Minna is a city in Middle Belt Nigeria. It is the capital city of Niger State, one of Nigeria's 36 federal states. It consists of two major ethnic groups: the

Gbagyi Gbagyi or Gbari (plural - Agbagyi/Agbari) is the name and the language of Gbagyi/Gbari ethnic group who are predominantly found in Central Nigeria, with a population of about 1 million people. Members of the ethnic group speak two dialects. While ...

and the Nupe. Niger state government house 2

History

Archaeological evidence suggests settlement in the area dates back to about 47,000–37,000 years ago.

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

culture filtered into Minna by way of the ancient Saharan trade routes much later, and the city contains many mosques including Minna Central Mosque and Muslim organizations like the Islamic Education Trust, Minna, Muslim Students' Society of Nigeria - Minna Area Council (MSSN-MNAC), Da'watu-Ilallahi-Wa-Rasulihi Association (DAWRA), etc. Sharia law is practiced. Christianity is the second major population in Niger State, and institutions include a

Faith Church FaithChurch.com (also known as Crank Ministries) is a Nondenominational Christianity, nondenominational, Charismatic Christianity, charismatic, Word of Faith, word of faith Multi-site church, multi-site megachurch with approximately 7,000 in weekly ...

, a

Grace Baptist Church Grace Baptist is a name used by various churches and associations, in different parts of the world, who would align with Reformed Baptists, who hold to Calvinistic doctrine, but would consider themselves distinct in their own right. This distingui ...

, Nupe Kalvari Churches, Anglican Churches,

ECWA Church ECWA may refer to: *Evangelical Church Winning All, Church with over 10 million in total attendance worldwide *East Coast Wrestling Association East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion A profession ...

es,

Baptist Church Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

es, Victory Christian Church, the Apostolic Church and many others. Minna is the home state of Nigeria's former military President Gen. Ibrahim B. Babangida, and of former Head of State Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar. Dr. Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu was the former governor of Niger State, serving the maximum term of eight years (2007–2015). Abubakar Sani Bello is the present governor of Niger state who took over from the opposition party ruling candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party candidate Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu, serving his second term in office.

Climate

Minna has a typical Middle Belt tropical savanna climate ( Köppen ''Aw'') with two seasons: an arid, dusty,

harmattan The Harmattan is a season in West Africa that occurs between the end of November and the middle of March. It is characterized by the dry and dusty northeasterly trade wind, of the same name, which blows from the Sahara over West Africa into the ...

-dominate dry season from November to April and a humid, oppressive wet season dominated by monsoonal air masses from May to October. Temperatures are hot to sweltering year round, except at the height of the wet season when air temperatures are merely very warm but the high humidity makes it equally or more uncomfortable than the hotter dry season.

Economy

Rice Field Kateregi, Niger state Nigeria

Cotton,

guinea corn ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a Poaceae, grass species cultivated for its grain, which is used for food for humans, animal feed, and ethan ...

(sorghum), Maize and

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

are the main agricultural products of the city. Yam is also extensively cultivated throughout the city. The economy also supports cattle trading, brewing,

shea nut ''Vitellaria paradoxa'' (formerly ''Butyrospermum parkii''), commonly known as shea tree, shi tree (), or vitellaria, is a tree of the family Sapotaceae. It is the only species in the genus ''Vitellaria'',gold mining. There are also FMCGs such as PZ Cussons that deal in toilet soaps, baby products, medicaments and so on. Traditional industries and crafts in Minna include leather work and metalworking.

Transport

Minna is connected to neighbouring cities by road.

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 ...

, the capital of the country, is only 150 km away. Minna is also connected by railroad to both Kano in the north and Ibadan and Lagos in the south. The city is served by Minna Airport.

Education and Health

Minna has many educational institutions, including:

Fati Lami Abubakar Institute for Legal and Administrative Studies Fati may refer to * Fati (god), the god of the moon in Polynesian mythology * Fati (name) *Fati Municipality Al Fatih Municipality or Al Fatah () was one of the municipalities ( baladiyat) of Libya in the northeastern part of the country from 19 ...

, The

Federal University of Technology Minna Federal University of Technology Minna (FUTMINNA) is a Federal Government owned University located in Minna, Nigeria. FUT MINNA specializes in technological education. Offering Bachelor's of Technology, Master's of Technology in various technolog ...

Niger state school of health ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesNiger state school of nursing and Midwifery,

Niger state university of Education ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesFather O'Connell Science College, Minna, D.S.S Limawa, Kowa Schools, El-Bethel Academy, Jocis Schools, Hilltop Model School, Mypa schools, Himma international school, Police secondary school, El-Amin International School, FOMWAN Schools, New Horizon College, Divine Excellence International Schools and Brighter International Schools, among many others. The above-mentioned schools are the pioneering high schools in Minna. Minna has many primary health clinics with the

General Hospital, Minna A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

serving as the general health care.

Universities

Niger State College of Education Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), also known as UDUSOK, is a public research university located in the city of Sokoto, north western Part of Nigeria. It is one of the initial twelve universities founded in Nigeria by the federal govern ...

* School of Nursing and Midwifery * New Gate Science and Technology *

Niger State Polytechnic Niger State Polytechnic, also known as Nigerpoly, is a tertiary learning institution in Zungeru, Niger State, Nigeria. History and mission The institution started as Zungeru College of Advanced Studies (ZUCAS). The state government establishe ...

The Federal Polytechnic Bida ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

Climate

Gallery

File:Minna.photowalk Rounabout 18.jpg File:Minna.photowalk Street 06.jpg File:Welcome to Minna DJI 0968.jpg File:Niger state government house 2.jpg File:Minna Roads 4.jpg File:State secretariat Minna DJI 0957.jpg, Niger state Secretariat

References

{{NigerNG-geo-stub State capitals in Nigeria Populated places in Niger State

History

Climate

Economy

Transport

Education and Health

Universities

Climate

Gallery

See also

References