Biu

Biu is a city in southern Borno State in northeastern Nigeria and the administrative centre of the Biu Local Government Area. It lies on the Biu Plateau in a semi-arid region, at an average elevation of about 626 metres according to its Wikipedia article. The town was once the capital of the Biu kingdom, which became established around 1670, and it is now the seat of the Biu Emirate; the emir's palace stands in the town, and Mari Biya became the first Babur king to rule from Biu in 1878. The people of the area are mainly Babur and Bura, with Tera, Marghi, Mina and Fulani communities, and Bura is the language most often reported in homes across the local government area. The economy is mixed agriculture based on herding cattle, goats and sheep and on farming sorghum, millet, maize, cowpea and cotton, with a small mining industry. Biu General Hospital is the main referral hospital for southern Borno State.