State: Jigawa

Jigawa State sits in Nigeria’s far north, with Dutse as its capital. It was created on 27 August 1991 and is sometimes nicknamed the New World, reflecting its status as one of the country’s younger states.

The state borders Kano to the south, Katsina to the west, Bauchi to the southeast, and Yobe to the east, with a short international border against Niger Republic to the north.

Most residents are Hausa or Fulani, with Kanuri communities concentrated around the Hadejia Emirate and smaller Badawa populations in the northeast.

More than 80 percent of the population farms or raises livestock for a living, mostly at a subsistence level. Small scale trade and an emerging agro-processing sector make up most of what’s left of the local economy.

The Dutsen Habude cave paintings near Birnin Kudu date back to the Neolithic period, among the oldest known art in the region. Hadejia, one of the seven original Hausa city states, still carries that historical weight, and the nearby Hadejia-Nguru wetlands support one of West Africa’s most important bird habitats.

Former governor Sule Lamido and Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, who went on to become Nigeria’s Defence Minister, both come from Jigawa, along with former senator Bello Maitama Yusuf.