State: Yobe

Yobe State sits in Nigeria’s northeast, with Damaturu as its capital. It was created on 27 August 1991, carved out of the old Borno State.

The state borders Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, and Jigawa, with an international border against Niger Republic to the north.

The Kanuri and Karai Karai peoples form the largest groups, alongside Fulani, Bolewa, Ngizim, Bade, Ngamo, Shuwa, Bura, Marghi, Hausa, and Manga communities scattered across the state.

Farming carries most of the local economy, with gum arabic, groundnuts, beans, and cotton grown widely, and gypsum and kaolin mined in smaller quantities. Potiskum hosts one of the largest cattle markets anywhere in West Africa, drawing traders from across the region.

Tulo Tulo, nicknamed the Desert Land of Hope, is a marshy oasis tucked into a low valley, an unexpected patch of green in an otherwise dry landscape.

Mai Mala Buni currently serves as governor, and Yobe has also produced Senate President Ahmed Lawan, former police chief Usman Alkali Baba, and Adamu Ciroma, a former Central Bank governor.