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. [1] 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.
In 1806, British explorer Mungo Park drowned in Bussa while on his second expedition to trace the course of the Niger River. During 1894-1898 its possession was disputed by Great Britain and France. [1] In 1897, Bussa became part of the British Niger Coast protectorate.
The French Occupation of Bussa and Borgu has been recorded in the book Campaigning on the upper Nile and Niger by Seymour Vandeleur (i.e. Cecil Foster Seymour), published in 1898. In 1915, an uprising took place in Bussa against the British policy of indirect rule.
Richard Lander (1804–1834) an explorer relates that after the death of Mungo Park the inhabitants of Bussa were attacked by a raging epidemic, which was regarded as a visitation from heaven. "Take care not to touch the whites lest you perish like the people..."
The Niger River is the main river of West Africa, extending about 4,180 km (2,600 mi). Its drainage basin is 2,117,700 km2 (817,600 sq mi) in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, Niger, on the border with Benin and then through Nigeria, discharging through a massive delta, known as the Niger Delta, into the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. The Niger is the third-longest river in Africa, exceeded by the Nile and the Congo River. Its main tributary is the Benue River.
Mungo Park was a Scottish explorer of West Africa. After an exploration of the upper Niger River around 1796, he wrote a popular and influential travel book titled Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa in which he theorized the Niger and Congo merged to become the same river, though it was later proven that they are different rivers. He was killed during a second expedition, having successfully travelled about two-thirds of the way down the Niger.
Niger is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria and the largest state in the country. Niger state has three political zones, zone A,B and C. The state's capital is at Minna. Other major cities are Bida, Kontagora and Suleja. It was formed in 1976 when the then North-Western State was divided into Niger State and Sokoto State. It is home to Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar, two of Nigeria's former military rulers. The Nupe, Gbagyi, Kamuku, Kambari, Gungawa, Hun-Saare, Hausa and Koro form the majority of numerous indigenous tribes of Niger State.
Kwara State, is a state in Western Nigeria, bordered to the east by Kogi State, to the north by Niger state, and to the south by Ekiti, Osun, and Oyo states, while its western border makes up part of the international border with Benin Republic. Its capital is the city of Ilorin and the state has 16 local government areas.
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.
Kainji Lake, in North Central Nigeria, is a reservoir on the Niger River, formed by the Kainji Dam. It was formed in 1968 and is a part of Niger State and Kebbi State. Kainji Lake National Park (KNLP), situated around the lake, is Nigeria's oldest National Park, established in 1976.
Kainji National Park is a national park in Niger State and Kwara State, Nigeria. Established in 1978, it covers an area of about 5,341 km2 (2,062 sq mi). The park includes three distinct sectors: a part of the Kainji Lake in which fishing is restricted, the Borgu Game Reserve to the west of the lake, and the Zugurma Game Reserve to the southeast.
New Bussa is a town in Niger State, Nigeria. It is the new site of Bussa after the Kainji Lake dam set the previous location underwater. As of 2007 New Bussa had an estimated population of 24,449. New Bussa is the headquarters of the Borgu Emirate and the Borgu Local Government Area.
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.
Henri-Etienne Bretonnet (1864–1899) was a French naval officer, killed with most of his men in the battle of Togbao.
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.
Mariga is a Local Government Area in Niger State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Bangi in the north of the area. Other towns in the LGA are Igwama and Inkwai. Various endangered Kamuku languages are spoken in Mariga LGA.
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.
The Borgu Local Government Area is an administrative region in Niger State, Nigeria, one of 25 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in that state, with headquarters in the town of New Bussa. The postal code is 913. The Borgu LGA was formerly part of Kwara State, but on 27 August 1991 it was transferred to Niger State.
The Borgu Game Reserve is a section of the Kainji National Park, in the Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State and Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State, Nigeria. It is bordered on the east by Kainji Lake and reaches almost to the border with Benin to the west, covering 397,002 hectares. It was amalgamated with the Zugurma Game Reserve in 1975 to form the Kainji Lake National Park.
The Zugurma Game Reserve is a section of the Kainji National Park, in the Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State, Nigeria. It is bordered by the Kontagora River to the northwest and the Manyara River to the north, and covers an area of 138,500 hectares. It was amalgamated with the Borgu Game Reserve in 1975 to form the Kainji Lake National Park.
Reshe is the most divergent of the Kainji languages of Nigeria. It is spoken on the northern and southern sides of Kainji Lake. It is spoken in Yauri LGA, Kebbi State, and in Borgu LGA, Niger State.
Illo is a town in Kebbi State, Nigeria.
The enclaves of Forcados and Badjibo were two territories close to the river Niger, in modern Nigeria, leased to France by the United Kingdom under the Anglo-French Convention of 1898. They were obtained by France after several expeditions along the Niger, by Hourst (1894), Granderye (1898–99), Toutée, and Lenfant. France wanted to determine whether its colonies in French Sudan could more easily be supplied upstream along the Niger rather than via the traditional Dakar route.
Coordinates: 10°19′N4°36′E / 10.317°N 4.600°E
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