Yobe State

Yobe State
—  State  —
Nickname(s): the young shall grow
Location of Yobe State in Nigeria
Coordinates: 12°00′N 11°30′E / 12°N 11.5°E / 12; 11.5Coordinates: 12°00′N 11°30′E / 12°N 11.5°E / 12; 11.5
Country	Nigeria
Date created	27 August 1991
Capital	Damaturu
Government
– Governor (List)	Ibrahim Geidam (ANPP)
– Senators
– Representatives
Area
– Total	45,502 km2 (17,568.4 sq mi)
Area rank	6th of 36
Population (1991 census)
– Total	1,411,481
– Estimate (2005)	2,532,395
– Rank	32nd of 36
– Density	31/km2 (80.3/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)
– Year	2007
– Total	$2.01 billion[1]
– Per capita	$843[1]
Time zone	WAT (UTC+01)
ISO 3166 code	NG-YO

Yobe State is a state located in Northern Nigeria. A mainly agricultural state, it was created on August 27, 1991. Yobe state was carved out of present-day Borno State. The capital of Yobe state is Damaturu.

Geography

The state borders the Nigerian states of Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, and Jigawa. It borders the Diffa Region and the Zinder Region to the north in The Republic of Niger. Because the state lies mainly in the dry savanna belt, the state is dry and hot for most the year, except in the southern part of the state which has a milder climate.

History

Yobe State came into being on the 27 August, 1991. It was carved out of the old Borno State by the Babangida administration. Yobe State was created because the old Borno State was one of Nigeria's largest states in terms of land area and was therefore considered to be too large for easy administration and meaningful development. Ethnic rivalries within the old Borno State also contributed to the decision.^[2]

Local Government Areas

Yobe State consists of 17 local government areas, or LGAs. They are:

• Bursari
• Damaturu
• Geidam
• Bade
• Gujba
• Gulani
• Fika
• Fune
• Jakusko
• Karasuwa
• Machina
• Nangere
• Nguru
• Potiskum
• Tarmuwa
• Yunusari
• Yusufari

Economy

While Yobe state is an agricultural state it also has rich fishing grounds and mineral deposits of gypsum in Fune LGA, kaolin, and quartz. The state's agricultural products include: gum arabic, groundnuts, beans, cotton. The state is also said to have one of the largest cattle markets in West Africa located near Potiskum.

Ethnic groups

The major ethnic group living in Yobe State are Fulani, ^[3] while other ethnic communities include Kanuri, Kare-Kare, Bolewa, Ngizim, Bade, Hausa, Ngamo and Shuwa.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "C-GIDD (Canback Global Income Distribution Database)". Canback Dangel. http://www.cgidd.com. Retrieved 2008-08-20. 
2. ^ "Yobe State", Online Nigeria, Accessed here on 3 August 2007.
3. ^ http://www.onlinenigeria.com/map.gif

External links

• Yobe State Government Homepage
• UCLA Yobe Languages Project
• Nigerian Post Office- with map of LGAs of the state