The Borgu Empire

Borgu was an empire comprised of'; Nikki (Barutem), Bussa, and llo. The inhabitants of Borgu are the Baatombu, Boko (Bissa, Boo, and Bokobaru) and minor ethnic groups, (Kambari, Laru and so on). The name Borgu is believed to be a corruption/manipulation of "Baru-wu", which n Baatonum means "the town of Baru", or Baru-guuh, which means "the territory of Baru" in Bokobaru language. Baru-wu or Baru-guuh could also be called "Barutem", meaning "the land or territory of Baru", but to avoid confusion, Barutem would be used to mean the empire without. Bussa and Illo, and Borgu to include Bussa and Illo.Borgu lies between the first and fourth meridian of East Longitude and occupies areas bounded in the south by militaristic Yoruba-Dahomey land, in the north by the river Niger and Dendi Zabermaland (Songhay), in the east by the River Niger and Nupeland, and in the west by Atacora Mountains and Gurma-Sombaland, who did not have a centralized state of organization.During the British colonial era, the area was within the territory claimed by the Royal Niger Company, but rivalry between Britain and France for control of the trade on the River Niger led to occupation of areas by the French, for instance at Illo, and the stationing of the British West African Frontier Force at Yashikira and elsewhere in the region.The matter was settled by the Anglo-French Delineation Agreement and later the British Government divided Nigeria into Northern and Southern Protectorates. Borgu became part of the Northern Nigeria Protectorate. British posts were established along the Niger River and at Jebba, Zungeru, Lokoja and Illo, and a mail route was established between them for communication with Britain.In spite of their separation by the colonial border there are still many exchanges between the petty kingdoms of Borgu situated in Benin and Nigeria. The three major Kingdoms are Bussa, Illo, and Nikki. Bussa is traditionally considered to be the spiritual center of Borgu, Nikki the center of political powers and Illo the commercial emporium.