Atyap Chiefdom is a

Nigerian traditional state There are many traditional states in Nigeria. A partial list follows. Although the traditional rulers no longer officially have political power, they still have considerable status in Nigeria and the power of patronage. Except where otherwise no ...

of the

Atyap people The Atyap people (Tyap: ''A̱tyap'', singular: ''A̱tyotyap''; Hausa exonym: ''Kataf'', ''Katab'') are an ethnic group found majorly in Zangon-Kataf, Kaura and Jema'a Local Government Areas of southern Kaduna State, Nigeria. They speak the Ty ...

, located on the upper

Kaduna River The Kaduna River is a tributary of the Niger River which flows for through Nigeria. It got its name from the crocodiles that lived in the river and surrounding area. Kaduna in the native dialect, Hausa, was the word for "crocodiles". It starts ...

basin of the central Nigeria plateau in the

Middle Belt The Middle Belt (also spelt Middle-Belt or Central Nigeria) is a term used in human geography to designate a belt region stretching across central Nigeria longitudinally and forming a transition zone between Northern and Southern Nigeria. It ...

. Its headquarters is at A̠tak Njei,

Zangon Kataf Zangon Kataf (Tyap language, Tyap: Nietcen-A̱fakan) is a Local Government Areas of Nigeria, Local Government Area in Southern Kaduna, southern Kaduna State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the town of Zonkwa. It is also a name of a town (Tyap lang ...

southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

Kaduna state Kaduna State ( ha, Jihar Kaduna جىِهَر كَدُنا; ff, Leydi Kaduna, script=Latn, ; kcg, Sitet Kaduna) is a state in northern Nigeria. The state capital is its namesake, the city of Kaduna which happened to be the 8th largest city in ...

, Nigeria.

People

History

The Atyap Chiefdom was created in 1995. In 2007, it was upɡraded to a First Class status.

Government

The Atyap Chiefdom is run by the Atyap Traditional Council, with the A̠gwatyap as its head.

Administrative divisions

Districts

The

Ministry of Local Government Affairs gave its number of ''Existing Districts'' as 16, ''Approved Districts'' as five and ''Approved Village Units'' as 61.

Districts of Atyap Chiefdom

These are the districts between 1995 and 2017: However, these are the current five Government-Approved Districts from 2017 onwards, trimmed down by the incumbent

Kaduna State Kaduna State ( ha, Jihar Kaduna جىِهَر كَدُنا; ff, Leydi Kaduna, script=Latn, ; kcg, Sitet Kaduna) is a state in northern Nigeria. The state capital is its namesake, the city of Kaduna which happened to be the 8th largest city in ...

governor

Nasir Elrufai Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai (born 16 February 1960) is a Nigerian politician who is the Governor of Kaduna State, in office since 2015. He was the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory from 2003 to 2007; and the director of the Bureau of Public ...

who accordingly said, as reported b
''Premium Times, Nigeria''
that the committee set up to address the district administration in the state concluded that the proliferation of the number of districts from the pre-2001 era had created a financial burden for Local Government Councils. Hence, their reversal back to the pre-2001 era. Viz:

Headquarters

The headquarters of the Atyap Chiefdom is Atak Njei, where the ''Agwatyaps palace (

Tyap Tyap is a regionally important dialect cluster of Plateau languages in Nigeria's Middle Belt, named after its prestige dialect. It is also known by its ''Hausa exonym'' as Katab or Kataf.McKinney, N. P. (April 1990), p. 255. It is also ...

: ''Magwatyap'') is located. Of recent, there had been moves by the

Nasir el-Rufai Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai (born 16 February 1960) is a Nigerian politician who is the Governor of Kaduna State, in office since 2015. He was the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory from 2003 to 2007; and the director of the Bureau of Public ...

-led

government to question the locating of the palace in that very region located at the outskirts of the Hausa-Fulani-Kanuri dominated town of

(

: Á̠nietcen-A̱fakan), a move which has strongly been countered by the Atyap Community Development Association (ACDA).

Rulership

Royal houses

Atyap Chiefdom consists of four royal houses divided according to the four clans of the

, namely:

Rulers

The ruling monarchs of the Atyap Chiefdom are known as ''A̠gwatyap''.

Etymology of the Atyap kingship title

The word is derived from these two

words: ''a̱gwam'' (i.e. a monarch) and ''A̱tyap'' (i.e. after the

) and literally means "monarch of the Atyap".

List of Rulers

The names of these rulers who reigned from 1995 till date are as follows:

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline Nigerian traditional states Atyap people Kaduna State Monarchies_of_Africa Atyap chiefdom