Sanniquellie is a city and the capital of Nimba County and Sanniquellie-Mahn District, Liberia. It is located in the north-east of the country at coordinates 07°21'49" N 008°42'40" W. The average altitude of the city is 420 metres above the sea level. As of the 2008 national census, the population stood at 11,415. The most represented tribes are Mano, Gio and Mandingo.
Sanniquellie is situated on the unpaved road connecting Yekepa, Ganta, Gbarnga, Kakata, and Monrovia. The average rainy season lasts from May to October, dry season from mid-October to April/May. The coldest month is the second half of December and first half of January. The main religion is Christianity (Catholics, Adventists, Methodists) and Islam. You can also find Jehovah's Witnesses and some minor churches there.
The city is divided to quarters and communities (Main Street, Bonnah Suah Compound, Charlie Kpowin Community, Veinpa, Dokie Quarter, Dahnlopa, Animal Farm, Airfield Zone 1, Airfield Zone 2, Old Barracks, New Barracks, Gono Quarter, Floyd Island, Plumcor community, Underground Community). An important concern is the issue of ex-combatants, as some of them did not benefit from the reintegration programs (DDRR) and some of those are facing the troubles to find stable employment in the rural economy. More than 2,000 of the population are employed by "Jungle Water Group of Investment" a Liberian owed company that was established by business man Mr. Tomah S. Floyd Sr a Liberian, Nimbadian from Duo Gorton a village in Nimba Co. Many others have turned to commercial motorcycling and other forms of tertiary sector employment, but for a small number of them crime is how they earn their daily bread.
Nature
Sanniquellie City is surrounded with tropical rain forests with typical fauna and flora. Very common are rubber trees, mango trees, citrus trees, cocoa trees, lianas, various palm trees, bush grass, etc. Many acres of forest were stumped because of agricultural need, revitalization of rubber tree plants, char coal production, etc. The rain forest you can find there is commonly known as secondary bush.
There are various animals living in the tropical rain forest in Sanniquellie surroundings such as: frogs, lizards, snakes, scorpions, many kinds of insect, including malaria-carrying mosquitoes; porcupines, monkeys, bats and birds. There is an artificial lake in the middle of the town, Lake Teleh.
History
Mano and Gio people believe they came to this area in the period of great migration between 1450 and 1650 A.D. Until 1904, the area was ruled by traditional monarchs and warriors.
Sanniquellie was named by native Kpelle people who were sent to the north of the Liberia as border troops (later the Liberian Frontier Force) to defend the internal stability of the country in the middle of the 19th century. The name was too difficult for home tribes of Mano and Gio, so they misspelled it as Sanniquellie/Sannquelle/Sanniquelle/Sanokwelleh. The historical center of the town lies in present-day Bonnah Suah Compound, named after Bonnah G. Suah who was the District Chief for 25 years.
During the 1950s and 1960s, there was an increase in infrastructure and building activities in Sanniquellie. Buildings erected during the 1950s include Queen's Theatre, Public Market, Old Presidential Palace, the water tower, the water plant and some other buildings.
In 1959, the three presidents of Liberia, Guinea and Ghana met in Sanniquellie and started talks that lead to the establishment of the OAU. There were three palava houses built for the three presidents during these talks; currently they lie in ruins. There is a Memorial regarding this event at Yekepa Parking.
In 1985 former General Thomas G. Quiwonkpa, alias "The Son of the County," stormed Yekepa (as a revenge for an unsuccessful coup d'état) in Sanniquellie.
On 24 December 1989, the First Liberian Civil War started in Buutuo, Nimba County and the spark of wrath jumped to Sanniquellie and its surroundings. Years of tension between different tribes and different religion caused armed conflicts. At the New Barracks (newly constructed) the seated company of the Fifth Infantry Battalion was attacked and had to withdraw from the area. The New Barracks were looted and stayed abandoned till the present day. Despite the fact that war ended in 2003, there are some concealed tensions and unsolved problems from the past, which can cause instability in the region.