Bauchi State
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| Bauchi State State nickname: Pearl of Tourism |
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| Location | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Statistics | ||
| Current Governor Party Previous Governors |
Adamu Mu'azu PDP |
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| Date Created | 3rd February, 1976 | |
| Capital | Bauchi | |
| Area | 45,837km² Ranked 5th of 36 |
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| Population 1991 Census 2005 (estimate) |
Ranked 11th of 36 4,294,413 4,706,909 |
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| ISO 3166-2 | NG-BA | |
| Website | Bauchi State | |
Bauchi State is a state in northern Nigeria. Its capital is Bauchi. The state was formed in 1976 when the former North-Eastern State was broken up. It originally included the area now in Gombe State, which became a distinct state in 1996.
The Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University is located in the capital city Bauchi.
Bauchi State is divided into 20 Local Government Areas (LGA's). They are:
- Alkaleri
- Bauchi
- Bogoro
- Dambam
- Darazo
- Dass
- Gamawa
- Ganjuma
- Giyade
- Itas/Gadau
- Jama'are
- Katagum
- Kirfi
- Misau
- Ningi
- Shira
- Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area
- Toro
- Warji
- Zaki
History of Bauchi
What is now known as Bauchi was until 1976 a province in the then northeastern state of Nigeria. According to the 1991 census, the state has a population of 3,836,333 after the creation of Gombe state out of it in 1996.
Bauchi state occupies a total land area of 549,260sq km representing about 5.3% of Nigeria’s total land mass and is located between latitude 9o 3' and 12o 3' north of the equator. Longitudinally, the state lies between 8o 50' and 11o East of the Greenwich Meridian.
The state is boarded by seven states, Kano and Jigawa to the north, Taraba and Plateau to the south, Gombe and Yobe to the east and Kaduna to the west.
Bauchi state is one of the states in the Northern part of Nigeria that span two distinctive vegetation zones, namely, the Sudan Savannah and the Sahel Savannah. The Sudan Savannah type of vegetation covers the southern part of the state. Here, the vegetation gets richer and richer towards the south especially along water sources or rivers but generally the vegetation is less uniform and grasses are sorter than what obtains further south that is in the forest zone of the middle belt.
The Sahel type of the Savannah which is also known as the semi-desert vegetation that becomes manifest from the middle of the state as one moves from the south to the northern part of the state. The characteristic of this type of vegetation comprises of isolated stands of thorny shrubs.
On the other hand the Southwestern part of the states is mountainous as a result of the continuation of the Jos-Plateau while the Northern part is generally sandy.
The vegetation types as described above are conditioned by the climatic factors, which in turn determine the amount of rainfall received in the area. For instance, the rainfall in Bauchi State ranges between 1300mm per annum in the south and only 700mm per annum in the extreme North. This pattern is due to the fact that in the West Africa sub-region, rains generally come from the south as they are carried by the south westerlies. There is therefore a progressive dryness towards the North culminating in the desert condition in the far North. So also is the case in Bauchi State.
Consequently, rains start earlier in the Southern part of the state where it is heaviest and last longer. Here the rains start in April with the highest record amount of 1300mm per annum. In contrast, the Northern part of the state receives the rains late, usually around June/July and records the highest amount of 700mm per annum.
In the same vein, the weather experienced in the South and the North varies considerably. While it is humidly hot during the early part of the rainy season in the South, the hot, dry and dusty weather lingers on for a while up North.
In addition to rainfall, Bauchi State is watered by a run number of rivers. They include the Gongola and Jama’are rivers.
The Gongola Rivers crosses Bauchi State in Tafawa Balewa Local Government areas in the South, Kirfi and Alkaleri Local Government areas in the eastern part of the state, while the Jama’are River cuts across a number of Local Governments in the Northern part of the state. Moreover, a substantial part of the Hadeja-Jama’are River Basin lies in Bauchi State, which along with various fadama areas in the state provides suitable land for agricultural activities. These are further supported by the number of dams meant for irrigation and other purposes. These include the Gubi and Tilde-Fulani Dams. There also lakes like the Maladumba Lake in Misau Local Government that further provides the necessary conditions that support agriculture.
Bauchi State has gone through tremendous transformation over the years. During the colonial era up to independence, it formed part of the Bauchi-Plateau of the then Northern Region, until the 1967 state creation exercise, when together white Borno and Adamawa provinces, they constituted the former North Eastern State.
With the creation of Bauchi State in 1976, then comprising present Bauchi and Gombe states there where 16 Local Government Areas. The number of local government areas in the then Bauchi state was increased to 20 and later to 23. However, in 1997 when Gombe state was created out of it and additional local governments were created in the country, Bauchi State was left with 20 Local Government Areas. These include:- Alkaleri, Bauchi, Bogoro, Dambam, Darazo, Dass, Gamawa, Ganjuwa, Giade, Itas/Gadau, Jama’are, Katagum, Kirfi, Misau, Ningi, Shira, Tafawa Balewa, Toro, Warji and Zaki.
Bauchi State has a total of 55 tribal groups in which Hausa, Fulani, Gerawa, Sayawa, Jarawa, Bolewa, Kare-Kare, Kanuri, Warjawa, Zulawa, and Badawa are the main tribes. This means that they have backgrounds, occupational patterns, beliefs and many other things that form part of the existence of the people of the state.
There are cultural similarities in the people’s language, occupational practices, festivals, dress and there is a high degree of ethnic interaction especially in marriage and economic existence. Some of the ethnic groups have joking relationships that exist between them e.g. Fulani and Kanuri, Jarawa and Sayawa e.t.c.
The state derived its name from Bauchi town. Unlike other towns named after locations, it was named after a hunter, Baushe. Baushe was the first settler in Bauchi before the arrival of Mallam Yakubu the first Bauchi ruler.
[edit] External links
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