TRIBES IN BORNO STATE

Borno state is a very important state in NorthEast geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The state was created on the 3rd of February, 1976
by the Murtala Mohammed military
administration. The name Borno was gotten from the old Bornu Empire, one of the ancient
empires of Nigeria. The capital of the state is Maiduguri. Maiduguri has been the capital of the
state since 1907 when the British incorporated Borno into the Northern
Protectorate of Nigeria.
Borno
state is a multi-tribal state with the Kanuri tribe as the most dominant tribe. Read along as I introduce you to some of the tribes in Borno state
below.

Kanuri

The Kanuri are
the largest tribe in Borno state. They are believed to have originated from Bornu-Kanem Empire.
The Kanuri people trace their origin to Yemen and they are the descendants of Saifawa. The Kanuri people
can be found in Niger republic, Chad and Cameroun but most of them are found in
the North Eastern part of Nigeria with Borno state as their headquarters. There are about 6,980,000
Kanuri people in the world with over 4 million of them living in Nigeria. The
main religion practiced by the Kanuri people is the Islamic religion. The
Kanuri people have many traditional festivals which they still practice
till-date. One of the most popular festivals observed by the people is the
horse-riding festival that is done annually.

Babur

Like the
Kanuri, t
he Babur people are believed to have originated from Yemen in the Middle East to the Nile
valley in 600AD. They are said to have passed through Sudan to their present home in Borno state.  They are currently living in Biu, Bayo, Shani, Hawul,
KwayaKusar LGAs of Borno state. The people have settlement in many villages in
the state. The villages include Kida, Marama, Gwaski, Diragina, Yimana, Tiraku, Buratai, Sakwa etc. Any Babur man or woman can be spotted
in public because of their intonation and inclination. The total population of
the Babur people is estimated to be around 250,000. They dress and behave like
the Hausa people, and
are mostly Muslims.

Chibok

The Chibok tribe became famous worldwide following the case of over 250 of secondary
school girls that were kidnapped by the Boko Haram Insurgents in 2014. The Chibok people came to
their present location in Chibok LGA of Borno state when the Kanem-Bornu Empire was disintegrating in
the 18th century. The language spoken by the Chibok people is known
as Kibaku. Majority of the people of Chibok are Christians with a few Muslims.The
major occupation of the people is farming. Their population is estimated to be about 60,000. The people don’t
have any ruler. The Chibok people are regarded as some of the bravest people in Nigeria.

Kanakuru

The Kanakuru Tribe is one of the tribes that have their
settlement in Biu LGA of Borno state. The people have identical cultures and
traditional beliefs with the Hausa people. The Kanakuru delicacies are mostly
made from maize and millet. There are about 60,000 Kanakuru people in Nigeria.
The most popular religion practiced by the people is the Christian religion.

Kamwe

The Kamwe people are sometimes referred to as Higi especially by their
Marghi neighbors. Over 70% of the Kamwe are found in Michika LGA of Adamawa state. Some of them are
also found in Gwoza and Askira Uba
LGAs of Borno state. The Kamwe tribe has many dialects spoken by the
people but the most common are
Nkafa, Fwea, Sina and Dakwa. The most spoken of all the dialects is
Nkafa which is used by the locals for business purposes and to communicate
amongst themselves. The traditions of the Kamwe people are very important to
them as they still practice most of them till date. There are about 60,000 of
Kamwe people living in Nigeria.

Marghi

The Marghi people are part of the Biu–Mandara family. They
are found in Biu, Gwoza and Damboa LGAs of Borno state. The Marghi kingdom has
about 70 clans. Their major occupations include hunting, crafting, trading and
farming. The main occupation of a Marghi man is farming, that is why a man may
marry more than one wife
and have many children who
can assist him in farm
works. There are about 221,000 Marghi people.

Fulani

The origin of the Fulani people is not really known but they
have strong links to the Middle East. The Fulani people don’t have any
particular settlement or location because they are mostly nomadic cattler rearers. Most
of the Fulani people in Nigeria are believed to have migrated from Chad. The
Fulani people are seen in almost every parts of Borno state where their major priority is to find grasses and water for
their cattle.

2 thoughts on “TRIBES IN BORNO STATE”

  1. Abdulrahman Kalli

    A very Insightful read, i want to see more of the Borno cultures. It might be helpful to point of the absence of Shuwa of Ngala, Mulwai, Malang, Waja, Mafa etc of the list of tribes

    1. The Arabs and many other tribes are not on the list, Borno state is not a kanuri state, the state is culturally diversified

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