There are the major tribes in Yobe State which are maybe not new but certainly could not be believed to be parts of the list of tribes in the northern community of Yobe. Here, we are talking about a state which is located in the northeastern part of Nigeria. The state was carved out of Borno State. The capital of Yobe State is Damaturu; and its largest and most populated city is Potiskum.
Because the state lies mainly in the dry savanna belt, conditions are hot and dry for most of the year, except in the southern part of the state which has more annual rainfall.
The Yobe community is mainly an agricultural one at least since it was created on 27 August 1991. Yobe State was created because the old Borno State was one of Nigeria’s largest states in terms of land area and was therefore considered to be too large for easy administration and meaningful development.
The state borders four states: Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, and Jigawa.
The 17 Local Government Areas in Yobe State
- Bade
- Bursari
- Damaturu
- Geidam
- Gujba
- Gulani
- Fika
- Fune
- Jakusko
- Karasuwa
- Machina
- Nangere
- Nguru
- Potiskum
- Tarmuwa
- Yunusari
- Yusufari
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The Major Tribes in Yobe State
The major ethnic groups living in Yobe State are the Fulani and Kanuri, while other ethnic communities include Bolewa, Ngizim, Bade, Hausa, Ngamo, Shuwa, Bura, Marghi, karai-karai and Manga. In this article, let us take quick look at some of the major tibes in Yobe State as stated and briefly detailed below:
Kanuri
Those generally termed Kanuri include several subgroups and dialect groups, some of whom identify as distinct from the Kanuri. Most trace their origins to ruling lineages of the medieval Kanem-Bornu Empire, and its client states or provinces. In contrast to the neighboring Toubou or Zaghawa pastoralists, Kanuri groups have traditionally been sedentary, engaging in farming, fishing the Chad Basin, and engaged in trade and salt processing.
Bolewa
The Bolewa people are an ethnic group located in the northern part of Yobe State just as in Gombe. According to Bolewa tradition, their ancestors originated in Yemen. They migrated together with the invaders and originators of the kingdoms of Kanem and Songhai. Kanuri peoples include several subgroups, and identify by different names in some regions.
Fulani
Yobe State is also populated by the Fulani people, constituting more than half of the state’s population. The Fulani people as part of the major tribes in Yobe state are an ethnic group in Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region.
Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, South Sudan, Darfur, and regions near the Red Sea coast in Sudan. Gombe State is a multi-ethnic society that consists of the majority Fulani tribe, who inhabit the Northern part of the Yobe State. They dominate 8 out of the 17 Local Government Areas of the state.
Ngizim
The tribe lives primarily in Potiskum, the largest city in Yobe State and originally a Ngizim town, as well as the areas to the east and south of the city. Ngizim populations once inhabited parts of Borno and Jigawa states, but have since lost their cultural identity after being assimilated into other ethnic groups.
Bade
According to oral tradition Bade are said to have come from the east in Saudi Arabia near Yemen. It is said that the place they came from the east was Birnin Badr. The Bade Emirate is a traditional state with headquarters in Gashua, Yobe State, Nigeria. Alhaji Abubakar Umar Suleiman is the 11th Emir of Bade.
Shuwa
The Shuwa Arabs are commonly referred to as the “Baggara.” This name is derived from the Arabic word ‘Bagar’, meaning “cow”. The word refers to the Arab tribes in West Africa who are cattle herders. The Baggara tribes are of Arab descent and mainly speak the Shuwa dialect of the Arabic language. The men are nomads.
In West Africa, they can be found in Borno and Yobe states in Nigeria. Some of the Shuwas are found in neighboring countries like Cameroon, Chad and Sudan.
Bura
Babur and Bura people also known as Pabir are part of the ethnic groups in Nigeria. They are located in Biu, Hawul, Kwaya Kusar, Shani and Bayo of Borno State. They can also be found in Garkida, Gombi local government of Adamawa State. The Babur Bura people are found in large numbers in Borno, Adamawa, Gombe and Yobe States.
Other Important But Minor Tribes in Yobe State are:
- Marghi
- karai-karai
- Manga
- Ngamo
