British stamps used at the Royal Niger Company, Burutu 1890s

Burutu is a

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 ...

in Delta 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 lies on the coast of the

Niger Delta The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitical ...

on two sides of the Forcados River, a channel of the

River Niger The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, ...

, upstream from the Bight of Benin. It has served as a link between river transport and the sea when the

Royal Niger Company The Royal Niger Company was a mercantile company chartered by the British government in the nineteenth century. It was formed in 1879 as the ''United African Company '' and renamed to ''National African Company'' in 1881 and to ''Royal Niger C ...

established a base there in the late 19th century. People living in this region are mostly of the Izon ethnicity.

Burutu towns and villages

Burutu Local Governments comprises the following towns and villages; # Burutu-Forcados: Burutu, Forcados, Keremo2 # Iduwun: include the following neighbourhoods; Kolorugbene, Odimodi, Osamayigben # Ogulagha: include the following neighbourhoods; Benibayo, Ogulagha, Yobebe, Yokrisobo # Obatebe: include the following neighbourhoods; Abadima, Okorogbene, Kalagfionene, Kenlogbene, Obatebe, Opuapale # Ngbilebiri/Main: include the following neighbourhoods; Agbodobiri, Akparegmobini, Amasuomo, Biokorgha, Egodor, Egologbene, Gbekebor, Kiagbo, New Town, Ngbilebiri, Ogbeingbene, Ogbolugbiri, Okrika, Yayogbene, Zion-Oyagbene. # Operemor: include the following neighbourhoods; Abadiama, Bolu-Ojobo, Bolou Ndoro, Egrangbene, Ekogbene, Ekumugbene, Ojobo, Rougbene. # Seimibiri: has the following localities; Dunu-Ogusu, Edegbene, Nikorogha, Oboro, Ogbene, Okpokunon, Okuamo # Toumo: Bolua-Tamigbe, Botu-Mangbebe, Bolu-Tebegbe, Douebido-zion, Founkoro-Gbene, Isreallo-zion, Ogbogbabene, Toru-Temigbe, Torugbene, Toubo Town.

Economic activities

In the first half of the twentieth century the town expanded as a result of activities of the Niger Company and later UAC which acquired the trading interest of the

Niger Company The Royal Niger Company was a mercantile company chartered by the British government in the nineteenth century. It was formed in 1879 as the ''United African Company '' and renamed to ''National African Company'' in 1881 and to ''Royal Niger Co ...

and its assets at Burutu. Prior to the beginning of the twentieth century, the main port of the Niger Company was at Akassa but when the water channel that opens to the sea became silted, the company moved operations Westward to Burutu close to Forcados. Burutu then served as a port terminal for

and UAC, discharging goods from ships for onward water transport to river ports in Northern Nigeria and French territories through rivers

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesBenue. The port of Burutu was owned by UAC but was later acquired by

Nigeria Port Authority The Nigerian Ports Authority (''NPA'') is a federal government agency that governs and operates the ports of Nigeria. The major ports controlled by the NPA include: the Apapa Port Complex, Lagos Port Complex and Tin Can Island Port in Lagos; C ...

.Buxton, James. "Cargocats Revitalise Burutu." Financial Times, 18 Feb. 1976, p. 4. The Financial Times Historical Archive

External links

*http://cas.umkc.edu/GeoSciences/LCAM/NIGER_DELTA/PAGES/N_Burutu_FocusGroup.htm

References

Port cities and towns in Nigeria Local Government Areas in Delta State Populated coastal places in Nigeria {{deltaNG-geo-stub