The Dikwa Emirate is one of the successor states to the old

Bornu Empire Bornu may refer to: * Bornu Empire, a historical state of West Africa * Borno State Borno State is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Yobe to the west, Gombe to the southwest, and Adamawa to the south while it ...

, a traditional state within Borno State,

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 ...

. It was established in 1901 at the start of the colonial period after the Bornu empire had been partitioned between the British, French and Germans.

History

The old Bornu Empire, collapsed in 1893 when the

Shuwa Arab The Baggāra ( ar, البَقَّارَة "heifer herder") or Chadian Arabs are a nomadic confederation of people of mixed Arab and Arabized indigenous African ancestry, inhabiting a portion of the Sahel mainly between Lake Chad and the Nile ...

Rabeh Zubayr ibn Fadl Allah seized power and transferred the capital to

Dikwa Dikwa is a town located in Borno State, Nigeria. History of Dikwa Dikwa used to be part of the kingdom of Borno before being captured by Rabih in 1893. The latter had the place fortified and Dikwa became the capital of his kingdom from 1893 ...

. After the French, then expanding in West Africa, defeated and killed Rabih they installed Shehu Sanda Kura, a member of the old Bornu dynasty, as the first Shehu of Borno in Dikwa in 1900. In 1901 they replaced him by his brother Umar Abubakar Garbai, ancestor of the current Emirs of Borno. Based on a treaty between the French, Germans and British, the old Bornu was split up and Dikwa became part of the German colony of Cameroon. The British invited Umar Abubakar Garbai to become ruler of the British portion, and he moved in 1902 first to Monguno and later to

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 ...

. The Germans installed Abubakar's brother, Shehu Sanda Mandara, in his place in Dikwa. On his death in 1917 he was succeeded by Shehu Sanda Kyarimi. Dikwa was transferred to the British in 1918 after the German defeat in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Shehu Masta II Kyarimi was appointed the Shehu of Dikwa in 1937 with his palace in

town, but moved the palace to

Bama Bama or BAMA may refer to: Places * Bama, shortened form of Alabama, a state of the United States of America ** The University of Alabama, the public university serving the state, often known as simply ''Bama'' * Bama, one of the colloquial Burm ...

in 1942 on the request of the colonial administration. Until recently, the Dikwa Emirate was one of three in Borno State, the others being the

Borno Emirate The Borno Emirate or Borno Sultanate is a traditional Nigerian state formed at the start of the 20th century. It is headed by descendants of the rulers of the Bornu Empire, founded before 1000. The rulers have the title Shehu of Borno (var. Shehu ...

and the Biu Emirate. In March 2010 the Borno State Governor

Ali Modu Sheriff Ali Modu Sheriff (born 1956) is a Nigerian politician. He is Borno State's first governor to serve two consecutive terms (2003–2011). Though Sheriff had held two elected offices as a member of All Nigeria People's Party, he would later join ...

split the old Dikwa Emirate into the new Bama and Dikwa Emirates. The new Dikwa emirate was made up of three local government areas,

Ngala Ngala is a local government area of Borno State, Nigeria, adjacent to the border with Cameroon. Its headquarters are in the town of Gamboru Ngala. It has an area of 1,465 km and a population of 237,071 at the 2006 census. The postal code ...

, Dikwa and

Kala Balge Kala/Balge is a Local Government Area of Borno State, Nigeria. It is the easternmost LGA of Nigeria. It has itd headquarters in the town of Rann. Landscape It has an area of 1,896 km Population and a population of 60,797 at the 2006 ...

, with headquarters in Dikwa town. The Bama emirate retains the Bama local government area, and retains the old Dikwa Emirate palace in Bama. Alhaji Abba Tor Shehu Masta II, son of Shehu Masta II, was appointed the emir of the new Dikwa Emirate. Mai Kyari Elkanemi, emir of the old Dikwa continued as the new Emir of Bama.

Rulers

Rulers of the Dikwa emirate, with the title of "Shehu", were: February 1 Alhaji Abba Jato Umar b. 1968

Local Government Areas in Dikwa Emirate

Dikwa Emirate covers four

Local Government Areas A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a state, province, division, or territory. The phrase i ...

: *

* Kala-Balge

References

{{Nigerian traditional states Borno State History of Nigeria Nigerian traditional states Emirates