Dikwa
About
Dikwa is a town and a local government area in Borno State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Dikwa, which is also the seat of the Dikwa Emirate. The local government area covers an area of 1,774 square kilometres.
History
When the Sudanese warlord Rabih az-Zubayr conquered the Kanem–Bornu Empire in 1893, he destroyed the empire's capital at Kukawa and settled on Dikwa as his capital instead, since the town had better communications and a superior water supply. Dikwa was heavily fortified and remained his capital for the duration of his rule. After Rabih was killed by a French army in 1900, the al-Kanemi dynasty was reinstalled as rulers with French and local support, and Dikwa remained the capital during the last years of the empire. In 1902, all territories of the empire came under European colonial rule, and Dikwa fell under German control, becoming the capital of German Borno until 1916. After the First World War until 1961, the town and the Dikwa Emirate were administered by the British under a League of Nations mandate and a United Nations Trusteeship agreement. In 1942, Dikwa ceased to be the capital of the Dikwa Emirate, as Bama became the capital while the emirate kept its name. In 1961, after a United Nations plebiscite, the town and the Dikwa Emirate became officially Nigerian.
Source: Wikipedia: Dikwa
Key Facts
State
Borno State
Headquarters
Dikwa
Area
1774 km²
Population
105,909 (2006 census)