city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

emirate An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalen ...

Jigawa State Jigawa State ( Hausa: ''Jihar Jigawa'' (Fula Leydi Jigawa 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤮𞤤 𞤶𞤭𞤺𞤢𞤱𞤢) is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the northern region of the country. Created in 1991 from the northeastern-most region of Ka ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages Gumel, also spelled Gummel, town and traditional emirate, northern Jigawa state, northern Nigeria. The emirate was founded about 1750 by Dan Juma of Kano city (75 miles 21 kmsouthwest) and his followers of the Manga (Mangawa) tribe. Shortly after his death in 1754, it became a tributary state of the Bornu kingdom. The emirate survived the Fulani attacks of Usman dan Fodio’s jihad (“holy war”) in the early 19th century and never became part of the Fulani empire of Sokoto. In 1845 Gumel’s capital was moved from Tumbi (20 miles north in present-day Niger) to the present site. Wars with nearby Hadejia, Kano, and Zinder (Damagaram) plagued the emirate from 1828; the war with Hadejia continued until Gumel’s emir, Abdullahi, was killed in battle in 1872. Slave raids toward the end of the century by Damagaram further depopulated Gumel. Emir Ahmadu submitted to the British in 1903, and the Gumel emirate was incorporated into Kano province. In 1976 it became part of Kano state, and since 1991 it has been part of Jigawa state. Gumel town remains the area’s chief market centre—millet and sorghum are the staple foods—and serves as a collecting point for peanuts (groundnuts), which are trucked to Kano city for export by rail. Limestone and diatomaceous earth deposits are exploited locally in scattered areas. The town has a farm-training centre and an advanced teacher-training college. Gumel lies on a secondary highway linking it to Kano and Hadejia and is a hub for local roads serving northern Jigawa state. Pop. (2006) local government area, 107,161.

History

The emirate was founded about 1750 by Dan Juma of Kano and his followers from the Mangawa tribe. Shortly after his death in 1754, it became a tributary state of the Bornu kingdom. The emirate survived the Fulani attacks of Usman dan Fodio's

jihad Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with G ...

in the early 19th century and never became part of the Fulani empire of Sokoto. The present-day location of Gumel is the result of an 1845 move from the city of Tumbi, located in what is now Niger. The emirate has frequently been at war with the nearby cities of Hadejia, Danzomo, Kano, and

Zinder Zinder (locally, ''Damagaram''), formerly also spelled Sinder, is the third largest city in Niger, with a population of 170,574 (2001 census);

since 1828. The war with Hadejia continued until the death of Gumel's emir, Abdullahi, in 1872. Before Emir Ahmadu accepted

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

rule in 1903, frequent slave raids from the town of Zinder were common. In 1976 Gumel became part of

Kano State Kano State ( Hausa: ''Jihar Kano''جىِهَر كَنوُ) (Fula: Leydi Kano 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤳𞤢𞤲𞤮𞥅 ) is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the northern region of the country. According to the national census done in ...

, and since 1991 it has been part of

Jigawa State Jigawa State ( Hausa: ''Jihar Jigawa'' (Fula Leydi Jigawa 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤮𞤤 𞤶𞤭𞤺𞤢𞤱𞤢) is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the northern region of the country. Created in 1991 from the northeastern-most region of Ka ...

near Danzomo, Gagarawa, Sule Tankarkar, and Maigatari. The current emir of Gumel, HRH Alh. Ahmed Mohammed Sani II (CON) is the 16th emir of Gumel. The emir is a graduate, in political science, of

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publi ...

in the United States. He has a younger brother, Abdullahi Muhammad Sani II, who is a graduate of

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

in the United States, with a major in electrical engineering. The emir has been in office since 1981. The emir's palace is accessible only to those invited there by the emir, to members of the royal family, and to officials of the royal court (the emirate council, also called the Majlis).

List of Gumel Emirs

Emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or ce ...

s * 1749 - 1754 Dan Juma I dan Musa * 1754 - 1760 Adamu Karro dan Digadiga Karro (d. 1760) * 1760 - 1777 Dan Juma II dan Digadiga Karro * 1777 - 1804 Maikota dan Adam Karro (d. 1804) * 1804 - 1811 Kalgo dan Maikota (d. 1811) * 1811 - 1828 Dan Auwa dan Maikota (d. 1828) * 1828 - 1851 Muhamman Dan Tanoma dan Maikota (d. 1851) * 1851 - 1853 Ceri dan Muhamman Dan Tanoma (1st time) * 1853 - 1855 Muhamman Atu dan Dan Auwa * 1855 - 1861 Ceri dan Muhamman Dan Tanoma (2nd time) * 1861 - 1872 `Abd Allahi dan Muhamman Dan Tanoma (d. 1872) * 1872 - 18 Abu Bakar dan Muhamman Dan Tanoma (d. 1896) * 1896 - 1915 Ahmadu dan Abi Bakar * 1915 - 1944 Muhamman na Kota dan Ahmadu (d. 1944) * May 1944 - 1981 Maina Muhammad Sani II dan Muhamman na Kota (b. 1912) * 1981 - Ahmad Muhammad Sani II dan Maina Muhammad Sani II

Economy

Gumel acts as the region's primary economic center.

Sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family ( Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many oth ...

,

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets also ...

, and

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small and la ...

s are collected here and trucked to Kano on a secondary highway where they are exported by rail.

References

{{LGAs and communities of Jigawa State Local Government Areas in Jigawa State Former countries in Africa Former emirates