Gaya Emirate is a second-class emirate in

Kano State Kano (Hausa language, Hausa: ) is one of the 36 States of Nigeria, states of Nigeria, located in the Northern Region, Nigeria, northern region of the country. According to the national census done in 2006, Kano State is the List of Nigerian st ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. It was first established by the Kano State Government in 2019, and restructured in 2024 following a brief dissolution. It is located in the Gaya Local Government Area of the state. The Gaya Emirate is headed by a traditional ruler known as the ''Sarkin Gaya'', who is appointed by the Kano State Government. The current Sarkin Gaya is Aliyu Ibrahim Gaya, who was appointed in 2021 after the death of late emir Alhaji Ibrahim Abdulkadir. The emirate is predominantly a farming community, with crops such as rice, maize, millet, and groundnuts being grown in large quantities.

Culture

In terms of culture and traditions, the Gaya people have a rich heritage and are known for their colorful festivals such as Durbur of Hawan Sallah and traditional dances. One of the major festivals in the emirate is the Gada, which is celebrated annually and involves the display of traditional wrestling, archery, and other cultural activities.

Dissolution and re-establishment

On May 23, 2023, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State announced the dissolution of the Gaya Emirate, along with four other emirates created in 2019 by the administration of former Governor

Abdullahi Umar Ganduje Abdullahi Umar Ganduje (born 25 December 1949) is a Nigerian politician who served as the governor of Kano State from 2015 to 2023. He previously served as Rabiu Kwankwaso's deputy governor twice, from 1999 to 2003 and from 2011 to 2015. He ...

. This decision reestablished Kano State's traditional structure of a single emirate, as it was prior to the 2019 reorganization. The abolishment merged the areas under the Gaya Emirate back into the

Kano Emirate The Kano Emirate was a Muslim state in northern Nigeria formed in 1805 during the Fulani jihad when the Muslim Hausa people, Hausa-led Sultanate of Kano was deposed and replaced by a new emirate which became a vassal state of the Sokoto Caliph ...

, aiming to restore historical continuity and improve administrative efficiency. On the same day, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi II was installed as the Emir of Kano, assuming leadership over the newly consolidated Kano Emirate. This change was intended to unify the traditional leadership and streamline governance within the state. In July of 2024, Gaya Emirate was re-established as a second-class emirate under the authority of the

. Gaya consists of the Gaya, Albasu and Ajingi local government areas.

References

{{reflist History of Kano State Non-sovereign monarchy Nigerian traditional states