User:Horton11/Bénoué

The United Republic of Bénoué (French: République Unie du Bénoué) is a landlocked nation in West Africa, bordering Cameroon to the south, Nigeria to the west, and Chad to the east and north. The national capital is Garoua, on the country's soutern border, the Bénoué river.

Early inhabitants of the territory included the Sao civilisation around Lake Chad. Fulani soldiers founded the Adamawa Emirate in the north in the 19th century. As part of Cameroon, it became a German colony in 1884 known as Kamerun. After World War I, Bénoué became a League of Nations territory under France. The fact of its having a large Muslim population saw northern Cameroon made a distinct region in 1946. In January 1960 French cameroon was given its independence, but Bénoué was not explicitly mentioned as part of said republic. The British (and mostly Muslim) Northern Cameroons were to join Nigeria and the Southern (Christian) Cameroons the Republic of Cameroon, which would have left the Muslims as an even smaller minority, thus on 14 May 1960 independence was proclaimed by president Ahmadou Ahidjo.

Bénoué is often referred to as "Africa in miniature" for its geological and cultural diversity. It spans from Great Bénoué Lake (referred to by Western media as "Lake Chad") in the north to the magnificent Bénoué river in the south.