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| MAP OF NIGERIA SHOWING BAUCHI STATE |
It is with
great pleasure and love for my state that i want to commemorate the 40th
anniversary of the creation of our great state even though it came a bit late,
but it is better late than never
Bauchi State,
christened as the pearl of tourism and Mecca of sports will this Wednesday be
celebrating 40 years of its existence after it was carved out from the then
North Eastern State, on 3rd February, 1976.
Bauchi State
with a population of over 4.6 million based on the 2006 national head count is
recognized as home to stakeholders in the country who have shaped the history
of this great nation.
Bauchi is a
state synonymous with politicians of great repute as it is the proud state that
has produced the first and only Prime Minister that Nigeria ever had.
It is equally
home to the famous Yankari Resort which is tourists’ delight any time of the
year with the wonderful Wikki Warm Spring that has constant temperature of 31
degree centigrade.
Formerly Game
Reserve, Yankari Resort and Safari had its idea conceived in 1956 by the
defunct Northern Nigerian Government which was realized in 1964 when it was
also demarcated as protected area under the Bauchi native authority.
Yankari Game Reserve which covers an area of 2, 244 square kilometers of protected area that has one of the richest concentrations of wild life in the country had its doors opened to tourists also in 1964.
Yankari Game Reserve which covers an area of 2, 244 square kilometers of protected area that has one of the richest concentrations of wild life in the country had its doors opened to tourists also in 1964.
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| ELEPHANTS INSIDE THE YANKARI GAME |
Bauchi In the 40 years of its existence as a state which is largely agrarian has witnessed the good, bad and ugly in its transformation journey to greatness with numerous developmental strides in virtually all spheres of human endeavor in meeting the yearnings and aspirations of its citizens.
Bauchi is a city in northeast Nigeria,
the capital of Bauchi State, of the Bauchi Local Government
Area within that State, and of the traditional Bauchi Emirate.
It is located on the northern edge of the Jos Plateau,
at an elevation of 616 m. The city has a population of 301,284 (2012). The
Local Government Area covers an area of 3,687 km2 and had a
population of 493,810 at the time of the 2006 Census.
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 (founded 1800–10).
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.[3]
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
States, 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.[4]
The city was founded by Yaqub ibn Dadi, the only
non-Fulani
flag-bearer of the Sokoto Empire. The name was derived from a
hunter called Baushe, who advised Yaqub to build his city west of the Warinje
mountain. In return Yaqub promised to name his city after the hunter.
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa is buried in the
city, while the Yankari National Park is 110 km from
the state capital. The city lies on the Port Harcourt
– Maiduguri
railway line.
The Bauchi State Library Board was established
in 1976.
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| TOMB OF SIR ABUBAKAR TAFAWA BALEWA |
List of Governors of Bauchi State
This is
a list of administrators and governors of Bauchi State, Nigeria.
Bauchi State
was formed in 1976-02-03 when North-Eastern State was divided into Bauchi, Borno,
and Gongola
states.
Name
|
Title
|
Took Office
|
Left Office
|
Party
|
Notes
|
Governor
|
March
1976
|
July
1978
|
(Military)
|
||
Governor
|
July
1978
|
October
1979
|
(Military)
|
||
Governor
|
October
1979
|
December
1983
|
|||
Governor
|
January
1984
|
August
1985
|
(Military)
|
||
Governor
|
August
1985
|
December
1987
|
(Military)
|
||
Governor
|
December
1987
|
August
1990
|
(Military)
|
||
Governor
|
August
1990
|
January
1992
|
(Military)
|
||
Governor
|
January
1992
|
November
1993
|
|||
Administrator
|
9
December 1993
|
14
September 1994
|
(Military)
|
||
Administrator
|
14
September 1994
|
22
August 1996
|
(Military)
|
||
Administrator
|
22
August 1996
|
August
1998
|
(Military)
|
||
Administrator
|
August
1998
|
May
1999
|
(Military)
|
||
Governor
|
29
May 1999
|
29
May 2007
|
|||
Governor
|
29
May 2007
|
29
May 20
|
Decamped
officially to PDP 27 June 2009
|
||
Governor
|
29
May 2007
|
Present
|
Local Government Areas
Bauchi State
consists of twenty (20) Local Government Areas (LGAs).
They are:
LGA
|
Area
(km2)
|
Census
2006
population |
Administrative
capital
|
Postal
code |
3,687
|
493,810
|
740
|
||
2,515
|
219,988
|
740
|
||
535
|
89,943
|
740
|
||
6,932
|
350,404
|
740
|
||
894
|
84,215
|
741
|
||
4,625
|
387,192
|
742
|
||
625
|
114,720
|
742
|
||
5,059
|
280,468
|
742
|
||
2,371
|
147,618
|
743
|
||
5,918
|
329,424
|
743
|
||
Southern region totals
|
33,161
|
2,497,782
|
||
3,015
|
251,597
|
750
|
||
1,226
|
263,487
|
750
|
||
668
|
156,969
|
750
|
||
1,321
|
234,014
|
750
|
||
493
|
117,883
|
751
|
||
1,436
|
295,970
|
751
|
||
1,398
|
229,996
|
751
|
||
1,476
|
191,457
|
752
|
||
2,925
|
286,388
|
752
|
||
1,077
|
150,922
|
752
|
||
Northern region totals
|
15,035
|
2,178,683
|
Geography
Geography
Bauchi
State occupies a total land area of 49,119 km² 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 1300 mm
per annum in the south and only 700 mm 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.
Population
Bauchi
State has a total of 55 tribal groups in which Hausa,
Fulani,
Gerawa, Sayawa, Jarawa, Kirfawa, Turawa Bolewa,
Karekare, Kanuri,
Fa'awa, Butawa, Warjawa, Zulawa,
and Badawa 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.
may God continue to bless Bauchi state and our country Nigeria. AMEEN
