) , 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, whil ...

, subdivision_name = , established_title = Date created , established_date = 27 August 1991 , seat_type = Capital , seat = Jalingo , government_footnotes = , governing_body = Government of Taraba State , leader_name =

Darius Ishaku Darius Dickson Ishaku, FNIA, FNITP CON (born 30 July 1954) is a Nigerian architect, urban planner, university lecturer and politician. He is a member of the People's Democratic Party and the Governor of Taraba State. Early life Ishaku was bo ...

, 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 uni ...

) , leader_title1 = , leader_name1 =

Haruna Manu Haruna Manu (born 23 August 1973) is a Nigerian politician, a member of the People's Democratic Party and a former member House of Representatives for Bali/Gassol Federal Constituency. He is the current Deputy Governor of Taraba State, serving t ...

( PDP) , leader_title2 = Legislature , leader_name2 =

Taraba State House of Assembly The Taraba State House of Assembly is a branch of the Government of Taraba State, which serves as the legislative house where all legislative decisions and lawmaking for the governance of Taraba State is emanating. It is a unicameral body with ...

, 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) , 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 , 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 (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 ...

in North Eastern Nigeria, named after the Taraba River, which traverses the southern part of the state. Taraba state's capital is Jalingo. The inhabitants are mainly the people from Mumuye, Fulani, 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 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 ...

, Chamba, Fulani 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 on 27 August 1991, by the military government of General Ibrahim Babangida.

Geography

Taraba state is bounded in the west by Nasarawa state and Benue state, 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 ...

and Gombe state, northeast by Adamawa state, 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; th ...

. The Benue, Donga, Taraba and

Ibi Ibi or IBI may refer to: Companies * IBI Group, a Canadian-based architecture, engineering, planning, and technology firm Places * Ibi, Nigeria, a town and administrative district in Taraba State, central Nigeria * Ibi, Spain, a town in the pr ...

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.

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 measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied on ...

of 33°C but high level of cold 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 ...

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 of 8.84km/h.

Local government areas

Taraba state consists of sixteen (16) Local Government Areas (or LGAs), which are governed by elected chairmen. The local government areas are listed as follows: * Ardo Kola *

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 Gashaka is a Local Government Area in Taraba State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Serti. It has an area of 8,393 km and a population of 87,781 at the 2006 census. The postal code of the area is 672. The Lamdo (Emir) of G ...

* Gassol *

* Jalingo *

Karim Lamido Karim Lamido is a Local Government Area in Taraba State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Karim Lamido at . It has an area of 6,620 km and a population of 195,844 at the 2006 census. The southern border of Karim Lamido is the ...

* Kurmi * Lau *

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 * Ussa * Wukari *

Yorro Yorro is a Local Government Area 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 (administrat ...

* Zing

Languages

Languages of Taraba state listed by LGA include: Ussa. Kuteb language 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 peop ...

. Cash crops produced in the state include

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

, tea, groundnuts 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 p ...

. 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. ...

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly '' Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and ''Porteresia'', both wild and domestica ...

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 ot ...

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 ...

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', 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 cultivated a ...

, and

yam Yam or YAM may refer to: Plants and foods *Yam (vegetable), common name for members of ''Dioscorea'' * Taro, known in Malaysia and Singapore as yam * Sweet potato, specifically its orange-fleshed cultivars, often referred to as yams in North Amer ...

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 ...

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 sh ...

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 ...

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

production activities like poultry production,

rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit s ...

breeding and pig farming in fairly large scale. Communities living on the banks of River Benue,

River A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the ...

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

; and Karimjo Obedah Festival in

and the Nwunyu fishing festival in

, 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 in Donga, Takum and Jibu culture dance in

, the Tagba of Acha People in Takum, Kuchecheb of Kutebs in Takum 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 Yandang Mountains or Yandangshan (Chinese: t , s , p ''Yàndàng Shān'', lit. "Wild Goose Pond Mountain(s)") refers, in the broad sense, to a coastal mountain range in southeastern Zhejiang province in eastern China, c ...

, Mumuyes,

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 Kambu Swayambhuva was an ancestor of the Punjabi Kambuja tribe and king of Aryadesa. He is listed and praised in shloka 22 of the Vedic ''Ekatmata Stotra'' hymn among Hindu sages, warriors and conquerors alongside Agastya, Narasimhavarman I, ...

, kodei, Wawa, Vute, Fulani, Hausa and Ndola. Mambilla Tribe Taraba State

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 - Senator Representing Southern Taraba, Deputy Senate Minority Leader at National Assembly * Theophilus Danjuma - Nigerian soldier, Politician, Businessman, Nigerian Chief of Army Staff (1975-1979), Minister of Defence (1999-2003) *

- Current Governor of Taraba state *

Saleh Mamman Mamman Kwagyang Saleh (born 2 January 1958), is a Nigerian government official that served as Minister of Power from August 2019 to September 2021. He was sworn in by President Muhammadu Buhari on 21 August 2019 after being nominated by Buhari an ...

, Nigerian minister of power *

Mahmud Mohammed Mahmud Mohammed (born 10 November 1946) is a Nigerian jurist and Chief Justice of Nigeria from 2014 to 2016. Early life Justice Mohammed was born on November 10, 1946 in Jalingo, the capital of Taraba State, northeastern Nigeria. He obtained a ...

- Nigerian Jurist and former Chief Justice of Nigeria * Jolly Nyame - Former Governor of Taraba state *

Danbaba Suntai Danbaba Danfulani Suntai (30 June 1961 – 28 June 2017) was a Nigerian pharmacist and politician. He was elected as Executive Governor of Taraba State, Nigeria running for the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in April 2007, and was sworn in on 29 ...

- 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 an ...

- Senator Representing Central Taraba, Member of the All Progressive Congress(APC),Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) *

Shuaibu Isa Lau Shuaibu Isa Lau (born 27 November 1960) is a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from Taraba State. He represents Taraba North in the Nigerian 9th National Assembly. Senator Lau is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Procurement. ...

- Senator representing Taraba North *

Agbu Kefas Agbu Kefas (born 12 November 1970) is a Nigerian politician, retired Nigerian army lieutenant colonel and the former PDP state chairman, Taraba State. He is the gubernatorial candidate of the PDP in Taraba State for the 2023 Nigerian guber ...

- Governorship PDP Flag Bearer, 2023 Election * Abubakar Sani Danladi - Former Deputy Governor of the state *

Abbas Njidda Tafida Alhaji Abbas Njidda Tafida (10 June 1953) is the Emir of Muri in Jalingo Taraba state, Nigeria. And 12th emir of Muri he ascended the throne on 12 July 1988 after dethroned of Alhaji Umaru Abba Tukur. Early life Alhaji Abbas Njidda Tafida was b ...

- 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,

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