Bida, city in west central Nigeria, located in Niger state. Bida produces cotton, rice and cocoa and is famous for its glass and metalwork. Glass production was made possible by the availability of quartz surrounding the city. Other traditional industries and handicrafts include brasswork, cloth weaving, grass weaving and metalworking. Geologists believe that potential oil reserves exist in the Bida area.
Bida consists of a mixture of the Hausa and Fulani cultures. The city dates back to approximately the 10th century. Bida was originally established as an agricultural community and thereafter became an important center of long-distance trading with other cities across Africa. Bida still has several great mosques built by Hausa kings. Bida was conquered around 1805 by Muslim Fulani warriors and the city was made the capital of the Nupe Emirate in 1856. The British visited Bida in the 1870s and reported that the walls around the city were 24 km (15 mi) in circumference. This provided the city with considerable defense, but did not stop the British from briefly besieging the city in 1897. The city officially came under British rule in 1901. Population (1995) 122,500.
