Lokoja is a city in

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 o ...

. It lies at the confluence of the

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesBenue

rivers A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

and is the capital city of

Kogi State Kogi State is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the west by the states of Ekiti and Kwara, to the north by the Federal Capital Territory, to the northeast by Nasarawa State, to the northwest by Niger State, to the s ...

. While the

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

(Oworo),

Bassa Nge The Bassa Nge are an ethnic group in Nigeria that traces its history back to 1805. They originally inhabited Gbara which was formerly the capital of the Nupe Kingdom. The Bassa Nge migrated from their homeland in Bida due to a dynastic feud in about ...

and

Nupe Nupe may refer to: *Nupe people, of Nigeria *Nupe language, their language *The Bida Emirate, also known as the Nupe Kingdom, their former state *A member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African Amer ...

are indigenous to the area, other ethnic groups of Nigeria, including the Kupa-Nupe,

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also * ...

Ebira The Ebira also known as Egbira people are an ethno-linguistic group of central Nigeria. Most Ebira people are from Kogi State, Nasarawa State. Until the separation of Kogi State from Kwara State, Okene was seen as the administrative centre of the ...

, Igala,

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a ...

, Bini/Edo, and Tiv have recently established themselves. Projected to be the third fastest growing African continent city between 2020 and 2025, with a 5.93% growth. It was listed a second class township by the 1917 township ordinance of the colonial administration. This shows that Lokoja is an old city.

Etymology

Different ethnic groups lay claim to having named the city. * The

( Oworo ) people believe the name comes from ''Ilu Oke Oja'' ("The settlement located on the hill did not fall"). * The

believe the name comes from ''Loko Ja'' ("A red corner") and that the city was named by the emir of

Zazzau The Zazzau, also known as the Zaria Emirate, is a Nigerian traditional state, traditional state with headquarters in the city of Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. The current emir of Zazzau is Alhaji Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli who succeeded the former emir, l ...

. * The

believe the name comes from ''Patti Lukongi'' ("The hill of doves"). * The Igala believe the name comes from the expression ''Lewa ka je Eja'' (Come, let's eat fish).

History

The area that would become Lokoja has been inhabited for hundreds of years by people from different ethnic groups prior to the arrival of Europeans. The migrations of these groups to the area could be in part accounted for by its nearness to the banks of the

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesBenue rivers. Some of the first groups of people to settle in Lokoja were the Oworo people/Yoruba from Ile-Ife,

and

. It is said that they migrated from Baro and some parts of present-day

Niger State Niger is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria and the largest state in the country. Niger state has three political zones, zone A,B and C. The state's capital is at Minna. Other major cities are Bida, Kontagora and Suleja. It was fo ...

to the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers. This area eventually became a center of trade. Example are the Kupas and some of the Kakandas. River Niger at Lokoja

The Nupe and

emirs historically appointed the Hausas as political leaders, while the Nupe filled the position of religious leader as chief imam of Lokoja. Lokoja was ruled by the following Maigari of Lokoja (Hamza, Dauda, Musa, Muhammadu Maikarfi). The British then installed a Muslim convert called Bukar (originally named Abigel), who designated his residence at Yaragi Madabo Junction of Lokoja as the new Lokoja palace. In time, the position fell to Alhaji Yahaya Muhammadu Maikarfi, and after his demise, Alhaji Kabiru, his son, succeeded him. The people sustained themselves by engaging in farming and hunting activities at Agbaja hill. Lokoja has an abundance of hills which were popular for hunting. At Mount Patti ("Patti" being the Nupe word for hill), there is a tree where the names of hunters were recorded in

Ajami ''Ajam'' ( ar, عجم, ʿajam) is an Arabic word meaning mute, which today refers to someone whose mother tongue is not Arabic. During the Arab conquest of Persia, the term became a racial pejorative. In many languages, including Persian, Tu ...

and

Latin script The Latin script, also known as Roman script, is an alphabetic writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae, in southern Italy ...

. When Dr

William Balfour Baikie William Balfour Baikie (27 August 182512 December 1864) was a Scottish explorer, naturalist and philologist. Biography Baikie was born at Kirkwall, Orkney, eldest son of Captain John Baikie, R.N. He studied medicine at Edinburgh, and, on ob ...

arrived at Lokoja first in 1854 and later in 1857, he played a role in encouraging the outward movement of the people from their hilly settlements. He did this by influencing Muhammadu Maikarfi, then the Maigari of Lokoja. Muhammudu Maikarfi was then succeeded by Abigel (who converted to Islam and was renamed Bukar), who was widely seen as a stooge of the British. The Bassa-Nges believe that they settled at the foot of

Mount Patti The Mount Patti Hill is a 1503 foot-tall (458 m) mountain and tourist attraction in Lokoja, Nigeria. It is famous for being the place where British journalist and writer Flora Louise Shaw (later Flora Lugard) gave Nigeria its name. The name (Ni ...

when they came into Lokoja, before later moving again and migrating to settle across the Benue, just to the north of the Igalas. Whatever the case may be, it is difficult to categorically state in what order any or each of these groups came after the Oworos to settle in Lokoja town. These different groups lived in different quarters of the town but were closely related socio-politically. They interacted freely and tolerated one another. Present day Lokoja is ruled by the ''Maigari'' (chief) of Lokoja, and his 12 ''Hakimi'' (Sub chiefs) It is important to note however, that each group have their own local criteria: for example, the Maigari has no jurisdiction over the Olu of Oworo, but he does have authority over Ganaja, Kwakware, Sarkin Numa, Adankolo, ward A to ward E and other villages of the Lokoja Holland that is the Salkawa people. Lokoja-1911

The present modern settlement at Lokoja was established in 1857 by the

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, ...

explorer William Baikie at the site of an earlier model farm constructed during the failed

Niger expedition of 1841 The Niger expedition of 1841 was mounted by British missionary and activist groups in 1841-1842, using three British iron steam vessels to travel to Lokoja, at the confluence of the Niger River and Benue River, in what is now Nigeria. The British ...

. Lokoja was the capital of the British

Northern Nigeria Protectorate Northern Nigeria (Hausa: ''Arewacin Najeriya'') was a British protectorate which lasted from 1900 until 1914 and covered the northern part of what is now Nigeria. The protectorate spanned and included the emirates of the Sokoto Caliphate an ...

and the chief of Lokoja at that time was Alhaji Muhammadu Maikarfi. Lokoja remained a convenient administrative town for the British colonial government after the

amalgamation Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form. Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to: Mathematics and science * Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal **Pan am ...

of Northern and Southern Nigeria in 1914. The first

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

, Sir

Frederick Lugard Frederick John Dealtry Lugard, 1st Baron Lugard (22 January 1858 – 11 April 1945), known as Sir Frederick Lugard between 1901 and 1928, was a British soldier, mercenary, explorer of Africa and colonial administrator. He was Governor of Hong ...

, governed the new nation of Nigeria from Lokoja. Other subsequent settlers into the city include the Yoruba (mainstream), the Igala, the

Igbira The Ebira also known as Egbira people are an ethno-linguistic group of central Nigeria. Most Ebira people are from Kogi State, Nasarawa State. Until the separation of Kogi State from Kwara State, Okene was seen as the administrative centre of the ...

(Igbira Tao and Igbira Koto), and the Bassa-Nge people. However, there are other groups apart from the ones mentioned above but they are classified as temporary visitors and non indigenous. These include the

, Tiv, Edo, etc. The city's population has since grown to an estimated count of over 90,000 inhabitants. It is a trade center with respect to its agricultural products; this is because it is situated at the confluence of the

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesBenue rivers, and is close to the federal capital of Nigeria in

Abuja Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...

. It is also home to

Kogi State Polytechnic Kogi State Polytechnic was established in 1993, and is located in Lokoja, Kogi State, Nigeria. It is owned and operated by Kogi State. As of 2007 it was accredited by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to give certificates in Art an ...

and the newly established

Federal University Lokoja The Federal University Lokoja, popularly known as Fulokoja or by its acronym, FUL, is a federal university in the confluence city of Lokoja, the capital of Kogi State, North-Central Nigeria. Lokoja lies at the confluence of the Niger and Ben ...

. Near Lokoja, in

Ajaokuta Ajaokuta is a Local Government Area in Kogi State, Nigeria and a town within it on the left bank of the Niger River. The headquarters of the LGA are in the town of Egayin in the south of the area at . It has an area of 1,362 km and a populati ...

, are

metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...

facilities and

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

mines.

The Local Government Area

Lokoja is also a

Local Government Area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

of Kogi State with an area of 3,180 km² and a population of 195,261 at the 2006 census. It is bounded by the Niger in the north and east upstream from the capital until the border with

Kwara State Kwara State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Kwárà), is a state in Western Nigeria, bordered to the east by Kogi State, to the north by Niger state, and to the south by Ekiti, Osun, and Oyo states, while its western border makes up part of the internation ...

, and includes the city of Lokoja. The

postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...

of the area is 260.

Climate

Geography

Lokoja lies about 7.8023° North of the equator and 6.7333° E east of the Meridian. It is about 165 km Southwest of Abuja as the crow flies, and 390 km Northeast of Lagos by same measure. Residential districts are of varying density, and the city has various suburbs such as Felele, Adankolo, Otokiti and Ganaja. The town is situated in the tropical Wet and Dry savanna climate zone of Nigeria, and temperatures remain hot year-round.

Religion and culture

Given the multiethnic nature of the town, there are various festivals, events and socio-cultural activities depending on the people group. Thus, no particular group's festivals or their socio-cultural activities can be said to be the most prominent. For instance, the Agbo masquerade festival is celebrated by the Oworo people between the months of March and April every year. Other Okuns also celebrate the

Oro Oro or ORO, meaning gold in Spanish and Italian, may refer to: Music and dance * Oro (dance), a Balkan circle dance * Oro (eagle dance), an eagle dance from Montenegro and Herzegovina * "Oro" (song), the Serbian entry in the 2008 Eurovision S ...

Egungun Egungun, (''egúngún'' with Yorùbá language tone marks) in the broadest sense is any Yoruba masquerade or masked, costumed figure. More specifically, it is a Yoruba masquerade for ancestor reverence, or the ancestors themselves as a collectiv ...

festival while generally, the fishermen in Lokoja celebrate the Donkwo fishing festival and this also comes up in March/April. It is also worthy to mention that editions of Lokoja boat regatta are held, albeit not regularly. The Childrens Museum of Indianapolis - Egungun masquerade dance garment

The Childrens Museum of Indianapolis - Egungun masquerade dance garment

Religiously, Islam, Christianity and traditional religion exist in Lokoja. The Muslims go to their mosques for their worship while the Christians do the same in their various churches. Religious festivals include the Muslim Eids and the Christian Christmas and Easter.

Markets

Lokoja has three major markets: New Market (International Market); Old Market; and Kpata Market. Kpata Market and New Market have their market day every Five Days. The essential products sold in these markets are grains, vegetables and general household items.

References

External links

* {{Authority control State capitals in Nigeria Benue River Communities on the Niger River Local Government Areas in Kogi State 1857 establishments in Africa Populated places established in 1857