State: Sokoto

Sokoto State sits in Nigeria’s far northwest, with Sokoto city as its capital, built near where the Sokoto and Rima Rivers meet. It was created on 3 February 1976, out of the old North Western State.

The state borders Zamfara to the east and Kebbi to the south and west, with an international border against Niger Republic along its northern and western edge.

The Hausa people are the largest group, with Gobirawa communities concentrated in a few areas, and Hausa and Fulfulde serve as the state’s main languages, alongside smaller Zarma, Tuareg, and Kainji speaking communities.

Farming employs most of the workforce, with millet, rice, corn, and beans grown across floodplains and drier land alike, though Sokoto remains one of Nigeria’s poorer states, with a large share of residents living in extreme poverty.

Sokoto’s real weight comes from history rather than industry: the city served as the seat of the Sokoto Caliphate, one of the largest and most influential Islamic empires in West African history, and it remains a major center of Islamic learning today. The Sultan of Sokoto still holds the position of spiritual leader for Nigeria’s Muslim community.

Ahmad Aliyu currently serves as governor of a state whose religious and historical standing reaches well beyond its borders.