobe State.-Role of the emirs:...
in
NigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal Capital Territory. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger...
and sits along the
Ngadda RiverThe Ngadda River is a river in Nigeria that flows into Lake Chad and the Chad Basin. The Alau dam built on the river has interfered with fertile seasonal floodplains in the region of Maiduguri....
. It was founded in 1907 as a military outpost by the British.
History
The region was the home to Kanem-Bornu Empire for centuries. The city was founded in 1907 as a military outpost by the British. The city eventually grew into one of the largest cities in Northern Nigeria.
Demographics
Maiduguri is estimated to have a population of 1,197,497 by 2009 as of 2007.. Its citizens are mostly
MuslimIslam Islam Islam ( al-’islām,
[There are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is or , and whether the a is pronounced as in father, as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) as in the a of sofa...]
and consist of Kanuri,(Shuwa) Arab, Bura and other smaller ethnic groups.There is also a considerable Christian population.
Economy
Maiduguri is home to two
marketA market is any one of a variety of different systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby persons trade, and goods and services are exchanged, forming part of the economy. It is an arrangement that allows buyers and sellers to exchange things...
s, a
museumA museum is a building or institution which houses a collection of artifacts.Museums collect and care for objects of scientific, artistic, or historical importance and make them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary...
and is served by the
Maiduguri International AirportMaiduguri International Airport is an airport serving Maiduguri, a city in the Borno State of Nigeria....
. Maiduguri has one of the best-equipped universities and hospitals in Nigeria, the
University of MaiduguriThe University of Maiduguri is located in Maiduguri, a city in Borno State in northeast Nigeria. The university was created by the federal government in 1975, with the intention of its becoming one of the country's principal higher-education institutions...
. It is home to the
El-Kanemi WarriorsEl-Kanemi Warriors is a soccer team based in Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria. They play at El-Kanemi Stadium. They ended their 2005 season in the lower half of the Nigeria Premier League.They were relegated to the Nigeria Division 1 in 2007....
, a football team.
Maiduguri is the principal trading hub for northeastern Nigeria. Its economy is largely based on services and trade with a small share of manufacturing. The city lies at the end of a
railway lineDecaying infrastructure is one of the deficiencies that Nigeria’s National Economic Empowerment Development Strategy seeks to address. The government has begun to repair the country’s poorly maintained road network. Because Nigeria’s railways are in a parlous condition, the government is trying...
connecting
Port HarcourtPort Harcourt is the capital city of Rivers State, Nigeria. It lies along the Bonny River and is located in the Niger Delta. The population of Port Harcourt is estimated at 1,620,214 , the Port Harcourt Urban area is 2.7 million while the Greater Port Harcourt Area is almost 5.7 million in...
,
EnuguEnugu is the capital city of Enugu State, Nigeria. It has a population of 2,388,862 . The people of Enugu belong largely to the Igbo ethnic group, which is one of the three largest ethnic groups in Nigeria...
,
KafanchanKafanchan is a town in southern Kaduna State in north-central Nigeria. It is the location of a junction station of the Nigerian Railway Corporation,and it sits on the line connecting Port Harcourt, Enugu, Kafanchan, Kuru, Bauchi, and finally Maiduguri....
,
KuruKuru is a town in Nigeria.- See also :* Railway stations in NigeriaKuru was established in 1838, when the first railway that was designed in 1943 was built there in 2004.- External links :*...
,
BauchiBauchi is a city in northeast Nigeria and the capital of Bauchi State. It has a population of 316,173 .- History :It was founded by Yaqub ibn Dadi, the only non-Fulani flag-bearer of the Sokoto Empire. The name was derived from a hunter called Baushe, who advised Yaqub to build his city west of...
, and finally Maiduguri.
Communal violence
Several times since the mid 1960s, Maidugri has witnessed outbreaks of large scale ethnic or religious violence. Ethnic and political rivalries caused rioting between rival political supporters in 1966 and 1974, while members of religious sects led intercomunal violence in 1982 and 2001. On 18 February 2006,
riotA riot is a form of civil disorder characterized by disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against people or property. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are typically chaotic and exhibit herd behavior.Riots often occur in reaction to a...
s related to the
Prophet Muhammad cartoonsThe Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after twelve editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005...
published by the Danish newspaper
Jyllands-PostenMorgenavisen Jyllands-Posten , commonly shortened to Jyllands-Posten or JP, is a Danish daily broadsheet newspaper. It is based in Viby, a suburb of Århus, and with a weekday circulation of approximately 125,096 copies, it is the largest-selling newspaper in Denmark...
left at least 8 people dead, and resulted in the destruction of approximately 12 churches.
Maiduguri was also a scene of major religious violence throughout Northeast Nigeria committed by an Islamist group,
Boko HaramBoko Haram is a Nigerian militant Islamist group that seeks the imposition of Shariah law throughout all 36 states of Nigeria....
, in July 2009, leading to over 700 dead.
External links