Bauchi State


Bauchi, usually referred to as Bauchi State to distinguish it from the city of Bauchi, is a state in northern Nigeria. Its capital is the city of 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. Other educational institutions located in the state include Bauchi State University, Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic and Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi.

Name

According to tradition, it was named for a hunter known as Baushe, who settled in the region before the arrival of Yakubu, the first traditional ruler of Bauchi emirate.
In Hausa the word Bauchi means the land of freedom and tourism. Bauchi and Adamawa were the two main sources of freedom and tourism for the Fulani empire of Sokoto.

History

What is now known as Bauchi was until 1976 a province in the then North-Eastern State of Nigeria. According to the 2006 census, the state has a population of 4,653,066.
Bauchi State has gone through tremendous transformation over the years. The Ajawa language was spoken in Bauchi State, but became extinct between 1920 and 1940 as speakers switched to Hausa.
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 the Bauchi, Borno, and Adamawa provinces constituted the former North-Eastern State.
With the creation of Bauchi State in 1976, then comprising present Bauchi and Gombe State, it included 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 Bauchi and additional local governments were created in the country, Bauchi State was left with 20 local government areas as shown below.
Sharia law was adopted in June 2001.

Local Government Areas

Bauchi State consists of twenty Local Government Areas. They are:
LGAArea Census 2006
population		Administrative capitalPostal
code
Bauchi3,687493,810Bauchi740
Tafawa Balewa2,515219,988Bununu740
Dass53589,943Dass740
Toro6,932350,404Toro740
Bogoro89484,215Bogoro741
Ningi4,625387,192Ningi742
Warji625114,720Warji742
Ganjuwa5,059280,468Kafin Madaki742
Kirfi2,371147,618Kirfi743
Alkaleri5,918329,424Alkaleri743
Southern region totals33,1612,497,782
Darazo3,015251,597Darazo750
Misau1,226263,487Misau750
Giade668156,969Giade750
Shira1,321234,014Yana750
Jama'are493117,883Jama'are751
Katagum1,436295,970Azare751
Itas/Gadau1,398229,996Itas751
Zaki1,476191,457Katagum752
Gamawa2,925286,388Gamawa752
Damban1,077150,922Damban752
Northern region totals15,0352,178,683

Geography

Bauchi State occupies a total land area of representing about 5.3% of Nigeria's total land mass and is located between latitudes 9° 3' and 12° 3' north and longitudes 8° 50' and 11° east.
The state is bordered 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 shorter than what grows even farther south, that is, in the forest zone of the middle belt.
The Sahel type of savannah, also known as semi-desert vegetation, becomes manifest from the middle of the state as one moves from the state's south to its north. This type of vegetation comprises isolated stands of thorny shrubs.
On the other hand, the southwestern part of the state 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 per annum in the south and only per annum in the extreme north. This pattern is because in the West Africa sub-region, rains generally come from the south as they are carried by the southwesterlies. 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 rain is heaviest and lasts longer. Here the rains start in April with the highest record amount of per annum. In contrast, the northern part of the state receives the rains late, usually around June or July, and records the highest amount of 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 up north.
In addition to rainfall, Bauchi state is watered by a number of rivers. They include the Gongola and Jama'are rivers.
The Gongola River crosses Bauchi state in Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area in the south and in Kirfi and Alkaleri Local Government Areas in the eastern part of the state, while the Jama’are River cuts across a number of Local Government Areas 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 such as the Maladumba Lake in Misau Local Government Area that further provide the necessary conditions to support Agriculture.

Population

Bauchi State has a total of 55 tribal groups in which Gerawa, Sayawa, Jarawa, Kirfawa, Turawa Bolewa, Karekare, Kanuri, Fa'awa, Butawa, Warjawa, Zulawa, Boyawa MBadawa, Hausa and Fulani 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, etc.

Languages

groups spoken in Bauchi State:
Languages of Bauchi State listed by LGA:
LGALanguages
AlkaleriDass; Bole; Duguri; Giiwo; Guruntum-Mbaaru; Labir; Tangale
BauchiBankal; Duguri; Dulbu; Galambu; Gera; Geruma; Giiwo; Guruntum-Mbaaru; Ju; Kir-Balar; Labir; Luri; Mangas; Mbat; Pa'a; Polci; Shiki; Tala; Zangwal
BogoroSaya
DarazoBole; Deno; Diri; Giiwo; Mburku; Ngamo; Zumbun
DassBankal; Dass; Gwak; Polci; Saya; Shall-Zwall; Zari
DukkuBole
GamawaKarekare
GanjuwaCiwogai; Gera; Geruma; Jimi; Kariya; Kubi; Miya
KirfiBure
MisauKarekare
NingiDiri; Gamo-Ningi; Kudu-Camo; Pa'a; Siri; Warji; Geruma
Tafawa BalewaSur; Vaghat-Ya-Bijim-Legeri; Zari; Bankal; Gwak; Izere; Saya
ToroBankal; Dass; Geji; Geruma; Gwa; Gyem; Iguta; Izere; Jere; Lame; Lemoro; Mawa; Panawa; Polci; Sanga; Saya; Shau; Tunzuii; Zari; Zeem; Ziriya
ZakiBade

Other languages of Bauchi State are Ajawa, Beele, Berom, Kanuri, Kwaami, Manga, Pero, and Piya-Kwonci.