Maiduguri

Maiduguri, also called Yerwa or Yerwa-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 centre 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.