Zungeru is a town in

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, ...

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 the capital of the British protectorate of

Northern Nigeria Northern Nigeria (or Arewa, Arewancin Nijeriya) was an autonomous division within Nigeria, distinctly different from the southern part of the country, with independent customs, foreign relations and security structures. In 1962, it acquired t ...

from 1902 until 1916. It is the site of the

Niger State Polytechnic Niger State Polytechnic, also known as Nigerpoly, is a Tertiary education, tertiary learning institution in Zungeru, Niger State, Nigeria. History and mission The institution started as Zungeru College of Advanced Studies (ZUCAS). The state go ...

and is located on the

Kaduna River The Kaduna River is a tributary of the Niger River which flows for through Nigeria. It got its name from the crocodiles that lived in the river and surrounding area. Kaduna (city), Kaduna in the native dialect, Hausa language, Hausa, was the w ...

History

Colonial history

According to local oral history, "Zungeru" is a corrupted form of the word " Dunguru". Tradition holds that British colonialists came upon a

Nupe Nupe or NUPE may refer to: *Nupe people, of Nigeria *Nupe language, their language * Nupe River, in the Huánuco Region, Peru * Bida Emirate, also known as the Nupe Kingdom, their former state *A member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity in the Uni ...

man playing a Dunguru (a musical instrument used by the

and Gwari) in the area of what is now Zungeru. They asked him what it was he called, he told them "Dunguru", and the corrupted form "Zungeru" became the name of the settlement.

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

forces occupied Zungeru in September 1902, which was then populated by Nupe Tribe. Colonial administrator

Frederick Lugard Frederick John Dealtry Lugard, 1st Baron Lugard (22 January 1858 – 11 April 1945), known as Sir Frederick Lugard between 1901 and 1928, was a British soldier, explorer of Africa and colonial administrator. He was Governor of Hong Kong (1907� ...

chose the town as capital of

over

Jebba Jebba town is a Yoruba city in Kwara State, Nigeria. It has views of River Niger, and as of 2007 has an estimated population of 22,411. Northernmost territory of the Yoruba culture is terminated by a landscape feature at Niger River near Jebba. ...

and

Lokoja Lokoja is a north-central city in Nigeria. It lies at the confluence of the Niger River, Niger and Benue River, Benue list of rivers of Nigeria, rivers and is the capital city of Kogi State. While the Bassa Nge, Yoruba people, Yoruba Oworo peopl ...

due to its central location. The British cleared the forest in the area and established a market, military barracks, and hospital, among other things.Ogendengbe, pp. 280-281 In 1916, two years after the 1914 union of the colonies of Northern and Southern Nigeria into one colonial entity, Lugard moved the north's capital to

Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade center and a major transportation hub as the gateway to northern state ...

. The same year, the Chief of

Wushishi Wushishi is a Local Government Area in Niger State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the town of Wushishi. Wushishi is located between Longitude 9°43'N and Latitude 6°04'E and it has an area of 1,879 km and a population of 81,783 at the 200 ...

was given the position of ruler of Zungeru, and he passed on the position to his son, Abubakar. After the capital was moved to Kaduna, Zungeru was administered from Minna as part of Niger province.Ogendengbe, p. 285

Post-colonial history

Zungeru has declined in importance since the removal of administrative function to Kaduna. Sites in modern Zungeru include the Nnamdi Azikiwe Centre, a now-abandoned tribute to Nigeria's first President

Nnamdi Azikiwe Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe, (16 November 1904 – 11 May 1996), commonly referred to as Zik of Africa, was a Nigerian politician, statesman, and revolutionary leader who served as the 3rd and first black governor-general of Nigeria from 1960 ...

built by

Ibrahim Babangida Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (born 17 August 1941) is a Nigerian statesman and military dictator who ruled as military president of Nigeria from 1985 when he orchestrated a coup d'état against his military and political arch-rival Muhammadu ...

's military regime, the market built by Lugard, which is still in use, and Niger State Polytechnic. Work is ongoing on the proposed hydroelectric dam as at 2015. The dam is being constructed by a consortium led by Sinohydro. The dam is proposed to produce 700 MW of electricity at full operation.

Demographics

In 1926, the town and districts administered from it - Wushishi, Alewa, Guma (population 3440), Koriga (population 801), Kuskaka (population 2108), Makangard (9166), and Tegina (population (4611) - comprised around 35,100 residents. Wushishi was populated by Nupe,

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also ...

, and Gwari; Alewa by Gwari,

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 ...

, Hausa, and Kamaku; Guma by

Bongu (people) Bongu may refer to: * Bongu language, a Rai Coast language spoken in Madang Province, Papua New Guinea *Bongu, tribe in Zungeru Zungeru is a town in Niger State, Nigeria. It was the capital of the British protectorate of Northern Nigeria from 190 ...

, Hausa, Basa, and Bauchi; Koriga by Hausa, Kamaku, and Gwari; Kuskaka by Ura, Ngwoi, Hausa, and Kamaku; Makangard by Makangara; and Tegina by Bauchi, Gwari, Hausa, Kamuku, Ngwoi, and Basa. As of 2007, the Hausa,

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a t ...

, Yoruba, and

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, ...

are the dominant ethnic groups in Zungeru.

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

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 ...

are the main religions.

Geography and climate

Zungeru is surrounded by mountains, giving it a lower elevation than the surrounding topography Mountains are located nearby. In addition to the Kaduna, the smaller Nnamaye and Tosheta Rivers flow near the town. The area surrounding the Zungeru is a mixed wooded savanna; species of plants growing in the area include

Afzelia africana ''Afzelia africana'', the African mahogany, afzelia, lenke, lengue, apa, or doussi, is a Myrmecophyte tree species in the family Fabaceae. Range It occurs in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, DRCongo, Ivory Coast, G ...

Isoberlinia ''Isoberlinia'' is a genus in the family Fabaceae of five species of tree native to the hotter parts of tropical Africa. They are an important component of miombo woodlands. The leaves have three or four pairs of large leaflets and stout seed po ...

species, and

Burkea africana ''Burkea africana'', the wild syringa (), is a deciduous, medium-sized, spreading, flat-topped tree which grows in the woodlands and savannas of sub-Saharan Africa. It is the sole species in genus ''Burkea'', which belongs to the subfamily Caesalp ...

. The town and surrounding country is one of the hottest and most humid parts of Nigeria.

Transport

Zungeru is served by a station on the national railway system.

Notable people from Zungeru

Notable individuals from Zungeru include: *

, first President of Nigeria *

Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu (4 November 193326 November 2011) was a Nigerian military officer and political figure who served as President of Biafra from 1967 to 1970. As the military governor of the Eastern Region of Nigeria, which he declar ...

, leader of secessionist state Biafra

References

External links

Niger State Polytechnic Zungeru WebsiteSchoolGist24 Page