Seminar: Constructing the territory and borders of Borno, Nigeria

In this seminar Vincent Hiribarren will analyse the history of the borders in the region of Borno (Nigeria). By focusing on borderlands known for harbouring Boko Haram terrorists, this seminar will bring a historical dimension to contemporary security issues in the Lake Chad region.

It will be argued that British imperialism did not always destroy nineteenth-century African polities but, as in the case of Borno, favoured the reconstruction of a nineteenth-century territory within the Nigerian colony. The quest for territorial legitimacy led the British to constantly adapt their colonial administration to the previous nineteenth-century space. Moreover, Borno a geographic cornerstone of colonial Nigeria, never ceased to count in the geopolitical balance of postcolonial Nigeria. Indeed, the post-1960 fragmentation of the federation led to the creation of Borno State in 1976 but also led to its division in 1991 between Yobe and Borno. If at first glance it would seem that the territory and borders of Borno were disappearing within Nigeria, a strong sense of belonging still exists.