Minna is a city in

Middle Belt The Middle Belt (also spelt Middle-Belt or Central Nigeria) is a term used in human geography to designate a belt region stretching across central Nigeria longitudinally and forming a transition zone between Northern and Southern Nigeria. It ...

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 of G ...

. It is the capital city of

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 ...

, one of Nigeria's 36 federal states. It consists of two major ethnic groups: the Gbagyi and the Nupe. Niger state government house 2

History

Archaeological evidence suggests settlement in the area dates back to about 47,000–37,000 years ago. Muslim culture filtered into Minna by way of the ancient Saharan trade routes much later, and the city contains many

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a Place of worship, place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers (sujud) ...

s including Minna Central Mosque and Muslim organizations like the Islamic Education Trust, Minna, Muslim Students' Society of Nigeria - Minna Area Council (MSSN-MNAC), Da'watu-Ilallahi-Wa-Rasulihi Association (DAWRA), etc. Sharia law is practiced. Christianity is the second major population in Niger State, and institutions include a Faith Church, a

Grace Baptist Church Grace Baptist is a name used by various churches and associations, in different parts of the world, who would align with Reformed Baptists, who hold to Calvinistic doctrine, but would consider themselves distinct in their own right. This distingui ...

, Nupe Kalvari Churches,

Anglican Church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

es, ECWA Churches,

Baptist Church Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul com ...

es, Victory Christian Church, the Apostolic Church and many others. Minna is the home state of Nigeria's former military President Gen. Ibrahim B. Babangida, and of former Head of State Gen.

Abdulsalami Abubakar Abdulsalami Abubakar (; born 13 June 1942) is a Nigerian statesman and retired Nigerian Army general who served as the ''de facto'' President of Nigeria from 1998 to 1999. He was also Chief of Defence Staff between 1997 and 1998. He succeede ...

. Dr. Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu was the former governor of

, serving the maximum term of eight years (2007–2015). Abubakar Sani Bello is the present governor of Niger state who took over from the opposition party ruling candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party candidate Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu, serving his second term in office.

Climate

Minna has a typical

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of ...

( Köppen ''Aw'') with two seasons: an arid, dusty,

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 ...

-dominate

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The ...

from November to April and a humid, oppressive

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the se ...

dominated by monsoonal air masses from May to October. Temperatures are hot to sweltering year round, except at the height of the wet season when air temperatures are merely very warm but the high humidity makes it equally or more uncomfortable than the hotter dry season.

Economy

Rice Field Kateregi, Niger state Nigeria

Cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor p ...

, guinea corn (sorghum),

Maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn ( North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. ...

and

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of ...

are the main agricultural products of the city. Yam is also extensively cultivated throughout the city. The economy also supports cattle trading, brewing,

shea nut ''Vitellaria paradoxa'' (formerly ''Butyrospermum parkii''), commonly known as shea tree, shi tree (), or vitellaria, is a tree of the family Sapotaceae. It is the only species in the genus ''Vitellaria'',gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

mining. There are also FMCGs such as PZ Cussons that deal in toilet soaps, baby products, medicaments and so on. Traditional industries and crafts in Minna include

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and ho ...

work and

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typi ...

working.

Transport

Minna is connected to neighbouring cities by road. Abuja, the capital of the country, is only 150 km away. Minna is also connected by

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

to both Kano in the north and

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its ...

and

Lagos Lagos ( Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 f ...

in the south. The city is served by Minna Airport.

Education and Health

Minna has many educational institutions, including:

Fati Lami Abubakar Institute for Legal and Administrative Studies Fati may refer to * Fati (god), the god of the moon in Polynesian mythology * Fati (name) *Fati Municipality Al Fatih Municipality or Al Fatah () was one of the municipalities ( baladiyat) of Libya in the northeastern part of the country from 19 ...

, The Federal University of Technology Minna,

Niger state school of health ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesNiger state school of nursing and Midwifery, Niger state university of Education among others. With many high schools as

Father O'Connell Science College, Minna A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fath ...

, D.S.S Limawa, Kowa Schools, El-Bethel Academy, Jocis Schools, Hilltop Model School, Mypa schools, Himma international school, Police secondary school, El-Amin International School, FOMWAN Schools, New Horizon College, Divine Excellence International Schools and Brighter International Schools, among many others. The above-mentioned schools are the pioneering high schools in Minna. Minna has many primary health clinics with the

General Hospital, Minna A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

serving as the general health care.

Universities

* Federal University of Technology Minna *

Niger State College of Education Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), also known as UDUSOK, is a public research university located in the city of Sokoto, north western Part of Nigeria. It is one of the initial twelve universities founded in Nigeria by the federal govern ...

* School of Nursing and Midwifery * New Gate Science and Technology * Niger State Polytechnic *

The Federal Polytechnic Bida ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

Climate

Gallery

File:Minna.photowalk Rounabout 18.jpg File:Minna.photowalk Street 06.jpg File:Welcome to Minna DJI 0968.jpg File:Niger state government house 2.jpg File:Minna Roads 4.jpg File:State secretariat Minna DJI 0957.jpg, Niger state Secretariat

References

{{NigerNG-geo-stub State capitals in Nigeria Populated places in Niger State

History

Climate

Economy

Transport

Education and Health

Universities

Climate

Gallery

See also

References