Nasarawa State

Nasarawa is a state in north central zone of Nigeria. Its capital is Lafia.

Nasarawa
State
Flag
Seal
Nickname(s): 
Home of Solid Minerals
Location of Nasarawa State in Nigeria
Coordinates: 8°32′N 8°18′E
Country Nigeria
Date created1 October 1996
CapitalLafia
Government
 • Governor[1]Abdullahi Sule
 • Deputy GovernorDr. Emmanuel Akabe
 • RepresentativesList
Area
 • Total27,117 km2 (10,470 sq mi)
Population
 (2006)
 • Total1,869,377[2]
GDP (PPP)
 • Year2007
 • Total$3.02 billion[3]
 • Per capita$1,588[3]
Time zoneUTC+01 (WAT)
ISO 3166 codeNG-NA
HDI (2018)0.574[4]
medium · 19th of 37
Websitewww.nasarawastate.gov.ng

History

Nasarawa was created on 1 October 1996 by the Abacha government from the (today neighboring) Plateau State.[5]

Geography

Nasarawa State is bounded in the north by Kaduna State, in the west by the Federal Capital Territory, in the south by Kogi and Benue States and in the east by Taraba and Plateau States.

A network of roads exist within the state, linking all rural areas and major towns. The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) operates train services from Kuru, Gombe and Maiduguri.

Government

The Governor of Nasarawa State is the executive. The state legislature, Nasarawa State House of Assembly, is located in Lafia.

Local government areas
See also: List of villages in Nasarawa State

The State has three National Senatorial Districts (South, North and West).

Nasarawa State consists of thirteen (13) Local Government Areas (shown with 2006 population figures[6]):

Nasarawa West Senatorial District716,802Nasarawa North Senatorial District335,453Nasarawa South Senatorial District811,020
Karu205,477Akwanga113,430Awe112,574
Keffi92,664Eggon149,129Doma139,607
Kokona109,749Wamba72,894Keana79,253
Nasarawa189,835Lafia330,712
Toto119,077Obi148,874

List of current Local Government Area Chairmen.[7]

Languages

Languages of Nasarawa State listed by LGA:[8]

LGALanguages
AkwangaDuhwa; Eggon; Fulani; Gwandara; Hausa; Mada; Mama; Ninzo; Numana; Nungu
AweHausa; Fulani; Gwandara; Eggon; Goemai; Lijili; Tiv; Wapan
DomaAlago; Eggon; Tiv
KaruAshe; Duya; Eggon; Gade; Nyankpa
KeanaAlago; Eggon; Tiv; Fulani
KeffiHausa; Fulani; Gade; Eggon;Gbagyi; Gwandara; Koro Wachi
KokonaGwandara; Fulani; Hausa; Eggon
LafiaBare-Bari; Hausa; Fulani; Ake; Alago; Eggon; Goemai; Gwandara; Kofyar; Lijili; Tiv; Wapan
NasarawaHausa; Fulani; Agatu; Alago; Basa; Ebira; Eloyi; Gade; Gbagyi; Gwandara; Eggon; Tiv
Nasarawa-EggonEggon; Mada; Nungu; Fulani; Hausa
ObiAlago; Hausa; Fulani; Eggon; Tiv
TotoAgatu; Eggon; Gade; Fulani; Hausa
WambaAlumu-Tesu; Bu; Eggon; Hasha; Fulani; Kantana; Nungu; Toro

Economy
Concrete block factory in Nasarawa State.

Nasarawa State has agriculture as the mainstay of its economy with the production of varieties of cash crops throughout the year. It also contains various minerals such as salt, baryte, and bauxite, which are mostly mined by artisanal miners.

Education

The state has a College of Education in Akwanga, Federal polytechnic Nasarawa, College of Agriculture in Lafia, Isa Mustapha Agwai I Polytechnic Lafia, Nasarawa State University Faculty of Agriculture Lafia Camous, a newly established Federal University of Lafia, Bingham University Karu, NACAP polytechnic Akwanga, Command secondary school Lafia, Command secondary school Rinze, Vocational And Relevant technology board, and many primary and secondary schools.

Tourism

Nasarawa State is home to the Farin Ruwa Falls in Wamba Local Government area of the state. Farin Ruwa falls is reputed to be one of the highest falls in Africa.[9]

There is also the Salt Village in Keana Local Government Area of the State. It produces naturally iodized salt from the lake located near it. The town is also one of the cradles of Alago civilization, one of the major ethnic groups in the state.

Another tourist site in Nasarawa State is the Maloney Hill.[10]

Here is a view of keffi town and a beautiful sunset at Maloney Hill.

Keffi Town from the top of Maloney Hill
Sunset on Maloney Hill

References
  1. See List of Governors of Nasarawa State for a list of prior governors
  2. "2006 PHC Priority Tables – National Population Commission". population.gov.ng. Archived from the original on 2017-10-10. Retrieved 2017-10-10.
  3. "C-GIDD (Canback Global Income Distribution Database)". Canback Dangel. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  4. "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  5. Nassarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK), is a tertiary institution which was created to encourage the advancement of learning in the state and its neighbouring environment. NSUK was established under the Nasarawa State Law No. 2 of 2001 as passed by the State House of Assembly under the first democratically elected Governor of Nasarawa State, Governor (Dr.) Abdullahi Adamu but was born and sited in February 2002, at the defunct College of Arts, Science and Technology (CAST), Keffi. It was established with the fundamental aim of providing an avenue for Nassarawa State indigenes to pursue and acquire tertiary education. Located in Keffi town. Nassarawa State University caters for both full time and part-time students. Brief Data
  6. 2006 Population Census, Federal Republic of Nigeria, National Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original on 2009-03-25.
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-01-18. Retrieved 2015-01-18.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. "Nigeria". Ethnologue (22 ed.). Retrieved 2020-01-10.
  9. Dreaming of Farin Ruwa | GlobalPost
  10. "Mission to Maloney Hill". The Nation Newspaper. The Nation. The Nation. 8 November 2012.
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