Jigawa State History, Local Government Area & Senatorial Zones

Jigawa State history and capital, Jigawa State Local Government Areas and senatorial districts in Jigawa State. The post also has Local Government Area that make each Jigawa State Senatorial Districts.

Jigawa State is one of thirty-six states that constitute Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is situated in the northwestern part of the country between latitudes 11.00°N to 13.00°N and longitudes 8.00°E to 10.15°E

Jigawa State—created out of the old Kano State in August 1991. The agitation for the creation of the state was led by Malam Inuwa-Dutse, a former commissioner in the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources during the governorship of late Audu Bako, the governor of old Kano State (comprising present Kano and Jigawa states). By the 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria, the state comprises 27 local government councils, which are divided into 30 state constituencies, grouped into 11 federal constituencies and 3 senatorial districts. These 27 local government councils were further subdivided into 77 development areas by law No. 5 of 2004 of the State House of Assembly. In line with the democratic setting in the country, the governments at both the state and local government levels are elected, and comprise an executive with a unicameral legislature.

The State Government administrative apparatus is organized into ministries, extra-ministerial departments and parastatals, which are located across the three senatorial districts in the state since 1999. This decentralized approach to governmental administrative structure was seen as a move towards stimulating economic activities socio-economic development and empowerment over a wider area since government is the largest employer, perhaps second only to agriculture. In addition, this was also seen as a way for spreading even development among major urban centers and a shift from “city-state syndrome” that obtained in the old Kano State.

Read: Nigerian States and Capitals

The state has a total land area of approximately 22,410 square kilometres. Its topography is characterized by undulating land, with sand dunes of various sizes spanning several kilometres in parts of the State. The southern part of Jigawa comprises the basement complex while the northeast is made up of sedimentary rocks of the Chad Formation. The main rivers are Hadejia, Kafin Hausa and Iggi Rivers with a number of tributaries feeding extensive marshlands in north-eastern part of the State. Hadejia – Kafin Hausa River traverses the state from west to east through the Hadejia-Nguru wetlands and empties into the Lake Chad Basin.

Most parts of Jigawa lie within the Sudan Savannah with elements of Guinea Savannah in the southern part. Total forest cover in the state is below national average of 14.8%. Due to both natural and human factors, forest cover is being depleted, making northern part of the state highly vulnerable to desert encroachment. The state enjoys vast fertile arable land to which almost all tropical crops could adapt, thus constituting one of its highly prized natural resources. The Sudan savannah vegetation zone is also made up of vast grazing lands suitable for livestock production.

The socio-cultural situation in Jigawa State could be described as homogeneous: it is mostly populated by Hausa/Fulani, who can be found in all parts of the state. Kanuri are largely found in Hadejia Emirate, with some traces of Badawa mainly in its Northeastern parts. Even though each of the three dominant tribes have continued to maintain its ethnic identity, Islam and a long history of inter-marriages have continued to bind them together.

About 3.6 million people inhabit Jigawa State. Life expectancy as at 2001 was about 52 years with a total fertility rate of about 6.2 children per woman of childbearing age (a little above the national average). Although population of the state is predominantly rural (90%), the distribution in terms of sex is almost equal between male (50.8%) and female (49.2%). This pattern of population distribution is same across various constituencies and between urban and rural areas. The 2002 CWIQ Survey indicated that 45.2% of the population was made up of young people below the age of 15; 49.0% between the ages of 15 and 59 while 5.8% were people aged 60 and above. This survey reveals a dependency ratio of almost 1; meaning that there is almost one dependent to every economically active person in the population.

Average household size was about 6.7 almost all of which were headed by males. About 60% of household heads were self-employed with agriculture as their main occupation, and nearly two-thirds of these households were monogamous families. The overall literacy rate was about 37% in 2002 (22 percent for women and 51 percent for men). School enrolment ratio is fairly high with very good improvements in the last few years, even though there is still clear disparity between boys and girls.

Basic indicators for water supply sector show that access to potable water is over 90%, which is among the highest in the country. The 2002 CWIQ Survey however, indicated that while access to high quality safe drinking water (pipe born, hand pump boreholes and protected wells) is low at about 63%, nearly two-thirds of households have good means of sanitation. In terms of health services, about two-fifths of the population have access to medical services which is, however, higher in urban areas where access was found to be about 55%. The CWIQ Survey found that an average of 70% of those who consulted a health facility expressed satisfaction with the services provided

Religion in Jigawa State is mainly Islam which constitutes about 98.9% of the population, while 1.1% are indigenous Christians.

The economy of Jigawa State is largely characterized by informal sector activities with agriculture as the major economic activity. Over 80% of the population is engaged in subsistence farming and animal husbandry. Trade and commerce are undertaken on small and medium scale, especially in agric goods, livestock and other consumer goods. Other informal sector activities include blacksmithing, leather-works, tailoring services, auto repairs, metal works, carpentry, tanning, dyeing, food processing, masonry etc. Even though modern industrial sector is yet to gain a solid footing, the seed for their development was planted through establishment of small-scale industries particularly in areas of food processing and other agro-allied activities such as the Jigawa ethanol programme. These industries have been helped by the Information Communication Technology program initiated by the Saminu Turaki, the states former governor.

The Federal Office of Statistics, in 2001, classified Jigawa State among those with relatively high severity and incidence of poverty in the country, with a Gross Per Capita Income of N35, 000 per annum (US$290), which is below the National Average; till date Jigawa State is being rate among the poorest states in Nigeria. However, the 2002 Core Welfare Indicators Questionnaire (CWIQ) Survey indicated that over two-fifths of the population do not consider themselves poor.

The State of infrastructure for economic development such as roads, electricity, telecommunication and information technology have recently witnessed tremendous improvements through massive rehabilitation and expansion works. With massive road rehabilitation projects already undertaken throughout the State during the last five years, coupled with efforts made towards power generation via Independent Power Platforms, and the Internet Broadband Project, investment climate in Jigawa State in terms of economic infrastructure is quite promising.

Jigawa State Senatorial Zones/ Districts

There are three (3) senatorial districts in Jigawa State. Namely: Jigawa North – West, Jigawa North – East and Kaduna South.

Jigawa North – West Senatorial Zone / District

1. Babura Local Government Area
2. Garki Local Government Area
3. Gagarawa Local Government Area
4. Gumel Local Government Area
5. Gwiwa Local Government Area
6. Kazaure Local Government Area
7. Maigatari Local Government Area
8. Ringim Local Government Area
9. Roni Local Government Area
10. Sule-tankarkar Local Government Area
11. Taura Local Government Area
12. Yankwashi Local Government Area

Jigawa North – East Senatorial Zone / District

1. Auyo Local Government Area
2. Birniwa Local Government Area
3. Guri Local Government Area
4. Hadejia Local Government Area
5. Kafin Hausa Local Government Area
6. Kaugama Local Government Area
7. Kirika Samma Local Government Area
8. Malam Madori Local Government Area

Jigawa South – West Senatorial Zone / District

1. Birnin Kudu Local Government Area
2. Buji Local Government Area
3. Dutse Local Government Area
4. Gwaram Local Government Area
5. Jahun Local Government Area
6. Kiyawa Local Government Area
7. Miga Local Government Area

Jigawa State Local Government Areas

Jigawa State consists of twenty-seven (27) Local Government Areas, They are:

Auyo

Babura

Biriniwa

Birnin Kudu

Buji

Dutse

Gagarawa

Garki

Gumel

Guri

Gwaram

Gwiwa

Hadejia

Jahun

Kafin Hausa

Kaugama

Kazaure

Kiri Kasama

Kiyawa

Maigatari

Malam Madori

Miga

Ringim

Roni

Sule Tankarkar

Taura

Yankwashi

Abdul A