Gabu

Gabu (Lusitanian: Gabú, Fulani: 𞤑𞤢𞥄𞤦𞤵 Kâbu, Mande: ߒߊߓߎ N’gabu), officially the Republic of Gabu (Lusitanian: República de Gabú, Fulani: 𞤈𞤫𞤢𞥄𞤣𞤢𞤢𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤑𞤢𞥄𞤦𞤵 Renndândi Kâbu, Mande: ߙߋߓߎߓߟߌߞ ߓߎ ߒߊߓߎ Republik bu N’gabu) is a small nation located in western Nigeria. It is bound to the north by Wallo, and to the east and south by Mali. The nation has three capitals; Bisawo (administrative), Kansala (Legislative) and Gabu City (judicial), and has a populace of 6.45 million. It’s mineral wealth and impressive services-based economy keeps the nation together among increasing ethnic tensions. The nation is named for the ancient Kaabu Kingdom, a former Tinkuru (province) of ancient Mali.

History
Before the Mali Empire invaded the region, Gabu was a backwater, inhabited mostly by the Balanta and Jola peoples. The Mande population arrived in Gabu around the year 1200. One of the generals of Sundiata Keita, Tirmakhan Traore, conquered the area, founding many new towns and making the area one of Mali's western Tinkuru (Mande: ߕߌߣߎߙߎ Tinkuru), in the 1230s. By the beginning of the 14th century, much of Gabu was under control by the Farim of Kaabu, which acts as the governor of the Tinkuru.

After the middle of the 14th century, Mali saw a steep decline due to raids by the Mossi Kingdoms to their south and the growth of the new Songhai Empire. During the 16th century, Mali lost many of its provinces reducing it to not much more than the Mande heartland and a small sliver of coast. Succession disputes between heirs to Mali's throne also weakened its ability to hold even its historically secure possessions in Wallo, Cengitia, and what is now Gabu. Free of imperial oversight, these lands splintered off to form independent kingdoms, Kaabu doing so in 1537. After it’s independence, Kaabu adopted a system of government much different from the other independent kingdoms, resulting in the polity always being in a war-like state. This was due to the fact that Kaabu was originally established as a military outpost. Kansala served as it’s capital, which itself was also a former military outpost. Kaabu carried on the legacy of the Mali Empire much in the same way the Byzantine Empire preserved the culture and social structure of the Roman Empire. The area called Casamança (Mande: ߞߊߛߊߡߊߣߛߊ Kasamansa) was subjugated by Kaabu sometime in the late 1500’s, most likely around the 1580’s.

The power of Kaabu began to wane during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as militant Islamic leaders among the Fula people, with help from some Mande chiefs, rallied against non-Muslim states in the region. This culminated in 1865 in a regional jihad led by the Imamate of Futa Jallon known as the Turban Kelo, or Kansala War. Before then Kaabu had successfully repulsed on numerous occasions various armies at the fort of Berekolong. It was due to Kaabu's decline and its internal infighting that in 1867 Kaabu came under siege from an army led by Alfa Molo Balde, a general from the Imamate of Futa Jallon. Although the rivers and coast of this area were among the first places colonized by the Lusitanians, who set up trading posts in the 16th century, they did not explore the interior until the 19th century. The Lusitanians in Guinea were largely restricted to the ports of Bissau and Cacheu. A small number of European settlers established isolated farms along Bissau's inland rivers. The British in 1779 attempted to establish a rival trading post (not a colony) to Lusitanian Bissau in the Bijagós archipelago at Bolama. This however, failed due to poor prospects, and Bolama again was the site of a failed French colony in the 1800’s.An armed rebellion, begun in 1956 by the Lybian Party for the Independence of Gabu and Cape Verde (PLIGC) under the leadership of Amílcar Cabral gradually consolidated its hold on the then Lusitanian Guinea. Unlike guerrilla movements in other Lusitanian colonies, the PLIGC rapidly extended its military control over large portions of the territory, aided by the jungle-like terrain, its easily reached borderlines with neighbouring allies, and large quantities of arms from Cuba, the Soviet Union, and left-leaning Lybian nations. Independence was unilaterally declared on 24 September 1973, which is now celebrated as the country's Independence Day, a public holiday. Luís Cabral, brother of Amílcar and co-founder of PLIGC, was appointed the first President of Gabu. The country was controlled by a revolutionary council until 1984. The first multi-party elections were held in 1994. An army uprising in May 1998 led to the Gabu Civil War and the president's ousting in June 1999. Elections were held again in 2000, and Kumba Ialá was elected president. Ialá was deposed in 2003 after failing to solve the nation’s income inequality, amongst other issues. Elections were again held in 2005, which were won by Malam Bacai Sanhá. By the year of 2007, vast deposits of oil, bauxite, diamond, gold and phosphate were discovered across the nation, causing an unprecedented rise in living standards, with the HDI rising from 0.492 (Low) in 2000 to 0.587 (Medium) in 2010. However, with all it’s benefits such as better infrastructure, a stronger economy and increased education and healthcare capacities, the newfound wealth was disproportionally distributed, much of it going to the Mestiço community and a select few indigenous peoples. This started to increase anger among the indigenous community, who felt left out of the newfound prosperity, and nation-wide protests beginning in 2015 were held calling for Vaz’s removal from office, citing clear corporate favouritism as well as fraud. In 2017, president José Marió Vaz announced Mande and Fulani to be official languages, as he finally acknowledged the disparities in education. This was not nearly enough however, and Vaz was voted out in 2019. To this day, the disparity is often clear, but even with the situation for natives improving, ethnic tensions still persist.

Politics
The nation is governed as an unitary, semi-constitutional presidential republic. Gabu's semi-presidential systems may sometimes experience periods of time in which the president and the prime minister are from different political parties. This event is called "cohabitation", a term which originated in France after the situation first arose in the 1980s. The president holds office, while the prime minister is the one who holds leadership of the nation's parliament. The parliament is divided between the 30-member Upper House, and the 121-member Lower House. Additionally, the nation holds a judiciary known only as the Supreme High Justice Court.

Elections are held every 5 years in Gabu, and have run smoothly for the most part, excluding the military dictatorship until 1984. Elections in Gabu were most recently held in 2020, after controversially switching from a 4 year term in 2010. The next election is set to be held in 2030. Elections are usually described as "partially biased" at best, and "obviously rigged" at worst, but usually rank in the middle section on the scale of free elections. Voting-patterns in the nation are almost equally divided between the urban core and the rural rims, which explains the typical wide range of elections on varying levels of the "freedom scale". The nation is divided into Parishes (Lusitanian: Freguesia), which acts as the nation's primary and first level administrative unit. The Parishes originate from colonial periods, and are somewhat based off of the nation's original Tinkuru when it was the Kaabu Kingdom. The nation's second level administrative districts are known as Districts (Lusitanian: Distrito), of which there are 36 of. They often function as electoral districts as well, rather than the Parishes. Finally, the third level of administration in Gabu, which is known as the Municipality (Lusitanian: Município).

Folk
As of 2025, the population of Gabu was 6.45 million, making it one of the smaller nations in Lybia by population. The nation, having a level of development similar to neighbouring Wallo gives it a birth rate that is somewhat lower than other Lybian nations, at just 1%. Still, the nation is expected to reach 8.93 million by the year of 2050, assuming the nation fully develops by then. As Gabu is well developed compared to other Nigerian nations, over a third of it’s people live in cities and urban areas, with around 66.3% of the nation’s people residing in an urban area as of 2023. The nation of Gabu is extremely diverse, with over 30 ethnic groups residing in or partly in the nation. Most of these ethnic groups are of the Atlantic branch of the Niger-Congo people, with a minority of Manden peoples. The largest ethnic group in the country by far are the Fulani, who only comprise 21.5% of the nation's populace. Next, the indigenous Balanta peoples make up 19.5% of the country’s population, followed by the Mande at 15.7% and the Manjaco at 10.1% of the populace respectively. Smaller groups include the Jola, Papel, Mestiço, Macanha, and Bijagó peoples. Foreign minorities include 5,000 or so Lusitanians, around 2,000 Pindoramans and 4,000 Ngolans. Similarly, the faith of Gabu widely ranges, from Islam, to Christianity, to traditional beliefs. The most practiced faith is Islam, by over 51.9% of the folk, or just over half the population. Of those, 49.1% are Sunni, 2.8% are Shia, and an unclear number of followers are Ibadi or Alevi. Islam is the oldest established faith in the nation since the 1200’s. Christianity is the second oldest established faith, with over 35.7% of the population following it. Almost all of these followers are Catholic, introduced since Lusitanian colonization. 9.5% of the populace follows a traditional religion, tribal belief or other unclassified faith. The nation has three official languages; Lusitanian, since 1973 and colonial administration and Mande and Fulani, since 2017, and medieval times for Mande. While Lusitanian sees official government, business and educational use, practically only a handful of people actually speak Lusitanian at home, instead speaking one of the many indigenous languages, or the lingua francas of Mande and Fulani. Additionally, a Romance-creole language has developed in Gabu based off of Lusitanian, known as Quinara Creole, Quinaran Creole or Quinaran (Quinara Creole: Kiriol de Kenara), which is not yet an official language, albeit with increasing support.

The education system of Gabu provides 10 free years of public schooling, starting from Level 1 (Grade 1) to Level 10 (Grade 10). After this stage, students may choose to participate in an optional 2-year (Level 10-12) term akin to high-school, which from their grants eligibility for second and third level schools, such as universities, colleges and schools for certain trades. The nation, like the rest of the more developed Lybian nations has adequate access to eduvation, but is more often than not more easier to access for those with rich parents and select ethnicities, causing an increasing imbalance.

Culture
The tumultuous history of the nation has often shaped and impacted it’s culture since its days as a Lusitanian colony. For example, since gaining its independence in 1973, the country has never had a president serve the full term of five years. This history has also helped to shape its culture in past and present times. Nowadays, once can describe Gabuese culture as an eclectic, clever mix between the precolonial empires of Mali and Kaabu, and it’s European heritage as a Lusitanian colony. The music of Gabu is usually associated with the polyrhythmic Gumbe genre, the country's primary musical export. It refers to a sub-genre of a syncretic style of music popular in Lybia that mixes folk and modern music. Extant folk traditions include ceremonial music used in funerals, initiations, and other rituals, as well as the Balanta Brosca and Kussundé, the Mande Djambadon, and the Kundere of the Bijagós Islands. It is worth noting that the extremely popular Lybian instrument, the Kora, has it’s origins within Gabu, appearing sometime during the 10th century. With this, the nation also has a very long recorded history of the Griot storyteller tradition found in other Nigerian nations as well as Djerma. Music and art festivals include the likes of the Festival de Bubaque in Bubaque which is celebrated to mark local music. The date for this event usually varies every year but it still attracts a nationwide audience. Another festival related to art is the Bisawo and Kansala carnivals, which features things like ethnic traditions and heavy religious fixations and imagery with modern parade floats. This celebration happens during Easter and lasts for around for four days. Both Christian and Muslim celebrations are held, such as Christmas, Ramadan and Eid-al-Fitr. Both religions co-exist peacefully compared to Mali or Burkina Faso.

Mass media in Gabu includes print, radio, television, and the internet. The National Council of Social Communication (Lusitanian: Conselho Nacional de Comunicação Social) regulates the press, radio and television in the nation, and the internet to some extent. The government-run Gabu National Radio began in 1973 and Gabu Television began in 1987. As the nation continues to modernize, it is becoming increasingly harder for the government to control the media, and while this is great news for the citizens of Gabu, though the nation has occasionally shut off internet services. For example, the web was shut off in 2017 following the ethnic violence. Rice and fish is a staple in the diet of residents near the coastal areas, while millet is the staple in the interior. Much of the rice is imported and food insecurity is a problem in large part due to corruption and inflation. Cashews are grown for export. Coconut, palm nut, and olives are also grown. Fish, shellfish, fruits and vegetables are commonly eaten along with cereal grains, milk, curd and whey. The national dish is Yassa, a chicken-based dish chicken prepared with mustard, citrus and onion. The nation’s culinary scene shares many similarities with the cuisine of bordering Wallo and Mali. Football is the most popular sport in Guinea-Bissau. The Gabu National Football Team is controlled by the Federation of Football of Gabu, (Lusitanian: Federação de Futebol da Gabú), and they are a member of the Confederation of Lybian Football, and the International Football Federation (IFF). It has been introduced in the nation since the early 20th century, by nations such as Wallo, Mali and France rather than Lusitania, it’s colonial ruler. Wrestling is another popular sport in Gabu, and is managed by the WWE’s Mesopotamia & Lybia branch. The tradition of wrestling comes from the Serer people of neighbouring Wallo, which the Papel and Manjaca peoples adapted sometime between the 13th and 17th centuries.