The Slogan

Farming is Our Pride

Date Of Creation

1996 During the military administration of the late General Sani Abacha, detached from Sokoto State

Geography

Zamfara State is bordered to the north by the Republic of the Niger, to the south by Kaduna State, to the east by Katsina State, and to the west by the states of Sokoto and Niger. It has a population of 9,278,873 according to the 2006 census and contains fourteen local government areas.

Brief History

Zamfara is a state in northwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Gusau and its current Governor is Bello Matawalle. Until 1996, the area was part of Sokoto State.

Zamfara is mostly populated with the Hausa and Fulani people. The Zamfarawa mainly in Anka, Gummi, Bukkuyum and Talata Mafara Local Governments areas. Gobirawa populated Shinkafi Local Government. Gobirawa actually migrated from the Gobir Kingdom. Burmawa are found in Bakura and Fulani peopled Bungudu, Maradun, Gusau and are scattered all over the State. In Chafe, Bungudu and Maru, most are mainly Katsinawa, Garewatawa and Hadejawa. While Alibawa peopled Kaura Namoda and Zurmi, while Alawan Shehu Usmanu Fulani Are Found in Birninmagaji.

The people of Zamfara have over the years struggled for autonomy, but it was not until 1996 that the then military administration of the late General Sani Abacha detached the Zamfara State from Sokoto State with an area of 38,418 square kilometres. The first Governor was Jibril Yakubu.

The area today called Zamfara state was one of the old state like Kano, Katsina, Gobir, Kabi and Zazzau. The earliest inhabitants of Zamfara were said to have been hunters and giants.[4] They established their first settlement at Dutsi which was the first capital of Zamfara. It extends up to the bend of River Rima to the north west and River Ka in the south west. Zamfara Kingdom was established in the 11th century and flourished up to 16th century as a city-state. Its capital has shifted with the fortunes of the kingdom from place to place like Dutsi and Birnin Zamfara.

In the first half of the 18th century, its then capital Birnin Zamfara, was destroyed by the Gobir Kingdom and a new capital was established in Anka by the second half of the 19th century. Zamfara had many centers of commerce and scholarship that attracted many scholars like the Yandoto city. It became part of the Sokoto Caliphate after the 1804 jihad by Usman dan Fodio. In fact, Usman Danfodiyo settled in Sabon Gari where Sarkin Zamfara Abarshi had already established a garrison headquarters during the early days of his Jihad as a base from where fought Gobir and Kabi.[5]

At the wake of British colonialism, the emerging town of Gusau became an important commercial and administrative center with road and rail networks passing through it. With the creation of states during the Gowon Administration, Zamfara Kingdom became part of the then North West state and later the Sokoto State.

The Local Government area

Zamfara State consists of fourteen (14) Local Government Areas. They are:

Anka
Bakura
Birnin Magaji/Kiyaw
Bukkuyum
Bungudu
Chafe (Tsafe)
Gummi
Gusau
Kaura Namoda
Maradun
Maru
Shinkafi
Talata Mafara
Zurmi

The Governor

Bello Mohammed Matawalle (APC)

The Deputy governor

Mahdi Aliyu Gusau (PDP)

The Senators

C: Hassan Muhammed Gusau (APC)
N: Sahabi Alhaji Yaú (APC)
W: Lawal Hassan Anka (APC)

Representatives

Representative Party Constituency
Kabiru Yahaya PDP Anka/Talata Marafa
Ahmed Shehu PDP Bungudu/Maru
Bello Shinkafi Hassan PDP Shinkafi/Zurmi
Ahmed Bakura Muhammad PDP Bakura/Maradun
Umar Sani Dan galadima PDP Kaura-Namoda/Birnin-Magaji
Kabiru Amadu PDP Gusau/Tsafe
Sulaiman Gumi Abubakar PDP Gummi/Bukkuyum

The Website

Official website of Zamfara State

Major Cities

Birninmagaji
Kaura Namoda and Zurmi
Chafe, Bungudu and Mar

Prominent Places

Jata, an ancient settlement of Zamfara located around the hill with a large cave around where traditional practices were performed

Mineral Resources

Gold

The population

Total 9,278,873[1]
• Estimate (2011) 9,838,160

Postal Code

860211

Culture and tourism

Zamfara State holds some number of tourist attractions which are of historical or religious importance. These include Jata, an ancient settlement of Zamfara located around the hill with a large cave around where traditional practices were performed.

Notable People

Aishatu Madawaki
Bello Matawalle
Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari
Ahmad Sani Yerima

Languages

Hausa is the official language of the state. Other main languages spoken in Zamfara are English, French, Fulfulde, Arabic; minority populations also speak languages like: Yoruba and Igbo.

The Kainji languages C’Lela and Gwamhi-Wuri are spoken in Gummi LGA. Ut-Ma’in is also spoken in the state and in Kebbe, Sokoto State

Institutions

A list of tertiary institutions in Zamfara state include:

Federal Polytechnic, Namo
Zamfara State University
Federal University Gusau
Federal College of Education (Technical), Gusau
Zamfara State College of Art and Sciences, Gusau