) , image_map = Nigeria - Taraba.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location of Taraba State in Nigeria , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type =

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

, subdivision_name = , established_title = Date created , established_date = 27 August 1991 , seat_type = Capital , seat =

Jalingo Jalingo is the capital city of Taraba State in north eastern Nigeria , named in fulfulde (The word jalingo meaning superior place and has been estimated with population of 118,000. and the city is mainly dominated by Fulanis and others small eth ...

, government_footnotes = , governing_body = Government of Taraba State , leader_name = Darius Ishaku , leader_party = PDP , leader_title =

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

(

List A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...

) , leader_title1 = , leader_name1 = Haruna Manu ( PDP) , leader_title2 = Legislature , leader_name2 = Taraba State House of Assembly , leader_title3 = Senators , leader_name3 =

, leader_title4 = Representatives , leader_name4 =

, unit_pref = Metric , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = 54,473 , area_rank = 3rd of 36 , area_note = , elevation_footnotes = , elevation_m = , population_footnotes = , population_total = 2,294,800 , population_as_of = 2006 census , population_rank = 30th of 36 , population_density_km2 = auto , population_note = , demographics_type1 =

GDP (PPP) GDP (PPP) means gross domestic product based on purchasing power parity. This article includes a list of countries by their forecast estimated GDP (PPP). Countries are sorted by GDP (PPP) forecast estimates from financial and statistical ...

, demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Year , demographics1_info1 = 2007 , demographics1_title2 = Total , demographics1_info2 = $3.40 billion , demographics1_title3 = Per capita , demographics1_info3 = $1,446 , timezone1 =

WAT A wat ( km, វត្ត, ; lo, ວັດ, ; th, วัด, ; khb, 「ᩅᨯ᩠ᨰ」(waD+Dha); nod, 「ᩅ᩠ᨯ᩶」（w+Da2)) is a type of Buddhist temple and Hindu temple in Cambodia, Laos, East Shan State, Yunnan, the Southern Provi ...

, utc_offset1 = +01 , postal_code_type = postal code , postal_code = 660001 , area_code_type = , area_code = , iso_code = NG-TA , website
tarabastate.gov.ng
, blank_name_sec1 =

HDI The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistic composite index of life expectancy, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income indicators, wh ...

(2018) , blank_info_sec1 = 0.501
· 26th of 37 , footnotes = , native_name = 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤼𞤢𞤪𞤢𞤦𞤢 Taraba () is a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

in North Eastern Nigeria, named after the

Taraba River The Taraba River is a river in Taraba State, Nigeria, a tributary of the Benue River. It joins the Benue on a floodplain 10 km wide and 50 km across. The major towns along the River Taraba are Sert-Baruwa, Sarki Ruwa, Karamti, Jamta ...

, which traverses the southern part of the state. Taraba state's capital is

. The inhabitants are mainly the people from

Mumuye The Mumuyes are a people of Nigeria. They speak the Mumuye language. They constitute the largest tribal group in Taraba State of Nigeria and form the predominant tribes found in Zing, Yorro, Jalingo, Ardo-Kola, Lau, Gassol, Bali and Gashaka, al ...

Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...

, Jenjo, Karimjo, Wurkum, and Kona tribes, who are predominantly resident in the northern part of the state, while the Jukun, Chamba, Tiv, Kuteb and Ichen tribes are found predominantly in the southern part of the state.The central region is mainly occupied by the Mambila people, Chamba,

and Jibawa. There are over 77 different tribes, and their languages in Taraba State.

History

Taraba state was created out of the former

Gongola state Gongola State is a former administrative division of Nigeria. It was created on 3 February 1976 from the Adamawa and Sardauna Provinces of North State, together with the Wukari Division of the then Benue-Plateau State; it existed until 27 August ...

on 27 August 1991, by the military government of General

Ibrahim Babangida Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (born 17 August, 1941) is a retired Nigerian Army general and politician. He served as military president of Nigeria from 1985 until his resignation in 1993. He rose through the ranks to serve from 1984 to 1985 as C ...

Geography

Taraba state is bounded in the west by

Nasarawa state Nasarawa State is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the east by the states of Taraba and Plateau, to the north by Kaduna State, to the south by the states of Kogi and Benue, and to the west by the Federal Capital Ter ...

and

Benue state Benue State is one of the North Central states in Nigeria with a population of about 4,253,641 in 2006 census. The state was created in 1976 among the 7 states created at that time.The state derives its name from the Benue River which is th ...

, northwest by Plateau state, north by

Bauchi state Bauchi State (Fula: ''Leydi Bauchi'' 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤦𞤢𞤵𞤷𞥅𞤭) is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Kano and Jigawa to the north, Taraba and Plateau to the south, Gombe and Yobe to the e ...

and

Gombe state Gombe State ( ff, Leyddi Gommbe 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤺𞤮𞤥𞥆𞤦𞤫) is a state in northeastern Nigeria, bordered to the north and northeast by the state of Borno and Yobe, to the south by Taraba State, to the southeast by Adamawa Stat ...

, northeast by

Adamawa state Adamawa state () is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Borno to the northwest, Gombe to the west, and Taraba to the southwest, while its eastern border forms part of the national border with Cameroon. It tak ...

, and south by Northwest Region in

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

. The Benue, Donga, Taraba and Ibi are the main rivers in the state. They rise from the

ian mountains, straining almost the entire length of the state in the North and South directions to link up with the

River Niger The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, ...

Climate

The climate of Taraba state is marked by an annual average

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measurement, measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various Conversion of units of temperature, temp ...

of 33°C but high level of

cold Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...

in January and an increased rainfall in August. The percentage of

rainfall Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

in Taraba state is 40.35% with 54.98% relative

humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity dep ...

. The state is usually very warm in March with 40.44°C, and an average

wind Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few ho ...

of 8.84km/h.

Local government areas

Taraba state consists of sixteen (16)

Local Government Areas 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, province, division, or territory. The phrase i ...

(or LGAs), which are governed by elected chairmen. The local government areas are listed as follows: *

Ardo Kola Ardo Kola is a Local Government Area in Taraba State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Sunkani. It has an area of 2,262 km and a population of 86,921 at the 2006 census. The postal code A postal code (also known locally ...

Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...

* Donga * Gashaka *

Gassol Gassol is a Local Government Area in Taraba State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Mutum Biyu (or Mutumbiyu or Mutum Mbiyu) on the A4 highway at. It has an area of 5,548 km and a population of 244,749 at the 2006 census. The ...

* Ibi *

* Karim Lamido *

Kurmi Kurmi is traditionally a non-elite tiller caste in the lower Gangetic plain of India, especially southern regions of Awadh, eastern Uttar Pradesh and parts of Bihar. The Kurmis came to be known for their exceptional work ethic, superior til ...

Lau Lau or LAU may refer to: People * Lau (surname) * Liu (劉/刘), a common Chinese family name transliterated Lau in Cantonese and Hokkien * Lau clan, one of the Saraswat Brahmin clans of Punjab * LAU (musician): Laura Fares Places * Lebane ...

Sardauna Sardauna Local Government Area is located in the extreme southeast of Taraba State in Nigeria. It sits atop the Mambilla Plateau, which is dotted by other towns such as Maisamari and Nguroje. The capital of the LGA is Gembu, which is the pri ...

Takum Takum is a Local Government Area in Taraba State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the town of Takum, it is created out of Wukari local government in June 1976, at . Takum borders the Republic of Cameroon in the south, Ussa Local Government to the ...

Ussa Ussa is a Local Government Areas of Nigeria, local government area in Taraba State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the town of Lissam. Ussa borders the Cameroon, Republic of Cameroon in the south; the Donga River forms its northern boundary. U ...

Wukari Wukari is a Local Government Area in Taraba State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the town of Wukari on the A4 highway. The Donga River flows through the area and the Benue River forms a boundary with Nasarawa State to the northwest. It has an ...

Yorro Yorro is a Local Government Area in Taraba State, Northeast, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the town of Kpantisawa. The local government is dominated by Mumuye people which is the largest tribe in Taraba State. It has an area of 1,275 km ...

Zing Zing or ZING may refer to: *Zing (model-checker), infrastructure for verification of concurrent software via model checking *Zing (punctuation) or irony punctuation, invented by English printer Henry Denham in the 1580s *Zing (quartet), the 2010 S ...

Languages

Languages of Taraba state listed by LGA include: Ussa.

Kuteb language Kuteb (also known as ''Kutep'') also known as Ati, Kutev, Mbarike is a Nigerian ethnic language. The Kuteb people mostly live in the southern part of Taraba state in Nigeria, with a thousand-or-so speakers across the border in Cameroon. In Niger ...

Other languages spoken in Taraba state are Akum, Bukwen, Esimbi, Fali of Baissa, Jiba, Njerep, Tha, Yandang, Yotti, Ywom.

Agriculture

The major occupation of the people of Taraba state is

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

Cash crops A cash crop or profit crop is an agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate marketed crops from staple crop (or "subsistence crop") in subsiste ...

produced in the state include

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...

groundnut Groundnut may refer to: * Seeds that ripen underground, of the following plants, all in the Faboideae subfamily of the legumes: ** '' Best Basketball Player'', Obinna Udunni ** '' Arachis villosulicarpa'', a perennial peanut species ** ''Vigna sub ...

s and

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 ...

. Crops such as

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 ...

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

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 othe ...

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 al ...

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...

, and yam are also produced in commercial quantity. In addition,

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

and

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

s are reared in large numbers, especially on the Mambilla Plateau, and along the Benue and Taraba

valleys A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

. Similarly, the people of Taraba state undertake other

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

production activities like

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, quails, ...

production, rabbit breeding and

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...

farming in fairly large scale. Communities living on the banks of

River Benue The Benue River (french: la Bénoué), previously known as the Chadda River or Tchadda, is the major tributary of the Niger River. The river is approximately long and is almost entirely navigable during the summer months. The size of its bas ...

River 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 ...

Taraba, River Donga and Ibi, engage in fishing all year round. Other occupational activities such as pottery, cloth-weaving, dyeing, mat-making, carving, embroidery and blacksmithing are also carried out in various parts of the state.

Culture

The government has made concerted efforts to improve areas of tourist attractions like Mambilla Tourist Center, Gumpti Park and game reserve in Gashaka; and Karimjo Obedah Festival in Karim Lamido and the Nwunyu fishing festival in Ibi, which is usually held in April of each year where activities such as canoe racing, swimming competition and cultural dances are held. Other festivals are Purma of the

Chamba Chamba may refer to: People * Gilberto Chamba (born 1961), Ecuadorian serial killer * Jessica Chamba (born 1981), European activist Places Ghana * Chamba, a town in the Northern Region India * Chamba (Vidhan Sabha constituency), Himachal Pradesh ...

in Donga,

and Jibu culture dance in

, the Tagba of Acha People in Takum, Kuchecheb of Kutebs in

and Ussa, Kati of the Mambilla and host of others. Taraba is called "Nature's gift to the nation" as the state is rich and has many ethnic groups, including Kuteb, Chamba, Yandang,

Mambila The Mambilla or Mambila people of Nigeria live on the Mambilla Plateau (in 'Sardauna' local government area of Taraba State in Nigeria). A small fraction of Mambilla migrants left the Mambilla Plateau for the Ndom Plain (also known as northern Tik ...

, Karimjo, Wurkums, Jenjo, Jukun, Ichen, Tiv, Kaka, Pena, Kambu, kodei, Wawa,

Vute Vute is a Mambiloid language of Cameroon and Gabon, with a thousand speakers in Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, i ...

, Fulani,

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 ...

and

Ndola Ndola is the third largest city in Zambia and third in terms of size and population, with a population of 475,194 (''2010 census provisional''), after the capital, Lusaka, and Kitwe, and the second largest in terms of infrastructure development aft ...

A striking historical fact about the State is that it encompasses part of the Mambilla Region which is famed as the Bantu cradle, having been occupied for some five millennia to date (Schwartz, 1972; Zeitlyn & Connell, 2003).

Gallery

File:Transportation In river Lamido, Taraba State.jpg, alt=Gashaka-Gumpti-National-Park-Taraba-State, Transportation In river Lamido, Taraba State File:Gembu Beautiful Mountain.jpg, A Mountain in Gembu File:The Mambilla Plateau, Nigeria 09.jpg, The Mambilla Plateau File:River Donga.jpg, Donga River, Taraba state File:Loop traditional dancer from Taraba State 1.jpg, Loop traditional dancers from Taraba State File:Cijin Lake in Gembu, Taraba state, Nigeria.jpg, Cijin Lake in Gembu, Taraba state File:Nigeria, Taraba State, Mambilla Plateau, Ngel Nyaki Forest Reserve, 2012.jpg, Ngel Nyaki Forest Reserve, 2012 File:Gashaka-Gumpti-National-Park-Taraba-State-780x520.jpg, Gashaka Gumti National Park Taraba State

Notable people

*Late Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan (Mama Taraba) - Former Nigerian Minister of Women Affairs, Former Senator of Northern Zone of Taraba *

Emmanuel Bwacha Emmanuel Bwacha CON is a Nigerian politician who was elected to the Senate for the Taraba South Senatorial District of Taraba State, Nigeria, in the 2011 general elections. He was elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). ...

- Senator Representing Southern Taraba, Deputy Senate Minority Leader at National Assembly *

Theophilus Danjuma Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (born 9 December 1938) is a politician and retired Nigerian army lieutenant general who played a key role in post independence military and political events in Nigeria. Danjuma amassed an enormous fortune through ship ...

- Nigerian soldier, Politician, Businessman, Nigerian Chief of Army Staff (1975-1979), Minister of Defence (1999-2003) * Darius Ishaku - Current Governor of Taraba state * Saleh Mamman, Nigerian minister of power * Mahmud Mohammed - Nigerian Jurist and former

Chief Justice of Nigeria The Chief Justice of Nigeria or CJN is the head of the judicial arm of the government of Nigeria, and presides over the country's Supreme Court and the National Judicial Council. The current Chief Justice is Olukayode Ariwoola who was app ...

Jolly Nyame Jolly Tavoro Nyame (born 25 December 1955) in Zing Local Government Area of present-day Taraba State) was Governor of Taraba State in Nigeria from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007. He also served as governor of the state from January 1992 to November ...

- Former Governor of Taraba state * Danbaba Suntai - Nigerian pharmacist, Politician, Former Governor of Taraba state *

Yusuf Abubakar Yusuf Yusuf Abubakar Yusuf (born 5 November 1956) is a Nigerian politician who has been the APC Member of the Senate for the constituency of Taraba Central since 2015. He was declared the winner of the seat in the Senate on 26th November 2015 after a ...

- Senator Representing Central Taraba, Member of the All Progressive Congress(APC),Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) * Shuaibu Isa Lau - Senator representing Taraba North * Agbu Kefas - Governorship PDP Flag Bearer, 2023 Election * Abubakar Sani Danladi - Former Deputy Governor of the state * Abbas Njidda Tafida - Current Emir of Muri * Ali Sani Kona - 2023 APC Aspirant, contesting for Taraba North Senatorial District * Anna Darius Ishaku - Barrister, First Lady of the state/Wife to the Executive Governor, Darius Ishaku *

References

External links

*
Nigerian Post Office- with map of LGAs of the state
{{Portal bar, Nigeria States of Nigeria States and territories established in 1991 1991 establishments in Nigeria Natural disaster deaths by country