Biu

Biu lies on the plateau south of Bornu, among the lands of the Babur and Bura peoples. Its name is connected with a word meaning high in their language. The surrounding country includes grassland and savanna, where communities raise livestock and cultivate crops including sorghum and millet.

The rulers of the Biu kingdom traced their line to Yamta-ra-Wala, who established his authority in the sixteenth century. Tradition remembers him as a founder who brought together Bura and Babur settlements. His descendants formed rival dynasties at Kogu and Mandaragirau. Around the beginning of the nineteenth century, Mari Watirwa ruled from Kogu near Biu and defeated Fulani attackers from Gombe to the west. The town of Biu itself became a royal seat later in the century.