Groundnut pyramids were

pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

-like structures made from

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 ...

sacks. The pyramids were built in northern

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

cities such as

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 ...

, where groundnut production was a key part of the economy. They were viewed as both a tourist attraction and a symbol of wealth. In the 1960s and 70s, as production in Nigeria shifted from agriculture to oil, the groundnut pyramids disappeared. Recently, the Nigerian government has made efforts to revive the groundnut industry and rebuild the pyramids.

History

Groundnut pyramids were the invention of

Alhassan Dantata Alhassan Dantata (1877 – 17 August 1955) was a Northern Nigerian trader in kola nuts and ground nuts, and he was a distributor of European goods. He supplied large British trading companies with raw materials and also had business interests ...

, a prominent nut trader. Dantata came to Kano in 1919 and within five years was one of the most successful businessmen, supplying the Royal Niger Company (RNC) with most of their groundnuts. Dantata's company kept their groundnuts at a facility in Kofar Nassarawa, and they stacked the bags in the shape of a pyramid before they were shipped. One groundnut pyramid could be made from as much as 15,000 full groundnut bags. A journalist who visited a former groundnut pyramid site in Kano reported that the land was now a football field. Groundnut pyramids were built all across northern Nigeria, in cities like Kofar Mazugal, Brigade,

Bebeji Bebeji is a Local Government Area in Kano State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Bebeji. It has an area of 717 km and a population of 188,859 at the 2006 census. The postal code of the area is 711. Geography The town of Bebeji ...

Malam Madori Malam Madori is a town and Local Government Area (LGA) in the north of Jigawa State, Nigeria. As of the 2006 it had a population of 164,791. It has an area of 766 km² and a population of 164,791 at the 2006 census. History Malam Madu ...

and

Dawakin Kudu Dawakin Kudu is a Local Government Area in Kano State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Dawakin Kudu. It has an area of 384 km and a population of 225,389 at the 2006 census. The district head of Dawakin Kudu in 2009 is Dan Iyan ...

. The pyramids became synonymous with Nigeria's agricultural wealth; a postage stamp even featured a groundnut pyramid. However, as groundnut production declined in the 1970s and 80s the groundnut pyramids disappeared and were replaced with buildings.

Modern efforts

On February 24, 2014, Dr. Akimwumi Adesina, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development launched a groundnut value chain project. This project is a joint venture between the Federal Government (FG) of Nigeria and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). Their aim is twofold: to increase Nigeria's groundnut production and rebuild the groundnut pyramids. President

Goodluck Jonathan Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957)Lawson Heyford, ''The Source'' (Lagos), 11 December 2006. is a Nigerian politician who served as the President of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to fo ...

reiterated the government's desire to rebuild the pyramids in a bridge dedication speech in March 2015.

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Nigeria History of Nigeria Pyramids in Africa Distribution (marketing) Food storage Agriculture in Nigeria Kano State Hausa history