Kebbi State (; Fulfulde: Leydi Kebbi 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤳𞤫𞤦𞥆𞤭) is a

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

in northwestern

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, ...

, bordered to the east and north by the states of Sokoto and Zamfara, and to the south by

Niger State Niger State is a state in the North Central (Nigeria), North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the east by Kaduna State and the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory, to the north by Kebbi State and Zamfara State, ...

while its western border forms part of the national borders with Benin Republic and

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

. Named for the city of Birnin Kebbi—the state's capital and largest city—Kebbi State was formed from a part of Sokoto State on 27 August 1991. Of the 36

states of Nigeria Nigeria is a federation of 36 states, each of which is a semi-autonomous political unit that shares power with the federal government as enumerated under the Constitution of Nigeria, Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. In additi ...

, Kebbi is the tenth largest in area and 17th most populous with an estimated population of about 6 million as of 2023. Geographically, the state is within the

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

West Sudanian savanna

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

. Important geographic features include the Sokoto River which flows through Kebbi into the River Niger, which continues south before reaching Kainji Lake. Among the state's nature are a number of fish species exhibited during the massive Argungu Fishing Festival along with

hippopotamus The hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus amphibius;'' ; : hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Sahar ...

, West African manatee, and transient

African bush elephant The African bush elephant (''Loxodonta africana''), also known as the African savanna elephant, is a species of elephant native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of three extant elephant species and, along with the African forest elephant, one ...

populations. Ethnically, Kebbi is inhabited by various ethnic groups, with the Fulani, Hausa, and Zarma peoples living throughout the state while the Achipa (Achipawa), Boko-Bala, Dendi, Dukawa, Kambari, Kamuku, Lela, Puku, and Shanga peoples live along the state's diverse western and southern borders. Religiously, the majority of the state's population (~84%) are

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

while the remaining are followers of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

and traditional religions like Bori. In the pre-colonial period, the area that is now Kebbi State was mainly controlled by the Kebbi Kingdom, a Hausa Banza bakwai state, until the early 1800s when Fulani jihadists seized part of the area and attempted to incorporate it into the

Gwandu Emirate Gwandu, also called Gando, is a town and emirate in Kebbi State, Nigeria. The seat of government for the emirate and district of this name is in Birnin Kebbi, which is the capital of Kebbi State and was capital of the historical Kingdom of Kebbi. ...

under the

Sokoto Caliphate The Sokoto Caliphate (, literally: Caliphate in the Lands of Sudan), also known as the Sultanate of Sokoto, was a Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim caliphate in West Africa. It was founded by Usman dan Fodio in 1804 during the Fula jihads, Fulani jihads ...

. Over the next century, Kebbi rulers fought Sokoto on-and-off until the 1900s and 1910s, when the British seized control of the area as a part of the Northern Nigeria Protectorate which later merged into British Nigeria before becoming independent as

in 1960. Originally, modern-day Kebbi State was a part of the post-independence Northern Region until 1967 when the region was split and the area became part of the North-Western State. After the North-Eastern State was split, Sokoto State was formed in 1976 alongside ten other states. Twenty years afterward, a group of LGAs in Sokoto State's west and south was broken off to form the new Kebbi State. Economically, Kebbi State is largely based around fishing and

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, mainly of

sorghum ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the Poaceae, grass genus ''Sorghum (genus), Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain i ...

, groundnuts,

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae. Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...

onions An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classified ...

, and

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

crops. Other key industries are trading, especially in the city of Birnin Kebbi, and the livestock herding of camels,

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

goats The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the famil ...

, and

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

. Kebbi has the lowest

Human Development Index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistical composite index of life expectancy, Education Index, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income i ...

and sixth lowest GDP in the country.

History

Kebbi state is traditionally considered by Sarki mythology as the homeland of the ƴan uwa bakwai states and

Hausa kingdoms Hausa Kingdoms, also known as Hausa Kingdom or Hausaland, was a collection of states ruled by the Hausa people, before the Fulani jihads. It was situated between the Niger River and Lake Chad (modern day northern Nigeria). Hausaland lay betwe ...

. Kebbi resisted the Fulani jihad of the early 19th-century, but in the later 19th-century, the area largely converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

through peaceful means.

History of Zuru

Zuru emirate is divided into five administrative chiefdoms: Dabai, Danko, Fakai, Sakaba, and Wasagu. The third class chief, who is also member of the Zuru town in Dabai chiefdom, where the emirate headquarters is located, heads each of the towns. Zuru Emirate is located in the southern part of Kebbi state Nigeria, occupying an area of about 9000sq km. It is bordered by Gummi in Zamfara state in the North. To the south is

Niger state Niger State is a state in the North Central (Nigeria), North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the east by Kaduna State and the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory, to the north by Kebbi State and Zamfara State, ...

, this borderline extends also arbitrarily on land to the west, to a point where it ends a few kilometers to the west of large tributary of the Dan Zari River, a northwest ward protrusion of Yauri Emirate of Kebbi. In fact, going by history, Zuru people being multi-ethnic are grouped into categories. The first category is of those that claim long term settlement and the second category is of the much more recent settlers, who in fact regard themselves – and are also regarded by the others as recent immigrants or even as temporary strangers. In the first category are the ''Achifawa, Kambari, Dukkawa Fakkawa,'Dankawa, Worawa, Katsinawa'' and ''Lelna ( Dakarkari' such as sindawa').'' It is characteristic to find that some of them lay claim to have originated from the Hausas. Zuru as was said, is a result of upheaval, resulting from events such as Kanta's breakaway from Songhai and Nupe-Kororofa control. Moreover, the ''Katsinawa,'' who in fact see themselves as immigrants from the old state of Katsina, which had made political in road Zuru region, especially from the 16th century A.D. onward, and had enabled them to settle and to area's indigenous population.

Geography

Kebbi state was created out of the former Sokoto state on 17 August 1991. The state has a total population of 3,137,989 people as projected from the 1991 census, within 21 local government areas. The state has Sudan and

Sahel The Sahel region (; ), or Sahelian acacia savanna, is a Biogeography, biogeographical region in Africa. It is the Ecotone, transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a ...

savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

. The southern part is generally rocky with the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, Nige ...

traversing the state from Benin to Ngaski LGA. The northern part of the state is sandy with the Rima River passing through Argungu to Bagudo LGA, where it empties into the Niger. Agriculture is the main occupation of the people, especially in the rural areas. Crops produced are mainly grains. Animal rearing and fishing are also common.

and

are the dominant religions of the people. There are 225 political wards, 3,000 settlements and 1,036 hard to reach settlements in the 21 local government areas in the state.

Climate

Like other

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

states, Kebbi state is also characterised with the tropical weather conditions of coldness, wetness and

harmattan The Harmattan is a season in West Africa that occurs between the end of November and the middle of March. It is characterized by the dry and dusty northeasterly trade wind, of the same name, which blows from the Sahara over West Africa into th ...

. The annual rainfall of Kebbi state has the average of 787.53 and 112.21mm, since rainfall is a climatic

resource ''Resource'' refers to all the materials available in our environment which are Technology, technologically accessible, Economics, economically feasible and Culture, culturally Sustainability, sustainable and help us to satisfy our needs and want ...

in the state, which aids agricultural production. The rainy season in the state is between mid-May and mid-September, while the dry season constitutes a period of seven months. The temperature of Kebbi state has an annual variation between 65⁰F and 104⁰F. The

cloud In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles, suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may ...

of Kebbi state is clearer around November to March of the succeeding month, while the state is usually cloudy between March and November at 68% annually. There is a relatively high

humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, dew, or fog t ...

between seven months, April and November of every year, with November to July being the windiest.

Local Government Areas

Kebbi state consists of 21

Local Government Areas A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a state, province, division, or territory. The ph ...

(LGAs), four

emirate An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalent ...

councils ( Gwandu, Argungu, Yauri and Zuru), and 35 districts. The LGAs are as follows: * Aleiro * Arewa Dandi * Argungu * Augie * Bagudo * Birnin Kebbi * Bunza * Dandi * Fakai * Gwandu * Jega * Kalgo * Koko/Besse * Maiyama * Ngaski * Sakaba * Shanga * Suru * Wasagu * Yauri * Zuru

Demographics

Kebbi state is mainly populated by Hausa and Fulani people. with some members of Zarma, Lelna (Dakarkari), Bussawa (generally speakers of Busa), Dukawa, Kambari, Gungawa and Kamuku ethnic communities. Most people who live in Kebbi are

Languages

The

Hausa language Hausa (; / ; Hausa Ajami, Ajami: ) is a Chadic language spoken primarily by the Hausa people in the northern parts of Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Benin and Togo, and the southern parts of Niger, and Chad, with significant minorities in Ivory Coas ...

is dominant throughout the State. Below is a list of some languages of Kebbi state listed by LGA: Other languages spoken in Kebbi state include Fulfulde, Ut-Hun, and Sorko.

Government

Like the majority of Nigerian states, Kebbi state is governed by a governor and a State House of Assembly, under the current administration of Nasir Idris.

Agriculture

Kebbi state is one of the major producers of

in Nigeria. The current participation of more than 70,000 farmers in the Anchor Borrowers Rice and wheat farming, is heading towards making Kebbi state a new destination and hub for agro-based commodities of the country. To reiterate his commitment to ensure that Kebbi state is not only dependent on federal government allocation, the active governor of the state, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu paid a visit to Benin Republic last year and while on the trip, signed a number of bilateral trade protocols with the government and business community of Benin Republic with a view to fostering trade, industrial and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

relationships with the country. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu is also the Chairman, National Task Force on Rice and Wheat Production in Nigeria.

Tertiary learning institutions

The tertiary institutions of learning in Kebbi state, both federal government owned, state owned and private institutions are listed this: * Federal University, Birnin kebbi
Federal University of Agriculture, Zuru
* Kebbi State University of Science and Technology, Aliero * Waziri Umaru Federal Polytechnic Birnin Kebbi
Kebbi State Polytechnic Dakin Gari
* Adamu Augie College of Education, Argungu
Kebbi State College of Nursing and Midwives Birnin Kebbi

Kebbi State College of Health Sciences and Technology, Jega

Kebbi State College of Basic and Advance Studies, Yauri

Sajo College of Nursing Sciences, Birnin Kebbi

Transport

Federal highways

A1 north from Niger State at Makirin via Yelwa, Koko, Sokoto State for 19 km from Tungan Ilo via Kuchi in Kebbe LGA to Maishaika, Jega, Sokoto State again for nine km from Illela via Tambawel in Kebbe LGA to Ungan-Bawa, and northeast to Sokoto State at Barkeji.

Road to
Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

Southwest from Bunza at Kamba to RN8.

Other major roads

* the Birnin-Kebbi-Anmawa Rd northwest from A1 at Jega to Kalgo, * the Birnin-Kebbu-Anmawa Rd north from Kalgo via Birnin Kebbi and Zauro to Argungu as the Birnin Kebbi-Argungu Rd, * the Dagawa-Argungu Rd east to Sokoto State near Fakwon Sarki as the Arugungu-Iyabo-Sokoto Rd, * the Maidahin-Daringari-Kalgo Junction Rd south from Kalgo to Bunza, * the Dakingari-Bunza Rd south from Bunza via Dakingari and Zagga, * the Bin Yauri-Rijau Rd east from A1 at Bin Yauri via Birnin Yauri and Gwanda to

at Kambuwa as the Maburo Rijau Rd, * the Fakai-Iri-Rijau Rd north from Niger State via Bajida, * the Zuru-Mahuta Rd east from Fakai to Dabai, where one branch goes north via Donko to Zamfara State, and another branch goes south to Niger State as the Rijau-Zuru Rd.

Airports

* Sir Ahmadu Bello International at Birnin Kebbi with regular flights to Lagos and Abuja, with Muslim pilgrims to Saudi Arabia during the

Haji Hajji (; sometimes spelled Hajjeh, Hadji, Haji, Alhaji, Al-Hadj, Al-Haj or El-Hajj) is an honorific title which is given to a Muslim who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca. Etymology ''Hajji'' is derived from the Arabic ' (), which ...

* Tuga Airstrip near Bagudo.

Natural resources

Kebbi state has many natural resources which boost the economy of the state and enhances the availability of raw materials for industrial purposes, these include: *

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

Quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

Magnesite Magnesite is a mineral with the chemical formula ( magnesium carbonate). Iron, manganese, cobalt, and nickel may occur as admixtures, but only in small amounts. Occurrence Magnesite occurs as veins in and an alteration product of ultramafic r ...

Manganese Manganese is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese was first isolated in the 1770s. It is a transition m ...

Iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

Copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

Aluminium Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

Major incidents

* Kebbi boat disaster on 26 May 2021.

Bandit attacks

Kebbi state is badly affected by the Nigerian bandit conflict. Banditry attacks in the state include the 2021 Kebbi massacre on 3 June 2021, the Kebbi kidnapping on 24 June 2021, the Dankade massacre on 14-15 January 2022 and the 2022 Kebbi massacres on 8 March of the same year.

References

Bibliography

* Blench, Roger. 2020.
Kebbi State: cultural briefing
'. * Harris, P. G.: ''Sokoto Provincial Gazetteer'', Sokoto 1938 yclostyled * Hogben, S. J. and A. H. M. Kirk-Greene: ''The Emirates of Northern Nigeria'', London 1966. * Lange, Dierk
"An Assyrian successor state in West Africa: The ancestral kings of Kebbi as ancient Near Eastern rulers"
Anthropos, 104, 2 (2009), 359–382.

External links

KebbiState.com

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