Yola, Nigeria

Yola "Yola-Jimeta"
Yola Location in Nigeria
Coordinates: 9°13′48″N 12°27′36″E
Country	Nigeria
State	Adamawa State
Elevation	1,965 ft (599 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	336,648
	Includes the city of Jimeta
Time zone	GMT+1
Website	http://www.adamawa.gov.ng/visit.php

Yola is the capital city and administrative center of Adamawa State, Nigeria. Located on the Benue River, it has a population of 336,648 (2010). Yola is split into two parts. The old town of Yola where the Lamido resides is the traditional city but the new city of Jimeta (about 5 km NW) is the administrative and commercial centre. Generally the term Yola is now used to mean both. To the north are the Mandara Mountains and the south are the Shebshi Mountains with Dimlang (Vogel) Peak the second highest point (2,042 m) in Nigeria after Chappal Waddi (mountain of death). Yola is an access point to the Gashaka Gumpti Nature Reserve, which is the largest national park in Nigeria, the Ngel Nyaki montane forest reserve, the Mambilla Plateau, The Sukur UNESCO World heritage site, which is Africa's first cultural landscape to receive World Heritage List inscription, The Yadin Waterfalls, The Kiri Dam on the Gongola River, The Benue national park in nearby Cameroon, The Waza National Park, and Cameroonian town of Garoua, which lies across the Border, on the Benue river.

History

Established in 1841, Yola is a municipality that sprawls across the hillside of this North-Eastern region of Nigeria. It was the capital of a Fulani state until it was taken over by the British in 1901. Today, it is the capital of Adamawa State, which was formed in 1991 from part of Gongola State. Modibbo Adama, a local chief of the Fulani, founded Yola in 1841. During the Islamic movement led by Shehu Usman Dan Fodio in the early 19th Century, Modibbo Adama was recognised as a learned Muslim who could lead the people in the Upper Benue area. Modibbo is the Fulani word for "learned one". Probably the first European to visit the area was Heinrich Barth in 1851, shortly after Yola was founded. He traveled by the Sahara route, coming through Kukawa near Lake Chad, which at the time was the capital of the Borno Empire. Yola has the first airport in Nigeria as well as first town to have electricity.

Infrastructure

The nearby town of Jimeta has a market, zoo, an airport with direct flights to Saudi Arabia, NiPost and NiTel offices as well as the main mosque and cathedral. Being a state capital, it is a major transport hub with buses and taxis heading north to Mubi and Maiduguri, west to Numan, Gombe, jalingo and Bauchi and south to Makurdi and Katsina Ala. Taxis are available to Garoua in Cameroon. There is an airport with regular flights to Abuja and Lagos. The town is home to various institutions of learning, such as the: American University of Nigeria- AUN, Adamawa State Polytechnic, The Modibbo Adama University of Technology Yola (MAUTECH) previously known as Federal University of Technology, Yola, located about 10 km north of the city on the road to Mubi, The Federal Government Girls College, Yola, ABTI Academy, Chiroma Ahmad Academy, Ahmadu Ribadu College, MAUTECH university secondary school, Concordia College (which was nominated as the best post primary school of the year 2007 by the National Association of Nigerian Students). and many other educational institutions. Adamawa has one of the best depots in Nigeria, located about 5 km west on the road to Numan. Tourist sites include: the Three sister hills, which are three scenic rock formations standing side by side at the same height, The Njuwa lake fishing festival, The Lamido's Palace and the Annual horse-riding durbar. Although originally a Fulbe settlement, the town is now home to virtually all of Nigeria's ethnic groups, as well as people from the neighboring republic of Cameroon.

See also

Ahmadu Ribadu College