Abstract:

Effective dialogue requires that all the participants have equal standing, that they listen with respect and empathy, and that ideas and assumptions are explored openly and without prejudice. Effective dialogue typically follows some basic ground rules: The focus is on common interests, not divisive ones. Maiduguri, also called Yerwa or Yerwa-Maiduguri, capital and largest city of Borno State, northeastern Nigeria. It is located along the seasonal Ngadda (Alo) River, the waters of which disappear in the firki (“black cotton”) swamps of Lake Chad, northeast of the city. Modern Maiduguri actually comprises the twin towns of Yerwa and Maiduguri. In 1907, Yerwa was founded on the site of the hamlet of Kalwa and was named by Shehu (“Sheikh” or “Sultan”) Bukar Garbai as the new traditional capital of the Kanuri people (replacing Kukawa, 80 miles [130 km] north-northeast of the former capital of the Bornu kingdom [see Kanem-Bornu]). Meanwhile, the market village of Maiduguri, just to the south, was selected by the British to replace nearby Mofoni (Maifoni, Mafoni) as their military headquarters and in 1908, they built a residency in what then became the capital of British Bornu. The combined city locally called Yerwa was divided into the urban district of Yerwa and the rural district of Maiduguri in 1957, but outside Borno both political units are now known simply as Maiduguri.