Minna is a city in the

Middle Belt 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 is ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. It is the capital city of

Niger State Niger State is a state in the North Central (Nigeria), North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the east by Kaduna State and the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory, to the north by Kebbi State and Zamfara State, ...

, one of Nigeria's 36 federal

states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

. Its original two major ethnic groups are the Gbagyi and the Nupe peoples. 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 () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

culture filtered into Minna by way of the ancient Saharan trade routes much later, and the city contains many

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

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 practised. Christianity is the second most practised religion in the city. Popular churches include the Faith Church, Grace Baptist Church, Nupe Kalvari Churches,

Anglican Church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

es, ECWA churches,

Baptist church Baptists are a denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers ( believer's baptism) and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches generally subscribe to the doctrines of ...

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.

Pollution

Based on research carried out, it was reported that Minna is being affected by land pollution caused by improper disposal of solid waste products. This has caused several diseases such as Malaria fever, Yellow fever, Lassa fever, etc.

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 ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''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 th ...

-dominated

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 t ...

from November to April and a humid, oppressive

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally, the season lasts at least one month. The term ''green season'' is also sometimes used a ...

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.

Literary Festival

The current trend of literary and book art festivals in Nigeria, in the last 15 years, could be traced to Minna, Niger State, which started its literary and arts festival in May 1995.

Economy

Cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, 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 ...

, guinea corn (sorghum),

Maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

and

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...

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 processing and

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

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 (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...

work and

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

working.

Transport

Minna is connected to neighbouring cities by road.

Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...

, 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 using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

to both Kano in the north and

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the List of Nigerian cities by population, third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano (city), Kano, with a total populatio ...

and

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

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, The Federal University of Technology Minna, Niger state school of health, Niger state school of nursing and Midwifery, Niger state university of Education among others. With many high schools as Father O'Connell Science College, Minna, Waziri Primary School, Chiroma Primary School, 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

* Federal University of Technology Minna * Niger State College of Education * School of Nursing and Midwifery * New Gate Science and Technology * Niger State Polytechnic * The Federal Polytechnic Bida

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

{{Authority control State capitals in Nigeria Populated places in Niger State