Billiri (or Biliri) is one of the 11
Local Government Area
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 (administrative division), state, province, divi ...
of
Gombe State
Gombe State ( ff, Leyddi Gommbe 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤺𞤮𞤥𞥆𞤦𞤫) is a state in northeastern Nigeria, bordered to the north and northeast by the state of Borno and Yobe, to the south by Taraba State, to the southeast by Adamawa 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 ...
bordered to the north by Akko LGA, south and east by Shongom as well as North-East by Kaltungo LGAs. It is a historical settlement of the Tangales which is located South of
Gombe It has an area of 737 km and a population of 202,144 at the 2006 census. Apart from
Tangale
Tangale (Tangle) is a West Chadic language spoken in Northern region of Nigeria. The vast majority of the native speakers are found across Akko, Billiri, Kaltungo and Shongom Local Government Area of Gombe State Nigeria .
Phonology
There are ni ...
language,
Fulfulde
Fula ,Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student’s Handbook'', Edinburgh also known as Fulani or Fulah (, , ; Adlam: , , ), is a Senegambian language spoken by around 30 million people as a set of various dialects in a continuum that stre ...
and
Hausa
Hausa may refer to:
* Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa
* Hausa language, spoken in West Africa
* Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states
* Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse
See also
* ...
are commonly spoken
The
postal code
A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...
of the area is 771.
Most of the inhabitants of Billiri are
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
while
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
formed the largest minority.
The dominant tribe is Tangale which means "Tangle".
The traditional ruler of the
LGA is called the "Mai Tangale". The death of the Mai Tangale in 2020 brought about communal unrest in the Biliri community due to the delay in reinstating a new Mai Tangale.
History
The Tangale people claimed to have emerged as the settlers of Billiri from a migration journey through
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 its eastern border forms part of the national border with Cameroon, its northern border ...
.They had to move from places such as Sanum kede and Kupto due to tribal wars. Tangaltong, one of the 7 clans in Tangale is where billiri as well as Bare and Kantali resided.
The Tangale language is a west chadic language.
Mai Tangle
The Emir of Billiri is address as Mai Tangale. Following the death of the former Emir, Mallam Danladi Maiyamba was elected as the new Emir in 2020.
The Billiri Crisis
In March, 2021, Danladi Sanusi Maiyamba was announced by the Gombe State government as the new Mai Tangale in Billiri following the death of Abdu Baba Maisharu II, the immediate past Mai of Tangale Kingdom who died in January 2021.
The announcement erupted violence and protests in Billiri over the claim that Inuwa Yahaya, governor of the state, did not go with the candidate selected by the kingmakers.
The erupted concerns and protests led to violence that claimed lives and properties.
Towns & Villages
The towns and villages in Billiri include:
# Billiri-tangale
# Ayabu
# Baganje
# Bare
# Billiri
# kalmai
# Kulkul
# Labepit
# Lakalkal
# Lamugu
# Landongu
# Pokuli
# Lanshi daji
# Popandi
# Sabon layi
# Sansani
# Pandiukude
# Pandi kamio
# Pokwangli
# Shelu
# Sikirit
# Tal
# Tanglang
# Todi
# Tudu kwaya
Wards/Polling units
There are 10 wards in Billiri local government and they are:
# Bangaje North
2. Bangaje South
3. Bare
4. Billiri North
5. Billiri South
6. Kalmai
7. Todi
8. Tudu Kwaya
9. Tal
10. Tanglang
Schools
They include:
Central Primary School
Government Day Secondary School Amtawlam
Federal Government College Billiri (FGC)
Government Sciences Secondary School Billiri
Food
Soya beans is one of the common foods in Billiri with about six prominent markets according to a study
Festivals
Bai "Dog meat" Eating festival
References
Local Government Areas in Gombe State
{{GombeNG-geo-stub