Borgu | |
|---|---|
| Country |  Nigeria, Benin |
| State | Niger State |
| Department | Borgou Department |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (WAT) |
 | |
Borgu is a region in north-west Nigeria and in the northern Republic of Benin. It was partitioned between Great Britain and France by the Anglo-French Convention of 1898. People of Borgu are known as Bariba or Borgawa.
According to the Kisra legend known all over Borgu, the petty kingdoms of the country were founded by Kisra, a hero who according to an oral tradition immigrated from Birnin Kisra ("the town of Kisra") in Arabia.[ citation needed ] His brothers are said to have been the founders of the kingdoms of Illo, Bussa and Nikki.[ citation needed ] Other descendants are believed to have constituted the ruling aristocracy of the Wasangari.[ citation needed ]
During the British colonial era, the area was within the territory claimed by the Royal Niger Company, but rivalry between Britain and France for control of the trade on the River Niger led to occupation of areas by the French, for instance at Illo, and the stationing of the British West African Frontier Force at Yashikera and elsewhere in the region. [1]
The matter was settled by the Anglo-French Delineation Agreement [1] and later the British Government divided Nigeria into Northern and Southern Protectorates. Borgu became part of the Northern Nigeria Protectorate. British posts were established along the Niger River and at Jebba, Zungeru, Lokoja and Illo, and a mail route was established between them for communication with Britain. [2]
In spite of their separation by the colonial border there are still many exchanges between the petty kingdoms of Borgu situated in Benin and Nigeria. The three major kingdoms are Bussa, Illo and Nikki. Bussa is traditionally considered to be the spiritual centre of Borgu, Nikki the centre of political power and Illo the commercial emporium. [3]
State capital: Minna | ||
| Local Government Areas |  | |
These are lists of incumbents, including heads of states or of subnational entities.
The Benin Expedition of 1897 was a punitive expedition by a British force of 1,200 men under Sir Harry Rawson in response to the ambush of a previous British embassy under Acting Consul General James Phillips, of the Niger Coast Protectorate. Rawson's troops captured and sacked Benin City, bringing to an end the Kingdom of Benin, which was eventually absorbed into colonial Nigeria.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of the Northern Nigeria Protectorate.
Southern Nigeria was a British protectorate in the coastal areas of modern-day Nigeria formed in 1900 from the union of the Niger Coast Protectorate with territories chartered by the Royal Niger Company below Lokoja on the Niger River.
The Bussa rebellion, also known as the Boussa rebellion, was a small insurrection in the town of Bussa against the policy of indirect rule in British-ruled Nigeria in June 1915. The rebellion was triggered by the British deposition of the local Emir of Bussa, Kitoro Gani, and his replacement with a Native Administration. The rebels attacked and killed around half of the members of the Administration, while the rest fled, leaving the rebels in control in Bussa. Despite the ongoing Kamerun campaign against the German Empire, the British were able to use a small force of soldiers which quickly suppressed the rebellion incurring no casualties. The Bussa Rebellion was the subject of a major work by British historian Michael Crowder.
Bussa, also known as Boussa in older texts, was the capital of northern Borgu, in northern Nigeria. It was the farthest navigable point on the Niger River, just above the rapids. The town site is now covered by Lake Kainji, which was created in 1968 with the construction of the Lake Kainji dam. The town was re-located to what is now called New Bussa.
Henri-Etienne Bretonnet (1864–1899) was a French naval officer, killed with most of his men in the battle of Togbao.
Colonial Nigeria was ruled by the British Empire from the mid-nineteenth century until 1960 when Nigeria achieved independence. British influence in the region began with the prohibition of slave trade to British subjects in 1807. Britain annexed Lagos in 1861 and established the Oil River Protectorate in 1884. British influence in the Niger area increased gradually over the 19th century, but Britain did not effectively occupy the area until 1885. Other European powers acknowledged Britain's dominance over the area in the 1885 Berlin Conference.
Busa, or Bisã, is the Mande language of the former Borgu Emirate in northwestern Nigeria and northern Benin. It is called Busanci in Hausa, and has also been called Zugweya.
The Bariba people, self designation Baatonu, are the principal inhabitants of Borgou and Alibori Departments, Benin, and cofounders of the Borgu kingdom of what is now northeast Benin and west-central Nigeria. In Nigeria, they are found spread between western Kwara State and the Borgu section of Niger State. There are perhaps a million Bariba, 70% of them in Benin, where they are the fourth largest ethnic group and comprise approximately 1/11 of the population (9.2%). The Bariba are concentrated primarily in the north-east of the country, especially around the city of Nikki, which is considered the traditional Bariba capital. At the end of the 18th century, they became independent from the Yoruba of Oyo and formed several kingdoms in the Borgou region. The colonization of Benin by the French at the end of the 19th century, and the imposition of an Anglo-French artificial border, ended Bariba trade in the region.
Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in Western Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north; its short coastline to the south leads to the Bight of Benin. Its size is just over 110000 km2 with a population of almost 8500000. Its capital is the Yoruba founded city of Porto Novo, but the seat of government is the Fon city of Cotonou. About half the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 per day.
The Kingdom of Benin, also known as the Edo Kingdom or the Benin Empire, was a kingdom within what is now southern Nigeria. It has no historical relation to the modern republic of Benin, which was known as Dahomey from the 17th century until 1975. The Kingdom of Benin's capital was Edo, now known as Benin City in Edo State, Nigeria. The Benin Kingdom was "one of the oldest and most developed states in the coastal hinterland of West Africa". It grew out of the previous Edo Kingdom of Igodomigodo around the 11th century AD, and lasted until it was annexed by the British Empire in 1897.
Nigerian traditional rulers often derive their titles from the rulers of independent states or communities that existed before the formation of modern Nigeria. Although they do not have formal political power, in many cases they continue to command respect from their people and have considerable influence in their community.
The Borgu Emirate is a Nigerian traditional state with its capital in New Bussa, Niger State, Nigeria. The Emirate was formed in 1954 when the Bussa and Kaiama emirates were merged. These emirates, with Illa, were formerly part of the Borgu state, which was partitioned between the French colony of Benin and the British protectorate of Nigeria in 1898.
Bariba, also known as Baatonum, is the language of the Bariba people of Benin and Nigeria and was the language of the state of Borgu.
Boko, or Boo, is a Mande language of Benin and Nigeria.
The Kisra legend is a migration story shared by a number of political and ethnic groups in modern Nigeria, Benin, and Cameroon, primarily the Borgu kingdom and the people of the Benue River valley. The migration legend depicts the arrival of a large military force in what is currently Northern Nigeria around the 7th Century AD. The Borgu kingdom claimed direct descent from the leader of this migration and a number of other polities recognize the migration through ceremony and formal regalia. There are a number of different versions of the legend with Kisra sometimes being depicted as a religious and military rival to Muhammad near Mecca around the time that Islam was founded and sometimes as the remnant forces of a Persian king defeated in Egypt. The legend was a key piece of evidence in a number of Hamitic historical theories which argued that the political development of societies in sub-Saharan Africa was the result of contacts with societies from the Middle East. Whether the legend has a historical basis has been questioned by modern scholarship.
Illo is a town in Kebbi State, Nigeria.
The Benin–Nigeria border is 809 km in length and runs from the tripoint with Niger in the north down to the Bight of Benin in the south.
