Here are the major tribes in Borno State, 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 forms part of the national border with Niger, and its northeastern border forms all of the national border with Chad, being the only Nigerian state to border three foreign countries.
It takes its name from the historic emirate of Borno, with the emirate’s old capital of Maiduguri serving as the capital city of Borno State. The state was formed in 1976 when the former North-Eastern State was broken up. It originally included the area that is now Yobe State, which became a distinct state in 1991.
Borno is the second largest in area of the 36 states, only behind Niger State. Despite its size, the state is the eleventh most populous with an estimated population of about 5.86 million as of 2016.
The climate of Borno state is characteristic of rainfall variability, with strong latitudinal zone, which is drier in this north eastern state. The commencement of the rainy season in this north-east state is around June/July of every year, which far behind the south eastern states. The trade wind, also regarded as the harmattan season is often experienced in the state between the months of December and February.
The Major Tribes in Borno State
Below is a long list of the major tribes in Borno State, Nigeria. You might have been familiar with some of them but i bet that you are not with many of them. These are the tribes:
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Babur
The origin of Babur and Bura people can be traced to the migrants from Yemen through Sudan and the Chad Basin to the present Babur Bura location, Northeastern part of Nigeria. However, in the mid-16th century Yamta-ra-Wala defeated the Bura people and established Biu kingdom.
Due to the intermarriage between Yamta Wala’s people and the Bura people, a new breed of ethnic group called Pabir or Babur (in Hausa) was created and till today, Babur and Buras’ culture are very similar to the extent that they are regarded as one
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Shuwa Arabic
The Shuwa Arabs are commonly referred to as the “Baggara.” This name is derived from the Arabic word bagar, meaning “cow,” and refers to the Arab tribes in West Africa who are cattle herders.
The Shuwa Arabs, also referred to as Baggara, are of Arab descent and speak a dialect of the Arabic language. They are mostly-nomadic cattle herders found in parts of the Lake Chad region ravaged by the ongoing Boko Haram insurgency.
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Yerwa Kanuri
The Yerwa Kanuri are a Kanuri subgroup alongside manga Kanuri that live in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Sudan. They speak Central Kanuri.
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Wandala
The Mandara people, also known as Wandala or Mandwara, are a Central African traditionalist ethnic group found in north Cameroon northeastern Nigeria. Wandala is a language in the Chadic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family, spoken in Cameroon and Nigeria.
Others are:
- Bura-Pabir
- Dera
- Ga’anda
- Jara
Read Also: The Major Tribes in Kano State
- Putai
- Kibaku
- Marghi Central
- Mulgwai
- Kanuri
- Marghi South
- Shuwa Arabic
- Cineni
- Dghwede
- Glavda
- Guduf-Gava
- Gvoko
- Hide
- Lamang
- Maffa
- Sukur
- Hwana
- Afade
- Waja
- Wandala
- Jilbe
