Minna is a city in

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 ...

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 is the capital city of

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 ...

, 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 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 ...

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

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

s 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,

Nupe Kalvari Church 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 fraternity in the United States * National Union of Public Employees (N ...

es,

Anglican Church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

es,

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 term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal Duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitu ...

, 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 Abdulsalami Abubakar (; born 13 June 1942) is a Nigerian statesman and retired Nigerian Army general who served as the ''de facto'' President of Nigeria from 1998 to 1999. He was also Chief of Defence Staff between 1997 and 1998. He succeede ...

. Dr.

Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu is a senior civil servant who was elected governor of Niger State, Nigeria in April 2007. He was reelected on 26 April 2011. In the March 2015 presidential and senate elections, Gov Aliyu failed in his senate race against ...

was the former governor of

, serving the maximum term of eight years (2007–2015).

Abubakar Sani Bello Abubakar Sani Bello also known as ''Lolo,'' is a Nigerian politician and the current executive Governor of Niger State, Nigeria. He is a member of All Progressive Congress (APC) Background Abubakar Sani Bello was Born on 17 December 1967. He ...

is the present governor of Niger state who took over from the opposition party ruling candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party candidate

, serving his second term in office.

Climate

Minna has a typical

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''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 The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The te ...

from November to April and a humid, oppressive

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the sea ...

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 Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

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

(sorghum),

Maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

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 Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

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 Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...

work and

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

working.

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 Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

to both

Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria * Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State **Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries **Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between ...

in the north and

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its me ...

and

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

in the south. The city is served by

Minna Airport Minna Airport is an airport northwest of Minna, the capital of Niger State in Nigeria. Airlines and destinations See also *Transport in Nigeria *List of airports in Nigeria This is a list of airports in Nigeria, grouped by type and sorted ...

Education and Health

Minna has many educational institutions, including: Fati Lami Abubakar Institute for Legal and Administrative Studies, 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 serving as the general health care.

Universities

* Niger State College of Education * 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

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