The Kibaku people are an ethnic group inhabiting the

Chibok Chibok is a Local Government Area of Borno State, Nigeria, located in the southern part of the state. It has its headquarters in the town of Chibok. Landscape It has an area of 1,350 km² Population It has a population of 66,105 at the 2 ...

Local Government Area, in eastern

Borno State Borno is a States of Nigeria, state in the North East (Nigeria), North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It is bordered by Yobe State, Yobe to the west, Gombe State, Gombe to the southwest, and Adamawa State, Adamawa to the south while its ea ...

in Nigeria.

Origin

The Kibaku people are a conglomeration of the ethnic and culture of Babir/Bura, Kanuri,

Kilba The Kilba people (also called Həba) are an ethnic group in the Hong local government area of Adamawa State (formerly Gongola State) in Nigeria. History In the past, Həba lived in large clan-based mountain communities. These mountain commun ...

, Margi, Shuwa, and

Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people are an ethnic group in Sahara, 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, ...

. They migrated from the Kanem-Bornu Empire to Chibok hills when the empire was about to collapse. However, the 19th-century Islamic jihad and slave raids also coerced many tribes to move down to the hill. Tribes like Pulai/Warga who came from Viyu Kithla (now Biu) and Kwanda who came from

Konduga Konduga is a community in Borno State, Nigeria and the center of a Local Government Area of the same name about 25 km to the southeast of Maiduguri, situated on the north bank of the Ngadda River. The population of the Konduga Local Governmen ...

, Tstitihil from Maiva, Karagu from Birnin Ngazargamu and other places later formed the Kibaku people.

The Historic European Conquest

Borno empire fell peacefully into the hand of British Colonialists in 1904. However, there are some tribes who refused to be governed by the British rule. One of these tribes is the Kibaku people who resided in Southeastern Borno and were causing havoc in the economical system of the British government by blocking the trade route from Maiduguri to Yola. Therefore, in 1906, the British government decided to subjugate the Kibaku people. The British Government gave Lieutenant Chapman and Chaytor the duty of bringing the Kibaku people to their knees. Their appointments were based on their historical success in the British attack on

Gujba Gujba is a town and Local Government Area in Yobe State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are situated in Buni Yadi at towards the south of the area; the eponymous town of Gujba lies in the north of the area. It has an area of and a population of 130, ...

in Borno and the British invasion of

Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria *Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State ** Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries ** Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom betwee ...

in 1903. As expected, the two men were reported to have aggressively trained about 170 men which comprises foot soldiers and mounted soldiers. There are also reports of Africans who carried machine guns, ammunition and other valuables along. However, the Kibaku people who have generationally resisted the penetration of Borno and Adamawa resisted the British Army for seven days. This forced the British Government to appeal to them for peaceful acceptance of British rule which was also a futile attempt.Beckly, S. G. O. F., Borno Province Annual Report, 1906, PP. 3-6 Eventually, the British government employed the services of their two informants, Jatau and Mai Maina, who were also from Kibaku land with political appointments in British political scheme in Borno province. Jatau as the head of his people and Mai Maina as the head of Damboa.Annual Report on Borno Province for the Year 1906, NAK, ACC. No. 1756, P. 3. As expected, the two revealed the secret of the Kibaku people and they were defeated in 1907.

References

Borno State Ethnic groups in Nigeria