Adamawa State

Adamawa is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Borno to the northwest, Gombe to the west, and Taraba to the southwest while its eastern border forms part of the national border with Cameroon. It takes its name from the historic emirate of Adamawa, with the emirate's old capital of Yola serving as the capital city of Adamawa State. The state was formed in 1991 when the former Gongola State was broken up into Adamawa and Taraba states. The state is one of the most heterogeneous in Nigeria, having over 100 indigenous ethnic groups.

Of the 36 states, Adamawa is the eighth largest in the area, but the thirteenth least populous with an estimated population of about 4.25 million as of 2016. Geographically, the state is mainly composed of highlands and mountains (the Atlantika, Mandara, and the Shebshi ranges) and the Adamawa Plateau crossed by valleys and rivers, most notably the Benue and Gongola rivers. The lowlands of Adamawa are all part of the West Sudanian savanna in the north and the wetter Guinean forest-savanna mosaic in parts of the south, while elevated areas are parts of the Mandara Plateau mosaic and Cameroonian Highlands forests ecoregions. In the extreme south of the state is part of the Gashaka Gumti National Park, a large wildlife park that contains large populations of bushbuck, African buffalo, patas monkey, black-and-white colobus, giant pangolin, and hippopotamus along with some of Nigeria's last remaining Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee, African leopard, and African golden cat populations.

What is now known as Adamawa state has been inhabited for years by various ethnic groups, including the Verre Language, Tsobo Language, Bwatiye (Bachama), Bali, Bata (Gbwata), Gudu, Mbula-Bwazza, and Nungurab (Lunguda) in the central region; the Kamwe in the north and central region; the Jibu in the far south; the Kilba, Mafa, Marghi, and Waga in the north, and the Mumuye in the south while the Fulani live throughout the state, often as nomadic herders. Adamawa is also religiously diverse as about 50% of the population is Sunni Muslim and 40% is Christian (mainly Lutheran, EYN, ECWA, and Pentecostal), while the remaining 10% are adherents of traditional ethnic religions.

As an agriculturally-based state, the Adamawa State economy mainly relies on livestock and crops, such as cotton, groundnuts, millet, cassava, guinea corn, and yams. Due to the Boko Haram insurgency affecting development in the state, Adamawa has the eleventh lowest Human Development Index in the country but as the insurgency has abated since 2016 due to terrorist infighting, development has been renewed.

Before it became a state in Nigeria, Adamawa was a subordinate kingdom of the Sultanate of Sokoto, which also included much of northern Cameroon. The rulers bear the title of emir ("lamido" in the local language, Fulfulde).

The name "Adamawa" came from the founder of the kingdom, Modibo Adama, a regional leader of the Fulani Jihad organized by Usman dan Fodio of Sokoto in 1804. Modibo Adama came from the region of Gurin (now just a small village) and in 1806, received a green flag for leading the jihad in his native country. In the following years, Adama conquered many lands and tribes. In 1838, he moved his capital to Ribadu, and in 1839, to Joboliwo. In 1841, he founded Yola, where he died in 1848. After the European colonization (first by Germany and then by Britain), the rulers remained as emirs and the line of succession has continued to the present day.

In the early 1800s, the Fulani jihad seized much of modern-day Adamawa State and formed the Adamawa Emirate under the Sokoto Caliphate. About 90 years later, forces from Germany and the British Empire defeated the Emirate in the Adamawa Wars and split the area. The British-controlled area (much of the west of modern-day Adamawa) was incorporated into the Northern Nigeria Protectorate which later merged into British Nigeria before becoming independent as Nigeria in 1960. The German-controlled area formed a part of German Kamerun until allied forces invaded and occupied Kamerun during the Kamerun campaign of World War I. After the war, what is now eastern Adamawa State became most of the Northern Cameroons within the British Cameroons until 1961, when a referendum led to a merger with Nigeria.

Originally, modern-day Adamawa State was a part of the post-independence Northern Region until 1967 when the area became part of the North-Eastern State. After the North-Eastern State was split in 1976, Gongola State was formed on 3 February 1976 alongside ten other states. Fifteen years after statehood, Gongola was split with the state's south becoming Taraba State while its north became Adamawa State.