Katsina is a city, formerly a
city-stateA city-state is an independent republican country whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as part of another local government....
, in northern
NigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal Capital Territory. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger...
, and is the capital of
Katsina StateKatsina State is a state in northern Nigeria. Its capital is Katsina, and its governor is Ibrahim Shema, a member of the People's Democratic Party...
. Katsina is located some 160 miles East of the city of
SokotoSokoto is a city located in the extreme northwest of Nigeria, near to the confluence of the Sokoto River and the Rima River. As of 2006 it has a population of 583,039...
, and 84 miles Northwest of
KanoKano is the state capital of Kano State in northern Nigeria. Kano is the largest city in Nigeria - with an estimated population in 2007 of 9,848,885. The principal inhabitants of the city are the Hausa people...
, close to the border with
NigerNiger , officially the Republic of Niger is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
at approximately .As of 2007, Katsina's estimated population was 459,022. The city is the centre of an agricultural region producing groundnuts, cotton, hides, millet and guinea corn, and also has mills for producing peanut oil and steel.
Katsina is a city, formerly a
city-stateA city-state is an independent republican country whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as part of another local government....
, in northern
NigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal Capital Territory. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger...
, and is the capital of
Katsina StateKatsina State is a state in northern Nigeria. Its capital is Katsina, and its governor is Ibrahim Shema, a member of the People's Democratic Party...
. Katsina is located some 160 miles East of the city of
SokotoSokoto is a city located in the extreme northwest of Nigeria, near to the confluence of the Sokoto River and the Rima River. As of 2006 it has a population of 583,039...
, and 84 miles Northwest of
KanoKano is the state capital of Kano State in northern Nigeria. Kano is the largest city in Nigeria - with an estimated population in 2007 of 9,848,885. The principal inhabitants of the city are the Hausa people...
, close to the border with
NigerNiger , officially the Republic of Niger is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
at approximately .As of 2007, Katsina's estimated population was 459,022. The city is the centre of an agricultural region producing groundnuts, cotton, hides, millet and guinea corn, and also has mills for producing peanut oil and steel. The city is largely
Muslim:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits ". Muslim is the participle of the same verb of which Islam is the infinitive. Muslims believe that there is only one God, translated in Arabic as Allah...
and the population of the city is mainly from the Fulani and
Hausa ethnic groups. The current Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua is a native of Katsina.
History
Surrounded by city walls 13 miles (21 km) in length, Katsina is believed to have been founded circa 1100. In pre-Islamic times Katsina's semi-divine ruler was known as the
Sarki, who faced a summary death-sentence if found to be ruling incompetently. From the 17th to the 18th century, Katsina was the commercial heart of Hausaland and became the largest of the seven
HausaThe Hausa are a Sahelian people chiefly located in the West African regions of northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger. There are also significant numbers found in regions of Sudan, Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, and Chad and smaller communities scattered throughout West Africa and on the...
city-states. Katsina was conquered by the
FulaniFula or Fulani or Fulbe are an ethnic group of people spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa, but found also in Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa...
during the
Fulani WarThe Fulani War of 1804-1810, also known as the Fulani Jihad or Jihad of Usman dan Fodio, was a military conquest in present day Nigeria and Cameroon. Expelled from Gobir by his former student Yunfa in 1802, Islamic reformer Usman dan Fodio assembled a Fulani army to lead in jihad against the Hausa...
in 1807, becoming subsidiary to nearby Kano. In 1903 the Emir (Abubakar dan Ibrahim) accepted British rule, which lasted until Nigerian independence from Britain in 1960. Modern day Katsina has many information technology companies, providing internet access to the people of Katsina. Companies like N.I.V. Internet Services, Continental Computers and E.C. Computers are in the forefront in this area.
The city has a long history of western education dating back to the early 1950s when the first middle school in the whole of northern Nigeria was established. There are now a good number of institutions of higher learning including two Universities; Umaru Musa Yar'adu University, and Katsina University which is a privately owned University.
The city of Katsina is also home to a famous 18th century mosque featuring the
Gobarau MinaretThe Gobarau Minaret is a 50-foot Minaret located in the center of the city of Katsina, Northern Nigeria. An early example of Muslim architecture in a city known a theological center, the tower has become a symbol of the city.-History:Gobarau is reputed to the first multi-storey building in West...
, a 50 foot tower made from mud and palm branches.
External links