Bauchi (earlier Yakoba) is a city in northeast

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, the Administrative center of

Bauchi State Bauchi State (Fula: ''Leydi Bauchi'' 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤦𞤢𞤵𞤷𞥅𞤭) is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Kano and Jigawa to the north, Taraba and Plateau to the south, Gombe and Yobe to the e ...

, of the Bauchi Local Government Area within that State, and of the traditional

Bauchi Emirate The Bauchi Emirate ( Fula: Lamorde Bauchi 𞤤𞤢𞤥𞤮𞤪𞤣𞤫 𞤦𞤢𞤵𞤷𞥅𞤭) was founded by Fula in the early 19th century in what is now Bauchi State, Nigeria, with its capital in Bauchi. The emirate came under British "protect ...

. It is located on the northern edge of the

Jos Plateau The Jos Plateau is a plateau located near the centre of Nigeria. The plateau has given its name to the Plateau State in which it is found and is named for the state's capital, Jos. The plateau is home to people of diverse cultures and languages ...

, at an elevation of 616 m. The Local Government Area covers an area of 3,687 km² and had a population of 493,810 in 2006. Bauchi City is among the twenty Local Government Areas of Bauchi state: Bauchi,

Tafawa Balewa Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (December 1912 – 15 January 1966) was a Nigerian politician who served as the first and only Prime Minister of Nigeria upon independence. Early life Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was born in December 1912 in modern-day B ...

, Dass, Toro,

Bogoro Bogoro is a Local Government Area of Bauchi State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Bogoro. Za’ar or Sayawa people are the majority of its inhabitants. It has an area of and a population of 84,215 at the 2006 census. The postal code ...

, Ningi,

Warji Warji is a Local Government Area of Bauchi State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the town of Warji. It has an area of 625 km and a population of 114,720 at the 2006 census. The postal code A postal code (also known locally in various ...

Ganjuwa Ganjuwa is a Local Government Area of Bauchi State, Nigeria. It was curved out from the Darazo Local Government in September, 1991 and it's bordered with Jigawa State from the North and Gombe State from the South East. The Local Government also ...

Kirfi Kirfi is a Local Government Area of Bauchi State, Nigeria, bordering Gombe State in the east. Its headquarters are in the town of Kirfi (or Kirfin Kasa). The northeasterly line of equal latitude and longitude passes through the LGA. It has an ...

Alkaleri Alkaleri is a Local Government Area of Bauchi State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Alkaleri (or Alkalere) on the A345 highway in the north of the area at. The northeasterly line of equal latitude and longitude passes through the LG ...

Darazo Darazo is a Local Government Area of Bauchi State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Darazo. Many Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, ...

Misau Misau is a Local Government Area of Bauchi State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Misau. It was founded by Hamman Mangan who ruled as an unofficial King for a period of 25 years at around 1850 AD. It has an area of 1,226 km and ...

Giade Giade is a Local Government Area of Bauchi State Bauchi State (Fula: ''Leydi Bauchi'' 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤦𞤢𞤵𞤷𞥅𞤭) is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Kano and Jigawa to the north, Tara ...

, Shira,

Jamaare Jama'are is a Local Government Area of Bauchi State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Jama'are. It has an area of 493 km and a population of 176,883 at the 2006 census. The postal code of the area is 751. It is populated by a Fula ...

Katagum Katagum is a town, a local government area and a traditional emirate in Bauchi State of north eastern Nigeria. The town is located on the northern bank of the Jama'are River, which is a tributary of the Hadejia. Most of the inhabitants are Mu ...

Itas/Gadau Itas/Gadau is a Local Government Area of Bauchi State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Itas Itesiwaju. The town of Gadau is in the east of the area at . It has an area of 1,398 km and a population of 229,996 at the 2006 census. ...

Zaki Zaki (Arabic زكي ) is an Arabic male name (with female form Zakiya) and surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Zaki al-Arsuzi (1899–1998), Syrian politician * Zaki Tun Azmi (born 1945), Malaysian judge * Zaki Badawi (19 ...

Gamawa Gamawa is a Local Government Area of Bauchi State, Nigeria, bordering Yobe State in the east. Its headquarters are in the town of Gamawa. It has an area of 2,925 km and a population of 286,388 at the 2006 census. The predominant ethnic gr ...

and

Damban Damban is a Local Government Area of Bauchi State, Nigeria. Its administrative headquarter is located in the town of Dambam. It has two district Dagauda and Jalam It has an area of 1,077 km and a population of 150,922 at the 2006 census. T ...

History

The city was founded by

Yaqub ibn Dadi Yaqub ibn Ishaq ibn Ibrahim (Arabic: يَعْقُوب ابْنُ إِسْحَٰق ابْنُ إِبْرَاهِيم, literally: "''Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham''" ar, يَعْقُوب , translit=Yaqub; also later ''Israil'', Arabic: إ ...

, the only non-

Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...

flag-bearer of the

Sokoto Empire The Sokoto Caliphate (), also known as the Fulani Empire or the Sultanate of Sokoto, was a Sunni Muslim caliphate in West Africa. It was founded by Usman dan Fodio in 1804 during the Fulani jihads after defeating the Hausa Kingdoms in the Ful ...

. The name was derived from a hunter called Baushe, who advised Yaqub to build his city west of the Warinje mountain. In return Yaqub promised to name his city after the hunter.

Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (December 1912 – 15 January 1966) was a Nigerian politician who served as the first and only Prime Minister of Nigeria upon independence. Early life Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was born in December 1912 in modern-day ...

is buried in the city, while the Yankari National Park is 110 km from the state capital. The city lies on the Port Harcourt –

Maiduguri Maiduguri 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 mil ...

railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

. The Bauchi State Library Board was established in 1976. In July 2009, attacks in Bauchi by Boko Haram following the arrest of some of its members resulted in over 50 people killed and over 100 arrested. After the

2014 Chibok kidnapping On the night of 14–15 April 2014, 276 mostly Christian female students aged from 16 to 18 were kidnapped by the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram from the Government Girls Secondary School at the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria. Pr ...

, over 200 students were transferred to the Federal Government Girls College, Bauchi. The majority were from Federal Government Girls’ College,

Potiskum Potiskum is the largest city in Yobe State and originally the town has about three major tribes which include a Ngizim, bolawa and kara-kare. It is one of the Local Government Area in Yobe State Nigeria, it is on the A3 highway at . History The ...

Yobe State Yobe is a state located in northeastern Nigeria. A mainly agricultural state, it was created on 27 August 1991. Yobe State was carved out of Borno State. The capital of Yobe State is Damaturu; and it's largest and most populated city is Poti ...

Transport

Bauchi was originally served by a

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

light railway A light railway is a railway built at lower costs and to lower standards than typical "heavy rail": it uses lighter-weight track, and may have more steep gradients and tight curves to reduce civil engineering costs. These lighter standards allow ...

, but this was later converted to the normal gauge of . Up until August, 2014, Bauchi was served by Bauchi Airport, located in-town. Scheduled airline service was then transferred to the newly constructed Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa International Airport, north of Bauchi, near the village of Durum.

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Bauchi has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...

, abbreviated "Aw" on climate maps.

Languages

* Gera * Jarawa * Gere * Sayawa (Zaar) * Kir-Balar language, Kir Bengbet and Kir Bajang’le villages *

Zumbun language Zumbun (also rendered ''Jimbin, Jimbinawa'') is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Bauchi State, Nigeria, in Jimbim settlement, Darazo Darazo is a Local Government Area of Bauchi State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Darazo. M ...

, Darazo LGA, Jimbim settlement *

Karai-Karai Karai-Karai (Francophonic spelling: Karekare, Kerrikerri, Ajami: كاراي-كاراي) is a language spoken in West Africa, most prominently North eastern Nigeria. The number of speakers of Karai-Karai is estimated between 1,500,000 to 1,800,00 ...

* Boyawa (Ayah) Bogoro LGA.

Notable people

* John Egbunu (born 1994), Nigerian-born American basketball player for

Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's leadi ...

of the Israeli Basketball Premier League

References