Gambaru in Hallam

 

We tried to snap a photo of W.K.R. Hallam's photograph of the Gambaru ruins recently. Originally in an article published in Nigeria Magazine entitled "Komadugu Yobe: The First and Last River," Hallam's article is rather brief on the early history of this region. Since it was published in the 1960s, the article also relies on less accurate chronologies for the Sayfawa Dynasty. Nonetheless, the claim that Biyoma, the "first" historical mai, was buried at Yo (a town on the south bank of the Komadugu Yobe), is interesting for possible references to an early presence of Kanem kings in the Borno region.