Yobe 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 ...

located in northeastern

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, ...

. A mainly

agricultural 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 f ...

state, it was created on 27 August 1991. Yobe State was carved out of

Borno State Borno is a States of Nigeria, state in the North East (Nigeria), North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It is bordered by Yobe State, Yobe to the west, Gombe State, Gombe to the southwest, and Adamawa State, Adamawa to the south while its ea ...

. The capital of Yobe State is

Damaturu Damaturu is a Local Government Area and the capital city of Yobe State in northern Nigeria. It is the headquarters of the Damaturu Emirate. Damaturu is the capital and administrative headquarters of Yobe State and where the governor resides ...

, and its largest city by population is

Potiskum Potiskum (also Pataskum) is a local government area and city in Yobe State northeastern part of Nigeria. It's the largest, most populous and fastest growing city in Yobe State. Of the native languages in Yobe State, Potiskum is home to several ...

, while the largest by land area is Fune. The Potiskum local government area is a place of farmers and marketers; the largest cattle market in Africa is located in Potiskum.

Geography

The state borders four states:

Bauchi Bauchi (Fula: ''Leydi Bauchi'' 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤦𞤢𞤵𞤷𞥅𞤭) is a States of Nigeria, state in the North East (Nigeria), North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It is bordered by Jigawa State, Jigawa to the north, Yobe State, Y ...

, Borno, Gombe, and Jigawa. Yobe State shares borders with

to the east for about 421 km,

Gombe State Gombe State (; ) is a States of Nigeria, state in North East (Nigeria), northeastern Nigeria, bordered to the north and northeast by the states of Borno State, Borno in the vicinity of Gongola River and Lake Dadin Kowa Dam, Dadin Kowa and Yobe S ...

to the south for 140 km (in the vicinity of Gongola River), Bauchi State for 188 km (117 miles) and

Jigawa State Jigawa (; 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤮𞤤 𞤶𞤭𞤺𞤢𞤱𞤢) is a state in Nigeria, located in the northern region of the country. Jigawa was created on 27 August 1991, under the General Ibrahim Babangida military administration. Jigawa State was ...

for 193 km (120 miles) to the west and the Republic of Niger to the north for about 352 km. It borders to the north the Diffa and

Zinder Region Zinder Region is one of the seven regions of Niger; the capital of the region is Zinder. The region covers 145,430 km². It is the most populous province of Niger. History Numerous Palaeolithic and Neolithic remains, as well as cave paintin ...

s of

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 ...

. Because the state lies mainly in the dry

savanna 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 ...

belt, conditions are hot and dry for most of the year, except in the southern part of the state which has more annual rainfall. Nguru_River_bank_Yobe_State

Climate

The

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

condition of Yobe is warm with daily temperature of . November being the sunniest month and rainy day is between August and December.

History

Yobe State came into being on 27 August 1991. It was carved out of the old Borno State by the Babangida administration. Yobe State was created because the old Borno State was one of Nigeria's largest states in terms of land area and was therefore considered to be too large for easy administration and meaningful development.

Ethnic An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

rivalries within the old Borno State also contributed to the decision. On 3 September 2024,

Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

militants attacked a village in Yobe State, killing at least 130 villagers accused of collaborating with the Nigerian military.

Boko Haram

On 14 May 2013,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Goodluck Jonathan Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to former military head of state General Muhammadu Buhari and ...

declared a

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...

in Yobe State along with nearby Borno and

Adamawa State Adamawa is a States of Nigeria, state in the North East (Nigeria), North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Borno State, Borno to the northwest, Gombe State, Gombe to the west, and Taraba State, Taraba to the southwest while its eas ...

s, due to the

jihadist Jihadism is a neologism for modern, armed militant Political aspects of Islam, Islamic movements that seek to Islamic state, establish states based on Islamic principles. In a narrower sense, it refers to the belief that armed confrontation ...

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

network

Boko Haram Boko Haram, officially known as Jama'at Ahl al-Sunna li al-Da'wa wa al-Jihad (), is a self-proclaimed jihadist militant group based in northeastern Nigeria and also active in Chad, Niger, northern Cameroon, and Mali. In 2016, the group spli ...

insurgency An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare against a larger authority. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric warfare, asymmetric nature: small irregular forces ...

. Boko Haram's leader Abubakar Shekau was born in Shekau village of Yobe. Boko Haram's attacks in Yobe include those in

in November 2011, December 2011 and June 2012, Gadaka in December 2011, Potiskum in December 2012, November 2014 and July 2015, Mamudo in July 2013, Gujba in September 2013,

Buni Yadi Buni Yadi is a small town in Yobe State, Nigeria, about 55 km from Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State. References

Populated places in Yobe State {{Yobe-geo-stub ...

in February and May 2014 and Dapchi in 2018.

Local Government Areas

Yobe State consists of 17

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 ...

(or LGAs). They are: * Bade * Bursari *

* Geidam * Gujba *

Gulani Gulani is a Local Government Area in Yobe State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Bara. It has an area of 2,090 km and a population of 103,510 at the 2006 census. The postal code of the area is 621. Climate A tropical monsoo ...

* Fika * Fune *

Jakusko Jakusko is a local government area in Yobe State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Jakusko in the west of the area at . It has an area of 3,941 km and a population of 229,083 at the 2006 census. The postal code of the area is 63 ...

* Karasuwa * Machina * Nangere * Nguru *

* Tarmuwa *

Yunusari Yunusari is a Local Government Areas of Nigeria, Local Government Area in Yobe State, Nigeria. It has its headquarters in the town of Kanamma (or Kanama) in the north-east of the area on the Burun Gana River at . It shares a border in the north ...

* Yusufari

Economy

While Yobe state is an agricultural state, it also has rich mineral deposits, including

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...

and

kaolin Kaolinite ( ; also called kaolin) is a clay mineral, with the chemical composition Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet of silica () linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral sheet of alumina (). ...

in Fune local government and very rich agricultural resources as well. The State's agricultural produce include

gum arabic Gum arabic (gum acacia, gum sudani, Senegal gum and by other names) () is a tree gum exuded by two species of '' Acacia sensu lato:'' '' Senegalia senegal,'' and '' Vachellia seyal.'' However, the term "gum arabic" does not indicate a partic ...

, groundnuts,

beans A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are tradition ...

, and

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, 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 ...

. The State also has one of the largest

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 ...

markets in

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

, located in Potiskum.

Governor

On 29 May 2019,

Mai Mala Buni Mai Mala Buni (born 19 November 1967) is a Nigerian politician who has been serving as the governor of Yobe State since 2019. He was elected as governor during the 2019 Nigerian general election, 2019 Nigeria general elections under the platfor ...

assumed office as the governor of Yobe State under the Party APC (All Progressive Congress) and

Idi Barde Gubana Idi Barde Gubana (born 24 April 1960) is a Nigerian Karai-Karai (language), Karai-Karai politician, and the current deputy governor of Yobe State, Yobe state under governor Mai Mala Buni. He is a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC ...

is the Deputy-Gorvenor of the state.

Ethnic groups

The major

ethnic groups An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, rel ...

living in Yobe state are the Kanuri and Kare-kare,

Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people are an ethnic group in Sahara, Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, South Sudan, Darfur, ...

, while other ethnic communities include Bolewa, Ngizim, Bade, Ngamo, Shuwa, Bura, Marghi, Hausa and

Manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

Languages

Languages of Yobe State listed by LGA: Other languages of Yobe State are Duwai, Shuwa Arabs, and Zarma etc.

Tourist attractions

The tourist attractions sites in Yobe state include: * Gooya Valley * Ngazargamu * Dagona Birds Sanctuary * Gujba Forest Reserve * Dufuna canoe

Education

Tertiary institutions in Yobe state include: * Federal College of Education (Technical), Potiskum * Federal Polytechnic Damaturu * Federal University, Gashua * Mai-Idris Alooma Polytechnic * Shehu Sule College of Nursing and Midwifery, Damaturu * Umar Suleiman College of Education * Yobe State University *College of Administrative and Business Studies Potiskum *College of Agriculture Gujba *School of Health Technology Nguru

Transport

Federal highways

* A3 east from

Bauchi State Bauchi (Fula: ''Leydi Bauchi'' 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤦𞤢𞤵𞤷𞥅𞤭) is a States of Nigeria, state in the North East (Nigeria), North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It is bordered by Jigawa State, Jigawa to the north, Yobe State, Y ...

at Baino via

and

at Ngamdu as part of the Trans-Sahel Highway ( Trans-African 5) * A338 north from

at Ngalda as the Jangadoli-Fika-Ngalda Rd to

One 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 ...

The Nguru–Gashua–Damask road across the north of the state via Baiomari and Geidem to Maine-Soroa.

Other major roads

* the Gamawa Rd northwest from

at Zindiwa, * the Jakusko-Potiskum Rd north from

, where the Gashua-Jakusko Rd continues north via Katamma, * the Dapchi-Damaturu Rd north from via Dapchi to Baiomari as the Damaturu-Gashua Rd, * the Damaturu Rd south to

at Kamuya Wuru, * the Azare-Potisum Rd west to

near Lele.

Railways

The 1067 mm

Cape gauge A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...

Western Railway Line northeast from Kano via

terminates at Nguru.

Airports

Potiskum Airstrip

Religion

The inhabitants of Yobe are mainly

Muslim 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 ...

s and

Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

law was established in the state in 2000 by governor Bukar Abba Ibrahim. However, there are Christians in the State although no Roman Catholic diocese has its seat in the state.

Politics

The state government is headed by a governor who is elected through a democratically process. The governor works closely with the State House of Assembly, which is the law-making arm in the state. Just like every other state in the

Federal Republic of 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, ...

, the electoral system of Yobe State is that of a modified two-round system. To be elected in the first round, a candidate must receive the plurality of the vote and over 25% of the vote in at least two -third of the State local government Areas. If no candidate passes this threshold, a second round will be held between the top candidate and the next candidate to have received a plurality of votes in the highest number of local government areas.

Natural resources

Yobe State has deposits of

trona Trona (trisodium hydrogendicarbonate dihydrate, also sodium sesquicarbonate dihydrate, Na2CO3·NaHCO3·2H2O) is a non- marine evaporite mineral. It is mined as the primary source of sodium carbonate in the United States, where it has replaced ...

and

Healthcare

The state's administration has improved healthcare delivery lifted a moratorium on hiring and provided incentives for staff retention. The free-drugs policy and decentralised drug supply have increased access to healthcare, underscoring the state's dedication to renovating and building new primary healthcare facilities to make healthcare more widely available and reasonably priced.

Desertification

Residents of Yobe State in northern Nigeria are worried about

desertification Desertification is a type of gradual land degradation of Soil fertility, fertile land into arid desert due to a combination of natural processes and human activities. The immediate cause of desertification is the loss of most vegetation. This i ...

because it could have a negative impact on their quality of life.

Notable people

* Uwani Musa Abba Aji - CFR (born 7 November 1956) is a Nigerian

Jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

and Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria *

Usman Albishir Shehu Usman Albishir (15 June 1945 – 2 July 2012) was a Nigerian senator representing Yobe State, Yobe North constituency of Yobe State. He was a member of the business family of Alhaji Albishir Abdullahi and Late Hajiya Fatima Albishir. ...

- (15 June 1945 – 2 July 2012) former senator and Senate Minority Leader * Mamman Bello Ali - (1958 – 26 January 2009) former senator Yobe Zone B and former governor of Yobe State. * Idris Alkali - former chief of administration, army headquarters *

Usman Alkali Baba Usman Alkali Baba CFR (born 1 March 1963) was the 21st Nigerian Inspector General of Police (Nigeria), Inspector General of Police. He was appointed by the President of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari to replace Mohammed Adamu who retired from Nigeria ...

(born 1 March 1963) current Nigerian inspector-general of police * Ibrahim Mohammed Bomai - (born 10 February 1960) a politician and the Senator representing Yobe South Senatorial District in the 9th National Assembly * Imrana Alhaji Buba - (born 6 August 1992) activist, social entrepreneur, recipient of Queen's Young Leader Award * Audu Bulama Bukarti - (1 January 1984) senior analyst in the Extremism Policy Unit of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change *

- (born 11 November 1967) politician and the current Governor of Yobe State * Goni Modu Bura - former deputy governor, former senator, and current ambassador of Nigeria to Syria and Lebanon * Adamu Ciroma - (born 20 November 1934) former Minister and Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria * Ibrahim Gaidam - former governor and now Senator for Yobe Zone A *

Buba Galadima Buba Galadima (born 1948) is a Nigerian politician who was National Secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), a party formed in the run-up to the 2011 national elections as a leading platform for former military ruler and President ...

- politician and National Secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change(CPC) party * Bukar Ibrahim - (born October 1950) former governor of Yobe State and Senator in Nigeria * Khadija Bukar Abba Ibrahim - (born 6 January 1967) member of the House of Representatives and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs * Waziri Ibrahim - first republic minister and presidential candidate of GNPP in the second republic * Alwali Kazir - former chief of army staff * Ahmed Lawan - senator and Senate President of the 9th National Assembly * Zakariya Maimalari - a brigadier-general, who was killed in the 1966 Nigerian coup d'état while commanding the 2nd Brigade, Apapa, Lagos * Mahmoud Bukar Maina - (born 21 August 1986) a scientist, educator and science communicator * Adamu Garba Talba - a politician and former senator Yobe south * Adamu Waziri - (born 14 September 1952) former minister of Police Affairs * Mala Mohammed Daura - Vice Chancellor, Yobe State University, Damaturu.

References

External links

Yobe State Government homepage

Erdal Can Alkoçlar

Nigerian Post Office, with a map of LGAs of the state
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yobe State States and territories established in 1991 States of Nigeria 1991 establishments in Nigeria