Zungeru is a town in

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 ...

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 was the capital of the British protectorate of

Northern Nigeria Northern Nigeria was an autonomous division within Nigeria, distinctly different from the southern part of the country, with independent customs, foreign relations and security structures. In 1962 it acquired the territory of the United Kingd ...

from 1902 until 1916. It is the site of the

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 ...

and is located on the

Kaduna River The Kaduna River is a tributary of the Niger River which flows for through Nigeria. It got its name from the crocodiles that lived in the river and surrounding area. Kaduna in the native dialect, Hausa, was the word for "crocodiles". It starts ...

History

Colonial history

1905 Borgu 1d local stamp with stamps of Northern Nigeria used on piece via Zungeru

According to local oral history, "Zungeru" is a corrupted form of the word " Dunguru". Tradition holds that British colonialists came upon a

Gwari 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 ...

man playing a Dunguru (a musical instrument used by 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 fraternity in the United States *National Union of Public Employees (Ne ...

and Gwari) in the area of what is now Zungeru. They asked him what it was he called, he told them "Dunguru", and the corrupted form "Zungeru" became the name of the settlement.

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, ...

forces occupied Zungeru in September 1902, which was then populated by Gwari. Colonial administrator

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 ...

chose the town as capital of

over

Jebba Jebba town is a Yoruba and Nupe city in Kwara State, Nigeria. It has views of the River Niger and has an estimated population of 22,411 as of 2007. The name of the king of Jebba is Oba Abdulkadir Adebara. Gallery File:Canoeing on the Niger R ...

and

Lokoja Lokoja is a city in Nigeria. It lies at the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers and is the capital city of Kogi State. While the Yoruba (Oworo), Bassa Nge and Nupe are indigenous to the area, other ethnic groups of Nigeria, including the ...

due to its central location. The British cleared the forest in the area and established a market, military barracks, and hospital, among other things.Ogendengbe, pp. 280-281 In 1916, two years after the 1914 union of the colonies of Northern and

Southern Nigeria Southern Nigeria may refer to: *The southern part of Nigeria, which tends to be more Christian and animist than the Muslim north; also where most of the country's oil is located *Southern Nigeria Protectorate Southern Nigeria was a British Empi ...

into one colonial entity, Lugard moved the north's capital to

Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Region, Nigeria, Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the ...

. The same year, the Chief of

Wushishi Wushishi is a Local Government Area in Niger State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the town of Wushishi. Wushishi is located between Longitude 9°43'N and Latitude 6°04'E and it has an area of 1,879 km and a population of 81,783 at the 200 ...

was given the position of ruler of Zungeru, and he passed on the position to his son, Abubakar. After the capital was moved to Kaduna, Zungeru was administered from Minna as part of Niger province.Ogendengbe, p. 285

Post-colonial history

Zungeru has declined in importance since the removal of administrative function to Kaduna. Sites in modern Zungeru include the Nnamdi Azikiwe Centre, a now-abandoned tribute to Nigeria's first President

Nnamdi Azikiwe Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe, (16 November 1904 – 11 May 1996), usually referred to as "Zik", was a Nigerian statesman and political leader who served as the first President of Nigeria from 1963 to 1966. Considered a driving force behind the n ...

built by

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 Ch ...

's military regime, the market built by Lugard, which is still in use, and Niger State Polytechnic. Work is ongoing on the proposed hydroelectric dam as at 2015. The dam is being constructed by a consortium led by Sinohydro. The dam is proposed to produce 700 MW of electricity at full operation.

Demographics

In 1926, the town and districts administered from it - Wushishi, Alewa, Guma (population 3440), Koriga (population 801), Kuskaka (population 2108), Makangard (9166), and Tegina (population (4611) - comprised around 35,100 residents. Wushishi was populated by 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 * ...

, and Gwari; Alewa by Gwari,

Bauchi Bauchi (earlier Yakoba) is a city in northeast Nigeria, the Administrative center of Bauchi State, of the Bauchi Local Government Area within that State, and of the traditional Bauchi Emirate. It is located on the northern edge of the Jos Plateau ...

, Hausa, and Kamaku; Guma by

Bongu (people) Bongu may refer to: * Bongu language, a Rai Coast language spoken in Madang Province, Papua New Guinea *Bongu, tribe in Zungeru Zungeru is a town in Niger State, Nigeria. It was the capital of the British protectorate of Northern Nigeria from 1902 ...

, Hausa,

Basa Basa may refer to: Agreements * Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement, between National Aviation Authority regulators People * Basa (surname) * Bassa people (Cameroon), also spelled Basa, an ethnic group * Basa, leader and namesake of the Basing ...

, and Bauchi; Koriga by Hausa, Kamaku, and Gwari; Kuskaka by Ura, Ngwoi, Hausa, and Kamaku; Makangard by Makangara; and Tegina by Bauchi, Gwari, Hausa, Kamuku, Ngwoi, and Basa. As of 2007, the Hausa,

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

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 t ...

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 ...

, and

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. ...

are the dominant ethnic groups in Zungeru.

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

and

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

are the main religions.

Geography and climate

Zungeru is surrounded by mountains, giving it a lower elevation than the surrounding topography Mountains are located nearby. In addition to the Kaduna, the smaller Nnamaye and Tosheta Rivers flow near the town. The area surrounding the Zungeru is a mixed wooded savanna; species of plants growing in the area include

Afzelia africana ''Afzelia africana'', the African mahogany, afzelia, lenke, lengue, apa, or doussi, is a tree species in the family Fabaceae. Range It occurs in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, DRCongo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Gui ...

Isoberlinia ''Isoberlinia'' is a genus in the family Fabaceae of five species of tree native to the hotter parts of tropical Africa. They are an important component of miombo woodlands. The leaves have three or four pairs of large leaflets and stout seed po ...

species, and

Burkea africana ''Burkea africana'', the wild syringa ( bm, siri), is a deciduous, medium-sized, spreading, flat-topped tree belonging to the subfamily Caesalpinioideae of the family Fabaceae. The genus was named in honour of Joseph Burke, the botanist and col ...

. The town and surrounding country is one of the hottest and most humid parts of Nigeria.

Transport

Zungeru is served by a station on the national railway system.

Notable people from Zungeru

Notable individuals from Zungeru include: *

, first President of Nigeria *

Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Chukwuemeka "Emeka" Odumegwu Ojukwu (4 November 1933 – 26 November 2011) was a Nigerian military officer, statesman and politician who served as the military governor of the Eastern Region of Nigeria in 1966 and the president of the se ...

, leader of secessionist state Biafra *

David Mark David Alechenu Bonaventure Mark , is a retired Nigerian Army Brigadier General and politician. He was President of the Senate of Nigeria from 2007 to 2015 and was the Senator for Benue South Senatorial District Benue State. He is a member of the ...

, President of the Senate

References

External links

Niger State Polytechnic Zungeru WebsiteSchoolGist24 Page