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These notes are simply further information on the Biu area as gleaned from different sources. They are not meant to represent a summary of the definitive history of the area. However, it is hoped that they might offer some information on Biuland  as well as stimulate interest in a more detailed and indepth study of Biu history. They partly reflect the impressions of many people, including those of foreigners, who had had contact with the area and could, therefore, be said to be a bird’s-eye view of Biu and its people from the plane of outsiders.

One of the early explorers who found it worthwhile to make some remarks about the Biu people was Henry Barth. In his visit of 1851, he found the Babur or Babir (Pabir) “scattered in small hamlets over a mountainous basaltic district with the exception of their principal seat Biu.” He went on to observe that the Babur had in certain respects “preserved their independence while in others like the Marghi, they have begun to yield to the overwhelming influence of their Mohammadan neighbours.” Those neighbours Barth had in mind were the Kanuri of Kanem Borno empire, and the Fulani of Adamawa and Gombe.

By 1903 when the British colonial administrators arrived, there was already a self-confident civilisation flourishing in the Babur/Bura area even though some of the  people, as noted by Barth, were “scattered around in small hamlets on the hill tops.”

For instance, even before the arrival of Yamtarawala on the scene, and centuries before the British arrived, there were traditional governments in the Babur/Bura area. There are credible accounts indicating that there were Babur chiefs (Kuthli) before Yamtarawala. About 6-8 of them were said to have ruled before him. The chiefs of that era, however, exercised authority over individual villages and settlements.

But, even at that time, there was already a central traditional government at Biu, as Barth himself acknowledged, although some Biu chiefs did not necessarily rule from Biu town. The situation whereby past chiefs of Biu ruled from different locations ended with  Mai Garga Kwamting. He became the Kuthli of Biu in 1891, and for the next one decade rotated the seat of his kingdom. He shifted his capital from Biu (2 years) to Viyukamda (5 years), back to Biu (5 years) and then to Pelaminta in 1903.

In October 1904, Garga Kwamting was formally installed as the “Chief of the Babur” with 3rd grade staff of office. This meant that he would need to be more accessible to the colonial powers. Consequently, Mr. W.P Hewby, the British resident at Maiduguri, advised the Chief to make Biu his regular place of abode. On his return from the ceremony, therefore, the Chief made Biu the permanent seat of his traditional rulership of Biu district.

According to J.G Davies of The Biu Book fame, “it is at this point that written records begin and it is possible to be exact over Biu history.” One of such records indicate that Biu chiefs started answering the title, “Emir”, in 1920.

Mr. Davies’ own records show that he began his service in Biu as the Divisional Officer in 1953. According to him, he read about 1800 files left by previous Divisional Officers about Biu as well as made several tours of the area before writing the book.

Biu Native Authority files started in November 1936 and Malam Pokta, later Ajiya Pokta or Galadima Usman, was the first native appointed as “Chief Scribe” to Biu Native Authority. But J.G Davies had express access to official files on the area. This privilege, I believe, contributed greatly in making his book, still in the cyclostyled form in which it was published by the North Regional Literature Agency (NORLA) in 1956, the most generally accepted document on Biu history.

Although some of Mr. Davies’ conclusions amounted to what he called “informed guess,” his difficulties were compounded by the somewhat conflicting statements he said he found in oral tradition. This may well be true.

Another European, Lt. Boyd Alexander (Arnold, Edward, From the Niger to the Nile, Vol. 1, pp. 48-55, 1907) also published detailed descriptions of Shani, Tera and Babur areas in 1904. His was illustrated with photographs taken around 1904. But Davies’ book was more inclusive as it covered not only the history, geography and social life of Babur and Bura but also those of other neighbours such as Chibok, Marghi, Tera, Kanakuru, Jara, Komberi, Hona, Higi, Kilba, and Fulani, many of whom live in Biu area.

Apart from the Fulani whose ancestral roots are distinct, almost all the other ethnic groups share customs and languages which are more similar than dissimilar. 

The Clans of Biu Area

“The clans of Biu Division seem to have come from all directions, as though the Biu plateau was a meeting point for the people.”                                                                                             –  J.G. Davies    

It is commonly known that there are about 250 tribes in Northern Nigeria alone (1921 census). Of these, Biu area contains, among other co-dwellers, Babur/Bura, Chibok, Marghi, Pildimdi, Tera, Jara, Kanakuru, Komberi and a sprinkle of Fulani. The latter comprises the kitaku or “settled” Fulani (who  are found mostly in Tera and Shani Districts) and the nomadic ones (who reside mainly in Babur district).
Bura Sha and Bura Kokura are not quite distinct tribal groups. The “Sha” was tagged to one group which constituted over 30% of the tribal groups in Biu just to distinguish them by their practice, in earlier times, of decoratively dying their hair with red earth, called “sha” in Babur/Bura.
They were so called by a former colonial administrator, Mr. J.G. Davies, whose findings on the clans of Biu area I have, with a few observations of my own, tried to summarise here within the limited space available.
As for Bura Kokura, I understand that “kokura”(a reference to a part of their body which they used to expose to  the elements in those days) was similarly added just to distinguish them.
Mr. Davies said that the tribal distribution in  former Biu Division had a seemingly simple but demogra- phically complex outline. It comprised of Babur in Babur and Biu Town Districts; Bura Kokura, Tera, Jara, and Pildimdi in Tera District; Kanakuru in Shani District; Bura in East and West Bura Districts; and Chibok and Marghi in Askira District.
However, the tribal distinctions even today are not very clear cut as the groups largely merged into each other. For instance, Davies narrated an account which said that the Babur are a mixture of Bura and Kanuri-Mandara groups while the Tera are a mixture of Bura and Kanakuru. And some of the clans, according to him, could be said to be too young as a distinct community or group to claim ancestral roots dating into the distant past, hence making the incidence of ethnic mix not only inevitable but easily traceable.          He gave the example of Komberi clan which he said was formed at or about the beginning of the 20th century. Found mainly in Gwara village area of Shani District, the Komberi people, according to Davies, are a mixture of Kanuri and Kanakuru, just as Babur are said to be the product of Bura and the followers of Yamtarawala. This version of Babur origin is hinged on the oral tradition which says that when Yamtarawala first came and settled at Limbur between Chikwarkir and Madaragrau, he found Bura in three main villages – at Miringa, Diwa and Buratai – which villages he defeated and drove away southwards.
Although Babur and Bura share so much in common, this conclusion is contestable as Yamtarawala was said to have, on his arrival, met the Babur already settled in their present location with fairly powerful traditional rulers at Miringa, Madaragrau and Diwa whom he conquered before establishing his rule over the area. The Babur with their kings known as “Kuthli” had ruling clans, namely, Wafiri (Woviri), Kidi and Gwagwa, long before the arrival of Yamtarawala.
The inseparable web of relationships among the clans in Biu area is manifested in similarities of language and customs as well as social outlook. Thus, those with common ancestors are better determined by examining the clan structure than by merely looking at the ethnic categories. In spite of the limitations of his study, Mr. Davies was able to identify over 127 clans, notably, Balami, Boti (the ruling clan of Shani which itself is not a clan but simply a geographic area), Bula, Bwola, Dagal (offshoot of Woviri clan: they came with Yamtarawala), Dawa, Dibal, Diya, Ganga, Gawa, Gogwa, Kadi, Liya, Malgwi, Mbaya, Minta, Ndahi, Ngada, Nganjuwa, Tarfa, Waksha, Woviri (from which came the royal family of Biu, the family of Yamtarawala), and Zuwaka (also followers of Yamtarawala). Even then, in any village, there were up to three or more clans. Some of the clans were named after their progenitors or their professions; some, after natural objects, like tree species. Sometimes, the clan name refers to the place of origin, that is, the earliest place the people had come from or the general direction from which they had come.
One noteworthy thing about the clans is the mutual respect they have for each other. One hardly makes reference to another’s clan without prefixing it with “mshel”. This prefix is added to the clan-group name whenever reference is made to that person or group as an address of courtesy, praise or respect. For instance, someone from the Ganga clan would be addressed as Mshelganga, not simply “Ganga man”. The “mshel” literally is Babur/Bura for “a member of”, “son of” or “stock of”.
From his examination of the clan structure, Mr. Davies drew quite interesting conclusions. Notably, he categorised the clans broadly into two: “Bura and the rest”. The languages were grouped into three categories: Bura, Tera and Kanakuru. All the others, he said, were variants of these, the only exceptions being Fulani, Komberi and “Bura reverse”. Using “Bura” as a broad ethno-linguistic term, Mr. Davies homogenized in that category the Bura “sha”, the Babur, the Chibok and Marghi, all of whom speak the Bura language, which phonologically is similar to Bantu and also, interestingly, has some words identical with some Greek words. Wide linguistic influence might not be ruled out, for Bura language is spoken over a large area, stretching to French Cameroon in the East and almost to the Benue in the West.

     By “the rest” mentioned above, Mr. Davies meant clans which are “non-homogenous” with Babur/Bura, namely, Tera, Bura Kokura, Pildimdi and Kanakuru, with traces of Hwona (Hona), Shelleng and Jukun clans, on the one hand; and “sovereign clans” localised in the west of Biu Division outside the Babur/Bura area, on the other.
     Generally, ethnic homogeneity was not a regular phenomenon in the Biu area, according to Davies. Very few villages were homogenous due to the factor of migration, and ethnic distinctions could not be determined on the surface as a multi-ethnic village might be speaking a common language. Besides, language would not be a constant factor in some of the areas where the lingua franca had shifted from one language to another. He cited the case of the Babur. In 1914, nearly all Babur spoke Kanuri. But since then, Hausa has taken over as the lingua franca in the area although Bura language is spoken and understood by native Babur/Bura people. According to him, even mode of dressing may no longer be a helpful factor as differences in mode of dressing, which could be discerned when the Europeans first arrived in the area, had virtually disappeared due to external influences.
     Examining the structure of the clans as well as the affinities in their languages and customs, therefore, one would tend to come to the conclusion that, as Davies himself put it, “exact classification is impossible” as the Biu area displays a great measure of ethno-linguistic mix.

Notable Dates in the History of Biu Area

1250AD-1800 – Emergence of Kanem Empire with capital at Njimi and Jukun Empire with capital in Jalingo (later, capital was moved to Kwararafa). The Biu area was wedged between both kingdoms.  

1487 – Kanem Empire, defeated by the Bulala tribe, moved from the east to the south to establish new Borno Empire with capital at Ngazargamu. Yamtarawala who was born in Ngazargamu was later to found Biu royal dynasty.                      

1526 – Mai Idris Katagarmabe of Borno Empire, in whose palace Yamtarawala was born and brought up, died. It was when Yamtarawala failed to succeed him that he left for Biu land with his entourage.  

1851 – European explorer, Henry Barth, visited Yola and some other places in the area, acknowledging in his notes the existence of “Babur or Babir” as a fairly independent group of people being ruled by a chief.

1878 – Mari Biya moved from Viyukuthla to Biu town to become the first chief to reside there. 

1903 – First visit by Europeans to Biu area. Colonial officer, Mr. Lawrie, alias “Mai Gajere”, visited Biu chief, Garga Kwamting, in his residence at Pelaminta.
This was also the year taxes were collected in Biu for the first time by the colonial authorities.    

October 1904 – Mr. W.P Hewby, Resident, Borno Province, installed Garga Kwamting as “Chief of Babur” with 3rd Grade Staff of Office at Magumeri. It was the first of such ceremonies.                   

1908 – Mr. J.H.C. Elder, the colonial administrator who was to take charge of Biu area for about 13 years almost continually, arrived.

August 24, 1908 – Mai Ali Dogo was installed as “Chief of Babur” at Gujba.

1911 – The first motorable road in Biu Division, from Gujba to Biu, was opened. The first court was also opened in Biu the same year.

1914 – Pagan Division which included Biu and Potiskum areas was created.

1917 – S.U.M missionaries entered Biu district (which had been declared an “unsettled district” and therefore a restricted area) without permission. The breach was frowned at by the colonial authorities and “disturbed” the Chief of Biu.         

March 18, 1918 – Biu division was formed. The huge Pagan Division consisting of Marghi-Biu, Potiskum-Fika and Bede was split into two: Biu Division and Potiskum Division. Biu Division consisted of Biu and Marghi districts and parts of Shani and Askira Districts while Potiskum Division consisted of Potiskum and Bede divisions.

Sept. 18, 1918 – Biu chieftaincy was upgraded from 3rd class to 2nd class grade as gazetted in Government Notice No. 144, Gazette No. 51 of 1918. From that date the chief ceased to be called “District Head” and became known as Chief or “Mai” in addition to the traditional title of “Kuthli of Biu”.

October, 1918 – General recruitment of able-bodied young men for tin-mining operations at Jos in support of World War I war efforts.                    

1918 – Western Education started at Biu with the establishment by Mr. G.C. White A.D.O of a school for teaching of reading and writing. Until this time all local correspondence was in Arabic. Also in 1918 Native Treasury, Prison, courts and “Dogari” force were established.

Jan. 20, 1920 – The first time a car was seen at Biu. It brought the Governor and Lieutenant Governor from Nafada.                                         

1920 – The Chief of Biu officially became known as Emir of Biu.

1921 – “Kuntu” (2 x 58 inch cloth) ceased to be used as money in Biu. It was the currency in use for a very long time.                                        

1922 – Mr. S.J. Palmer, a native African, who commanded a lot of respect as an outstanding Clerk of Biu from 1920-1923, wrote the first grammar of the Bura language. He also started a class of 24 students to learn reading and writing in Hausa.

1923 – Church of the Brethren Mission(CBM) arrived in Biu area, setting up its mission at Garkida. It was not until 1930 that the mission was established in earnest. The mission brought phenomenal educational and medical development in Biu area.        

1928 – The first dispensary in Biu division was opened. 

July 5, 1939 – Rainfall records in Biu town started. Total rainfall varied from 34-51 inches or an average of 40 inches for the years recorded. Maiduguri had an average of 25 inches.

Oct. 1, 1940 – Biu postal agency was opened.

1945 – Biu Reading Room (Library/Public Enlightment Centre) was built.

1947 – First wireless set was bought for the Reading Room.

Jan. 10, 1955 – First Biu Agricultural Show (trade fair) took place.

1955 – Pipe-borne water supply was sourced from two boreholes sunk since 1950. A 16mm film, Glimpses of Biu, shot by Mr. M.C. Good of the CBM was produced by Mr. J.G. Davies, the Divisional Officer.                                        

1956 – First aeroplane landed at Biu airstrip the construction of which began in 1954. Also in 1956, The Biu Book, written by J.G. Davies, was published by the North Regional Literature Agency (NORLA), Zaria.         

Tourist Attractions in the Biu Area               

1. Tilla Lake: This serene crater lake is made more beneficial to the tourist by the lakeside, environment-friendly bungalows built in its vicinity for the accommodation of tourists. Overlooking the lake is the Tilla Hill. At 2,900 feet above sea level, it is the highest point in the old Biu Division.

2. Hawal River: Tourists interested in aquatic life may find this river of particular interest. It flows into the River Gongola, a major tributary of River Benue.    Please note that there is an excellent view of Hawal valley into Adamawa plateau from the old Kidang Rest House.

3. Thirduldu Waterfalls: One of the finest perennial waterfalls in Nigeria. It is located at Vidau village, under one hour drive from Biu town.

4. Biu-Buma Hillsides: Drive through the scenic Biu-Buma road and take in its precipitous hillsides as you curve through its twists and turns. It is one of many similar hillsides in Biu area.

5. Bulungwe Escarpment: Biu is famous for its beautiful escarpments of which the Bulungwe is one. From the vantage place of Biu area’s own Lokoja, good views of some other captivating escarpments would be seen.

6. Sirhi & Mandaragrau Ruins: These are perhaps among the best preserved ruins in Nigeria. Their stone walls and the fine view of Biu plateau they offer would interest not only archeologists but the general visitor.

7. Ngohi Rock: This giant rock, from which you can have a good view of Biu, Ngulde, Chibok and Adamawa hills, may be an interesting place for picnickers. If you are interested in other attractions, there is a rock by a pool and a baobab tree with female breasts near Sabon Gari in Ngulde area. The latter offers  good photographic opportunities.

8. Llamdi Gorge: This narrow valley steeped into a stream offers unique views.

9. Waka: This is an important missionary centre worth visiting for its pioneering work in educational and healthcare development in the Biu area.

10. Kwadankir Pool: Attractive for its snakes and crocodiles which the patient visitor may be lucky to see.