Yola (Fulfulde: Ƴola), meaning 'Great Plain' or 'Vast Plain Land', is a large city, capital city and administrative centre of Adamawa State, Nigeria. It is located on the Benue River, and it has a population of over 336,648 (2010).[2] Yola is split into two parts. The old town of Yola where the Lamido resides is the traditional city and the new city of Jimeta (about 5 km or 3 mi NW) is the administrative and commercial centre. They are generally referred to as Yola.
It was 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 Muslim Scholar who could lead the people in the Upper Benue area. 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.[4]
International Airport Yola was among the first airport in Nigeria and one of the first town to have power supply.
Global warming has had a negative impact on climate and weather patterns as is visible here with the River Gongola flooding some households and farmlands in Yola.
Yola has a tropical savanna climate that borders on a hot semi-arid climate (Aw bordering on BSh according to the Köppen climate classification) with a dry season and wet season. The temperature is warm year-round, with August and September having the lowest average high at 31.3 °C (88.3 °F) and December having the lowest average low at 16.9 °C (62.4 °F). March has the highest average high of 42.8 °C (109.0 °F), while April has the highest average low at 27.0 °C (80.6 °F). The highest temperatures occur in March and April, just before the wet season starts.
Yola receives 872.4 mm (34.35 in) of precipitation annually on average. There is a wet season from May to October and a dry season for the rest of the year. The dry season, especially from February to April, has higher daytime temperatures and can have lower nighttime lows. The dry season also has a higher diurnal temperature variation. August is the wet month, receiving 196.1 mm (7.72 in) of rain on average over 16 precipitation days. No precipitation falls from December to February. Humidity is low in the dry season, dropping to just 13.5% in February, but it can get quite humid during the wet season, especially from July to September. Yola receives 2,845.5 hours of sunshine annually, which is well-distributed throughout the year, with November having the most sunshine and August having the least.[6]
Clouds
Yola's cloud cover varies significantly throughout the year; clearer months last 4.6 months, while partly overcast months last 7.4 months. The clearest month is January, with 53% of the sky being either mostly clear or clear with 78% of the sky being clouded or overcast, May is the cloudiest month.[7][8][9]
Rainfall
Yola's monthly rainfall varies greatly according to the season, with a 7.3-month rainy season ranging from March 27 to November 7 and averaging 0.5 inches. The heaviest rain falls in August, with an average of 6.5 inches. The duration of the dry spell is 4.6 months, with January recording the lowest average rainfall of 0.0 inches.[9][8]
The nearby town of Jimeta has a market, zoo, an airport[12] 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) (which is Africa's first and only development university), Adamawa State Polytechnic, The Modibbo Adama University Yola (MAU) previously known as Federal University of Technology, Yola, located about 10 km (6 mi) north of the city on the road to Mubi, The Federal Government Girls College, Yola, AUN Academy (ABTI Academy), Aliyu Mustapha Academy, Chiroma Ahmad Academy, Ahmadu Ribadu College, MAUTECH university secondary school, Concordia College (which was nominated as the best post-primary school for 2007 by the National Association of Nigerian Students). Yola also houses one of the six campuses of the Nigerian Law school located beside the American University of Nigeria and many other educational institutions. Adamawa has one of the best depots in Nigeria, located about 5 km (3 mi) west on the road to Numan. Tourist sites include: The Three sister hills in Song Local Government Area, which are three scenic rock formations standing side by side at different height with the middle one as the big sister. The former Njuwa lake fishing festival site which is now dried and developed into residential area. The Lamido's Palace and the Annual horse-riding durbar, originally a Fulbe settlement, the town is largely dominated by Fulbe, as well as people from other parts of the country and the neighboring country of Cameroon.[2]
Nigeria
