Dikwa

When the Sudanese warlord Rabih az-Zubayr conquered the Kanem–Bornu Empire in 1893, Rabih destroyed the empire's capital at Kukawa.^[1] Rabih spent some time at Kukawa but settled on Dikwa as his capital instead, since the town had better communications and a superior water supply.^[2] Dikwa was heavily fortified and remained Rabih's capital for the duration of his rule.^[3] Rabih was killed by a French army, bolstered by local Bornu forces, at the battle of battle of Kousséri in 1900.^[4] The al-Kanemi dynasty, which had governed the Kanem–Bornu Empire prior to Rabih's invasion, was reinstalled as rulers with French and local support. With Kukawa destroyed, Dikwa remained the capital during the last years of the Kanem–Bornu Empire under the shehus Sanda Kura, Masta Gumsumi, and Abubakar Garbai.^[5] In 1902, all territories of the empire came under European colonial rule. Per a 1893 treaty, Dikwa fell under German control.^[6]

Between 1902 and 1916, Dikwa was the capital of what the Europeans called German Borno (the modern-day Dikwa Emirate). After the First World War until 1961, the town and the Dikwa Emirate were administered by the British under a League of Nations mandate and a United Nations Trusteeship agreement.^[7] In 1942, Dikwa ceased to be the capital of the Dikwa Emirate. Bama became the capital of the Emirate which kept its name as Dikwa Emirate.^[8]

In 1961, after a United Nations plebiscite, the town and the Dikwa Emirate became officially Nigerian.^[9]

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  Mosque of Dikwa (2010)
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  Fort of Dikwa model (Museum of Dikwa - 2010)
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  Walls of Dikwa fort (2010)
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  Tower and walls of Dikwa fort (2010)

Dikwa is a Local government area of Borno State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Dikwa, which is also the seat of the Dikwa Emirate.

With an annual rainfall range of 15 to 32 inches, the Bornu and Dikwa Emirates have a semiarid climate with a long dry season and a brief wet season.^{[10][11][12][13]}

It has an area of 1,774 km² and had a population of 25,300 inhabitants in 2010 according to Africapolis.^[14] The 2006 census gave an estimated number of 105,909 inhabitants but, as in the rest of Nigeria, these figures should be taken with caution.^[15]

The postal code of the area is 611.^[16]