Kukawa

{{Use Nigerian English|date=January 2023}} {{Infobox settlement  | official_name = Kukawa | other_name = | native_name =  | nickname = | settlement_type =  Local Government Area | motto =  | image_skyline = | imagesize = 300px | image_caption = | image_flag = | flag_size = | image_seal = | seal_size = | image_shield = | shield_size = | image_blank_emblem = | blank_emblem_type = | blank_emblem_size = | image_map = | mapsize = | map_caption = | image_map1 = | mapsize1 = | map_caption1 = | image_dot_map = | dot_mapsize = | dot_map_caption = | dot_x = | dot_y = | pushpin_map = Nigeria | pushpin_label_position = bottom | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Nigeria | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = 25px Nigeria | subdivision_type1 = State | subdivision_name1 = Borno State | subdivision_type2 = | subdivision_name2 = | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | subdivision_type4 = | subdivision_name4 =  | government_footnotes = | government_type = | leader_title = | leader_name = | leader_title1 =  | leader_name1 = | leader_title2 = | leader_name2 = | leader_title3 = | leader_name3 = | leader_title4 = | leader_name4 = | established_title =  Founded | established_date = 1814 | established_title2 =  | established_date2 = | established_title3 =  | established_date3 =  | founder = Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi | area_magnitude = | unit_pref = Imperial  | area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 =  | area_land_km2 =  | area_water_km2 = | area_total_sq_mi = | area_land_sq_mi = | area_water_sq_mi = | area_water_percent = | area_urban_km2 = | area_urban_sq_mi = | area_metro_km2 = | area_metro_sq_mi = | area_blank1_title = | area_blank1_km2 = | area_blank1_sq_mi =  | population_as_of = 2006 | population_footnotes = | population_note = | population_total = 203864 | population_density_km2 = | population_density_sq_mi = | population_metro = | population_density_metro_km2 = | population_density_metro_sq_mi = | population_urban = | population_density_urban_km2 = | population_density_urban_sq_mi = | population_blank1_title = Ethnicities | population_blank1 = | population_blank2_title = Religions | population_blank2 = | population_density_blank1_km2 = | population_density_blank1_sq_mi =  | timezone = | utc_offset = | timezone_DST = | utc_offset_DST = | coordinates = {{coord|12|55|N|13|34|E|region:NG|display=inline}} | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 8 | mapframe-wikidata = yes | mapframe-marker = village | elevation_footnotes =  | elevation_m = | elevation_ft =  | postal_code_type =  | postal_code = | area_code = | blank_name = | blank_info = | blank1_name = | blank1_info = | website = | footnotes = }} '''Kukawa'''{{Audio|Kukawa.ogg|Listen}} is a town and Local Government Area in the northeastern Nigerian state of Borno, close to Lake Chad. Kukawa was originally founded as '''Kuka''' in the early 19th century by the military leader and religious scholar Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi. The town once served as the capital of the Kanem–Bornu Empire in 1846–1893.

==History==

=== Early history (1814–1846) === thumb|left|Central square of Kukawa in 1851 Kukawa was founded under the name ''Kuka'' in 1814 by Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi, a military leader and religious scholar in service of the Kanem–Bornu Empire.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gronenborn |first=Detlef |title=West Africa During the Atlantic Slave Trade: Archaeological Perspectives |publisher=Bloomsbury |year=2001 |isbn=978-1-4742-9104-0 |location= |pages=119 |chapter=Kanem-Borno: A Brief Summary of the History and Archaeology of an Empire of the Central ''bilad al-sudan''}}</ref><ref name="kemper" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Ladan |first=Usman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z1BtDwAAQBAJ |title=Twin Cities: Urban Communities, Borders and Relationships over Time |date=2018 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-59868-2 |language=en |chapter=Twin cities in African history: A comparative analysis of the 19th and 20th century capitals of Borno}}</ref> Al-Kanemi was one of the empire's most powerful feudal lords, having secured great wealth and many fiefs through his military efforts against the Fula jihads.<ref name=":222">{{Cite book |last=Brenner |first=Louis |url=https://archive.org/details/shehusofkukawahi0000bren/mode/2up?q=ngala |title=The Shehus of Kukawa: a history of the Al-Kanemi dynasty of Bornu |date=1973 |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=978-0-19-821681-0 |pages=30–36, 48–53, 64–66, 70}}</ref> His move from his former seat (Ngurno) to the new Kuka coincided with adopting a more independent attitude to the empire's monarch (''mai''), Dunama IX Lefiami.<ref name=":222" /> Al-Kanemi adopted the style of ''shehu'' ("sheikh") at around the same time.<ref name=":222" /><ref name="Cohen2">{{cite book |last1=Cohen |first1=Ronald |title=Bornu in the nineteenth century, in History of West Africa, Volume Two |last2=Brenner |first2=Louis |date=1974 |publisher=Longman Group Ltd |isbn=0231037384 |editor1-last=Ajayi |editor1-first=J.F.A. |location=Great Britain |pages=102–104 |editor2-last=Crowder |editor2-first=Michael}}</ref> Kuka was the end of one of the main trans-Saharan trade routes to Tripoli on the Mediterranean coast.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xh-QcHRG3OwC&pg=PA16 |title=The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 6 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1985 |isbn=9780521228039 |editor=J. D. Fage |page=16 |accessdate=June 3, 2014}}</ref>

The name Kuka (or Kaoukaou) is the Kanuri name for the African baobab,<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":1" /> which grew extensively in the surrounding countryside.<ref name=":1">{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Kuka}}</ref> The use of the name for the modern settlement has caused some confusion, since both Muhammad al-Idrisi (12th century) and Ibn Khaldun (14th century) mention two prominent towns by the name of ''Kaou Kaou'', one of which was located very close to modern-day Kukawa.<ref name=":1" />

Al-Kanemi and his son and successor Umar Kura increased their power over the course of the early 19th century, to the detriment of the ''mai''s. In 1846, ''mai'' Ibrahim IV Lefiami attempted to reassert his traditional power against Umar Kura.<ref name=":222" /> Ibrahim was supported in the ensuing civil war by the Wadai Sultanate, whose forces captured and destroyed Kuka.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":222" /> Ibrahim and his son Ali V Minargema were ultimately defeated. In the aftermath, Umar Kura seized sole power over the empire; the capital of the ''mai''s, Kafela, was destroyed and Kuka, as Umar Kura's seat, transitioned into the new imperial capital.<ref name=":222" />

=== Capital of Kanem–Bornu (1846–1893) === [[File:AFR V3 D431 Kuka (Kukawa), Nigeria.jpg|left|thumb|1892 map of Kukawa by Élisee Reclus]] After securing his power, Umar Kura rebuilt Kuka. The settlement was rebuilt as two towns,<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":1" /> separated by about half a mile of open country and each surrounded by a wall of white clay.<ref name=":1" /> This may be the explanation for why the town came to be known as ''Kukawa'' (the plural form of ''Kuka'').<ref name=":1" /> The two parts of Kukawa were known as Kuka Futebe ("West Town") and Kuka Gedibe ("East Town").<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Kirk-Greene |first=A. H. M. (Anthony Hamilton Millard) |url=http://archive.org/details/westafricantrave0000kirk |title=West African travels and adventures; two autobiographical narratives from Northern Nigeria |date=1971 |publisher=New Haven, Yale University Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-300-01426-6}}</ref>{{Rp|page=125}} The ''shehu'' and "other important persons" lived in the eastern town.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=109}} The space separating the two towns was named the ''gemzegenyi'' (meaning unclear).<ref name=":6" /> It is unknown why Umar Kura rebuilt Kuka as two towns; Kukawa was the only pre-colonial center in Borno to be built in this fashion.<ref name=":6" /> The reasons may lie in Umar Kura wishing to enhance his personal security, or to cement class differences between commoners and the elite.<ref name=":6" />

The rebuilt towns had numerous houses, wells, markets, and palaces. The entire area was surrounded by a 20-foot (6 m) high exterior mud wall. In addition to the two towns, this wall also enclosed several smaller villages and farms, as well as a cemetery.<ref name=":6" /> In the late 19th century, Kukawa had a population of between 60,000<ref name=":6" /> and 200,000.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gronenborn |first=Detlef |title=West Africa During the Atlantic Slave Trade: Archaeological Perspectives |publisher=Bloomsbury |year=2001 |isbn=978-1-4742-9104-0 |location= |pages=115 |chapter=Kanem-Borno: A Brief Summary of the History and Archaeology of an Empire of the Central ''bilad al-sudan''}}</ref> The town grew wealthy as a center for caravans and a stopping place for pilgrims from the west and south on their way to Mecca.<ref name=":1" />

Kukawa was visited by German explorer Heinrich Barth in 1851 who travelled from Tripoli seeking to open trade with Europe and explore Africa,<ref name="kemper">{{cite book |last=Kemper | first=Steve |year=2012 |title=Labyrinth of Kingdoms: 10,000 Miles Through Islamic Africa | place=New York |publisher=W. W. Norton |isbn=978-0-393-07966-1 | pages=137–152 }}</ref> and again in 1892 by the French explorer Parfait-Louis Monteil, who was checking the borders between areas of West Africa assigned to the French and the British by the Treaty of Berlin.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=46u05imxvY0C&pg=PA170 |pages=170ff |title=Dakar - Outpost of Two Hemispheres |author=Emil Lengyel |date=March 2007 |publisher=READ BOOKS, 2007 |isbn=978-1-4067-6146-7 |accessdate=2010-10-11}}</ref>

In 1892/1893, the Kanem–Bornu Empire was invaded by the Sudanese warlord Rabih az-Zubayr.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Lavers |first=John E. |date=1993 |title=The al-Kanimiyyin Shehus: a working chronology |url=https://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/year/2006/docId/1826 |journal=Berichte des Sonderforschungsbereichs |volume=268 |issue=2 |pages=179–186 |jstor=}}</ref> Rabih defeated the Kanem–Bornu forces and captured and destroyed Kukawa in May 1893;<ref name=":6" /> the town was plundered and burned<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Hiribarren |first=Vincent |title=A History of Borno: Trans-Saharan African Empire to Failing Nigerian State |publisher=C. Hurst & Co. |year=2017 |isbn=9781849044745 |pages=51, 105–106 |chapter=}}</ref> and its people were killed, enslaved, or dispersed.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Mohammed |first=Kyari |date=1997 |title=Borno under Rabih Fadl Allah, 1893-1900: The Emergence of a Predatory State |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40341740 |journal=Paideuma: Mitteilungen zur Kulturkunde |volume=43 |pages=291 |jstor=40341740}}</ref> Rabih spent some time in Kukawa but then settled on Dikwa as his new capital due to Dikwa's better communications and water supply.<ref name=":3" />

=== Later history (1893–present) === thumb|Ruins in Kukawa, 1900 As the British colonisation of Nigeria was progressing, it was in the early 20th century intended to rebuild Kukawa to serve as the seat of ''shehu'' Abubakar Garbai, descendant of the earlier ''shehu''s and the figurehead ruler of "British Borno".<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last1=Saidu |first1=Amina Ramat |last2=Kullima |first2=Shettima Bukar |last3=Ribadu |first3=Hamza Tukur |date=2021 |title=The Role of the British Occupation of Borno and Socio-Political Transformation |url=https://www.questjournals.org/jrhss/papers/vol9-issue3/5/B09030718.pdf |journal=Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Science |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=31–42 |issn=2321-9467}}</ref> In 1903, Abubakar Garbai took up residence in the ruins of Kukawa,<ref name=":5" /> turned into a garrison town by the British,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Goodwin |first=Stefan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RRd2EQAAQBAJ |title=Africa's Legacies of Urbanization: Unfolding Saga of a Continent |date=2006 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-0-7391-3349-1 |language=en |chapter=Chapter 9: From Scramble to Struggle}}</ref> and was invested as ''shehu'' there by Frederick Lugard in 1904.<ref name=":4" /> There were several issues with the project. Kukawa was no longer located along any major trade routes<ref name=":4" /> and had an inadequate water supply.<ref name=":5" /> The site had been left to fall into decay in the years since Rabih's invasion and was by this point little more than "one large cornfield",<ref name=":4" /> situated an inconvenient distance away from the major British-controlled settlements.<ref name=":5" /> In 1907, Abubakar Garbai moved his residence away to Yerwa (modern-day Maiduguri).<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" />

Kukawa remained neglected over the course of the following decades. In 1931, a European visitor{{Who|date=August 2025}} wrote that Kukawa was desolate and "of little interest", and a place where "ruins outnumber the houses".<ref name=":6" />

==== Boko Haram insurgency ==== In recent years Kukawa has been affected by insurgency and insecurity due to the activities of Boko Haram. The area has witnessed displacement of people and destruction of infrastructure.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Okoye |first=Francis |date=2024-05-29 |title=JUST-IN: 31 Killed, 40 Missing As Terrorists Attack Fishermen In Borno |url=https://leadership.ng/just-in-31-killed-40-missing-as-terrorists-attack-fishermen-in-borno/ |access-date=2025-03-29 |language=en-US|newspaper=Leadership}}</ref> Efforts by the Nigerian military and international organizations have aimed at restoring peace and resettling displaced persons.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bello |first=Hafsat |date=2025-01-13 |title=Gov Zulum calls for decisive military response as terrorists slain 40 farmers in Borno |url=https://dailypost.ng/2025/01/13/gov-zulum-calls-for-decisive-military-response-as-terrorists-slain-40-farmers-in-borno/ |location=Lagos, Nigeria|access-date=2025-03-29 |newspaper=Daily Post|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Reporters |first=Our |date=2025-01-13 |title=Again, Boko Haram strikes in Borno, kills 40, abducts scores |url=https://punchng.com/again-boko-haram-strikes-in-borno-kills-40-abducts-scores/ |access-date=2025-03-29 |newspaper=The Punch|language=en-US}}</ref>

On 16 January 2015, the "caretaker chairman of Kukawa Local Government Area, Musa Alhaji Bukar Kukawa", speaking on behalf of the Kukawa residents who were displaced to Maiduguri following the 2015 Baga massacre, "called on the federal government to intensify military operations so that they can return to their homes."<ref>Hamza Idris and Yahaya Ibrahim. ''[http://allafrica.com/stories/201501160576.html Nigeria: CBN, Nema Reach Out to Baga Attack Victims, Others]''. Daily Trust - allAfrica.com, January 16, 2015</ref> A massacre occurred in Kukawa in July 2015.

Hundreds of Kukawa citizens were held hostage by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in August 2020. Two million people in Borno have been displaced from their homes over the past ten years; many live in squalid conditions in Maiduguri.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nigerian army says 'in full control' of town where hostages taken |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/08/nigerian-army-full-control-town-hostages-200820132155915.html |website=www.aljazeera.com |accessdate=August 20, 2020}}</ref>

==Local Government Area== Kukawa is one of the sixteen LGAs that constitute the Borno Emirate, a traditional state located in Borno State, Nigeria.<ref>{{Cite book | edition = Millennium | publisher = Federal Ministry of Information | isbn = 9780104089 | volume = 2, State Surveys | last = Nigeria | title = Nigeria: a people united, a future assured | location = Abuja, Nigeria | date = 2000 | page = 106 }}</ref> Other towns in the Kukawa Local Government Area include Cross Kauwa and Baga.

==Demographics and culture == thumb|The central mosque in Kukawa The population of Kukawa LGA consists mainly of Kanuri, Shuwa Arabs, and other ethnic groups native to the Lake Chad region. The Kanuri language is widely spoken, along with Hausa and Arabic in some areas.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kukawa Local Government Area |url=https://www.manpower.com.ng/places/lga/195 |access-date=2025-03-29 |website=www.manpower.com.ng}}</ref> The people of Kukawa engage in agriculture, fishing and trade, with crops such as millet, sorghum, and vegetables being commonly cultivated. Traditional festivals, including Durbar celebrations are an important aspect of cultural life.

==Climate == The weather is dry, with only {{convert|400-500|mm|abbr=on}} of rainfall, with hot and rainy summers and dry and pleasant winters, with temperatures between {{convert|59|F|order=flip}} and {{convert|107|F|order=flip}} and infrequently falling below {{convert|53|F|order=flip}} or rising over {{convert|112|F|order=flip}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kukawa Climate, Weather By Month, Average Temperature (Nigeria) - Weather Spark |url=https://weatherspark.com/y/74235/Average-Weather-in-Kukawa-Nigeria-Year-Round |access-date=2023-09-12 |website=weatherspark.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Kukawa, Borno, NG Climate Zone, Monthly Averages, Historical Weather Data |url=https://tcktcktck.org/nigeria/borno/kukawa |access-date=2023-09-12 |website=tcktcktck.org}}</ref>

Heat waves, extreme weather, and rising temperatures are caused by climate change, although its effects are not uniform worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Climate Change Kukawa |url=https://www.meteoblue.com/en/climate-change/kukawa_nigeria_2333563 |access-date=2023-10-23 |website=meteoblue |language=en}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist|30em}}

Category:Populated places in Borno State Category:Local government areas in Borno State Category:Kanem–Bornu Empire