Maiduguri Yerwa |
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Location in Nigeria | |
Coordinates: 11°50′N 13°09′E / 11.833°N 13.150°E | |
Country | Nigeria |
State | Borno State |
Population (2006 census) | |
• Total | 543,016 |
estimate | |
Climate | BSh |
Maiduguri, also called Yerwa by its locals, is the capital and the largest city of Borno State in north-eastern Nigeria. 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 and has since grown rapidly with a population exceeding a million by 2007.
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. Old Maiduguri was selected by the British as their military headquarters while Yerwa was selected at approximately the same time by Shehu Abubakar Garbai of Borno to replace Kukawa as the new traditional capital of the Kanuri people.
Maiduguri is one of the sixteen LGAs that constitute the Borno Emirate, a traditional state located in Borno State, Nigeria.
Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot semi-arid (BSh).
The highest record temperature was 47 °C (117 °F) on 28 May 1983, while the lowest record temperature was 5 °C (41 °F) on 26 December 1979.
Maiduguri is estimated to have a population of 1,907,600, as of 2007. Its residents are mostly Muslim including Kanuri, Hausa, Shuwa, Bura, Marghi, and Fulani ethnic groups. There is also a considerable Christian population and people from Southern states such as the Igbo, Ijaw, and Yoruba.