Mariga is a Local Government Area in

Niger State Niger is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria and the largest state in the country. Niger state has three political zones, zone A,B and C. The state's capital is at Minna. Other major cities are Bida, Kontagora and Suleja. It was ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. Its headquarters are in the town of Bangi in the north of the area. Other towns in the LGA are Igwama and Inkwai. Various endangered

Kamuku languages The Kamuku languages are a branch of the Kainji languages spoken by the Kamuku people of Niger State, western Nigeria, mostly in Mariga and Rafi LGAs. Although formerly classified as Kamuku, Pongu is now placed in a related branch, the Pongu ...

are spoken in Mariga LGA. It has an area of 5,552 km² and a population of 199,430 at the 2006 census. Mariga is the commercial nerve center of northern part of Niger State and is the second largest Local Government in the state. Mariga's economy is primarily based on agriculture and Trade. Agriculture mainly consists of maize, groundnuts and guinea corn production. Mariga is a market town for the surrounding area, and is home to traders specializing in the buying and selling of cattle, as well as major crop exporters.

People

The principal inhabitants of the city are the

Kamuku people The Kamuku are an ethnic group in central Nigeria. The Kamuku language belongs to the Kainji languages, Kainji family and is related to Lela language, C'lela, Duka language, Duka, and Kambari languages, Kambari. They mainly live in the west-centra ...

. The Hausa language is widely spoken in Mariga.

are also spoken in the LGA. Mariga is a Hausa and

Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...

dominated city that is largely

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

. The majority of Mariga’s Muslims are Sunni. Christians and followers of other non-Muslim religions form a small part of the population.

Transportation

Mariga is strategically located and owns its leading position as commercial hub in northern part of the state. Mariga is linked to many Local Government cities by road. The

postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...

of the area is 922. The LGA includes the

Zugurma Game Reserve The Zugurma Game Reserve is a section of the Kainji National Park, in the Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State, Nigeria. It is bordered by the Kontagora River to the northwest and the Manyara River to the north, and covers an area of 138,50 ...

, a section of the

Kainji National Park Kainji National Park is a national park in Niger State and Kwara State, Nigeria. Established in 1978, it covers an area of about . The park includes three distinct sectors: a part of the Kainji Lake in which fishing is restricted, the Borgu G ...

References

External links

Mamman Alhaji Umar Mariga
{{Niger State Local Government Areas in Niger State