HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Kaduna State occupies part of the Central position of the Northern part of Nigeria (with Kaduna as its capital) and shares common borders with Zamfara, Katsina, Niger, Kano, Bauchi and Plateau States. To the South-West, the State shares a border with the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The location of the State is between longitude 30’’ east of the Greenwich meridian and also between latitude 0900 and 11 30’’ North of the equator.
The State occupies an area of approximately 48,473.2 square kilometers and has a population of more than 6 million (2006 census).
The entire land structure consists of an undulating Plateau with major rivers in the State including River Kaduna, River Wonderful in Kafanchan, River Kagom, River Gurara and Galma.
There are two marked seasons in the State, the Dry windy season and the Rainy (wet) Seasons. The wet season is usually from April through October with great variations as you move North-Wards. On the average, the State enjoys a rainy season of about five (6) months. There is heavy rainfall in the southern parts of the state like Kafanchan and northern parts like in Zaria with an average rainfall of about 1016mm. The State extends from the tropical grassland known as Guinea Savannah to the Sudan Savannah in the North. The grassland is a vast region covering the Southern part of the State to about Latitude 1100’’ North of the equator. The prevailing vegetation of tall grass and big trees are of economic importance during both the wet and dry season.

LANGUAGE
Kaduna State is mostly populated by Hausa, Gwari Katab and Bajjuu ethnic communities, with others up to 36 indigenous ethnic groups found in different parts of the State. The main ethnic group are: Hausa, Fulani, Bajju, Kataf, Kagoro, Moro’a Jaba, Gbaggyi, Kanninkon, Ninzam, Chawai, Atyap, Ham Kurama etc, with Hausa and English languages as common languages.
OCCUPATION
About 80 percent of the State’s population is engaged in peasant farming producing both food and cash crops. The crops produced in the State include cotton, groundnuts, tobacco, maize, yam, beans, guinea corn, millet, ginger, rice, cassava, sugarcane, Shea nuts, Cowpea, Mango, Kenaf, cocoyam, Cassava, Timber, Palm kernel, Banana, Soya bean, Corn, Onions, sorghum and potatoes. During the dry season, a considerable number of people in the State engage in irrigation farming along some major rivers and near dams. The crops cultivated are mainly vegetables. Another important aspect of agriculture engaged by the people is the rearing of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry farming. Based on the above, some possible industries could be food and sugar processing, Cigarettes manufacturing, furniture industry, Ginger processing, Fibre factory, Palm oil, Milk, Starch production plant and milling. Kaduna State is the fourth most populous state in the Federation and represents a major focus and centre of political and economic activities in the nation. It occupies a very strategic position in terms of its historical role, contemporary political development and economic activities. Consequently, developments in Kaduna State invariably have national implications.
TOURISM
Kaduna State is blessed with tourism potentials all over. These attraction centers are either natural or monumental. The State can also boast of cultural and religious festivals. Accommodation of various types is available at affordable charges for tourists visiting the State. These are Hamdala Hotel, Halal Fountain Hotel and Kufena Suites among others.
The Kaduna State Government through the State Tourism Board has selected some sites for development into Tourists Resorts and a State Museum. The Sites are located in the following areas:-
- Matsirga Water falls Holiday Village kafanchan.
- Holiday Resort at Zaria Dam.
- State owned Museum at NOK
- Holiday Resort at Kangimi Dam.
- Babinda Tourist Transit Camp at Babinda Kaduna. Jos Road by Ancahu Junction.
As a result of the long history and tradition, the State has some historical sites created in the 16th Century. Historical developments are found throughout Hausa Land and beyond and Kaduna State is not an exception. Queen Amina the ruler of Zazzau Kingdom in the 16th Century created a name for herself in the field of warfare and political administration as well as the greatest discoveries of the NOK culture as far back as 500 BC.

Kaduna, which is the plural of Kada, got its name from the reptile crocodile, which abounded in the River Kaduna in the early days. Kaduna State is historically the home of Queen Amina of Zazzau who was noted for stepping where men dared not. As the ruler of Zauzzau she made conquest and waged battles against her neighbours. The southern part of the state is home of our ancient civilization known as the Nok culture which dates back to between 90BC-500AD. This is an archelogical discovery around Nok town in Jaba local government area of the state and one of the most significant and best known culture in the black African region today.
The capital Kaduna served as the capital of colonial master, Fredrick Luggard when he moved from Zungeru , capital of Northern Nigeria , North central state and now Kaduna.
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
In 1976, when the General Murtala Mohammed administration created seven new states in Nigeria, North-Central State, with a capital at Kaduna, was renamed Kaduna State. It was made up of the two colonial period Provinces of Zaria and Katsina. When in 1991, the number of states in the country was increased from twenty-one to thirty; Katsina Province became Katsina State, while the old Zaria Province became the new Kaduna State. There are twenty-three local government areas (LGAs) in the state, although the number of ethnic groups is much larger.
ADMINISTRATIVE AREAS
Administration of the state started with the concept of Provincial Administration and Native/Local Authority systems. However, in 1976, the Mohammed administration introduced the local government area (LGA) system, which delegated some responsibilities to the elected/appointed councilors. With each successive Federal Military Administration, the number of the LGAs in Kaduna State increased from fourteen in early 1980s to the present twenty-three in 1998. In each LGA, smaller units such as districts and wards are recognized.
PEOPLE, POPULATION AND SETTLEMENT
Ethnic Composition, Culture and the Arts
Kaduna State forms a portion of the country’s cultural melting pot. Apart from six major ethnic groups found in the state, there are over twenty other ethnic minority groups, each with its language and arts or religion different from the other. Works of art and pottery (e.g. the “Nok Terracotta”) found in the southern parts suggest that it is a major cultural centre. Among the major ethnic groups are Kamuku, Gwari, Kadara, in the west, Hausa and Kurama to the north and Northeast. “Nerzit” is now used to describe the Jaba, Kaje, Koro, Kamanton, Kataf, Morwa and Chawai instead of the derogatory term “southern Zaria people.” Also, the term “Hausawa” is used to describe the people of Igabi, Ikara, Giwa and Makarfi LGAs, which include a large proportion of rural dwellers that are strictly “Maguzawas.”
In the north, the Hausa and some immigrants from the southern states practice Islam and majority of the people in the southern LGAs profess Christianity. The major Muslim festivals are the “Sala” celebrations of “Id-El-Fitri” and “Id-El-Kabir”, while the Christians observe Christmas, New Year and Easter. Two traditional festivals of significance are the “Tuk-Ham” and “Afan” in Jaba and Jama’a LGAs respectively. Prominent among the traditional arts, are leather works, pottery and indigo-pit dyeing with Zaria as the major centre.
POPULATION STRUCTURE AND DISTRIBUTION
The 1991 census provisional result puts the population of Kaduna State at 3,935,618 and 2006 census puts it at 6,066,562. Although majority live and depend on the rural areas, about third of the State’s population are located in two major urban centres of Kaduna and Zaria. However, except in the northwestern quadrant, the rural population concentration is moderate, reaching a high of over 500 persons per sq. km. in Kaduna/Zaria and the neighboring villages; 350 in Jaba, Igabi and Giwa and 200 in Ikara LGAs.
Despite the provisional nature of the census results, observations of movements of young able-bodied male labourers in large numbers, from rural villages to towns during the dry season and back to rural agriculture fields during the wet season, suggest a sizeable seasonal labour force migration in the state. However, the seasonal labour migration has no effect on agricultural labour demands in the rural traditional setting. Indeed, some of these seasonal migrants come to town to learn specific trade or acquire special training and eventually go back to establish in the rural areas as skilled workers (e.g. masons, technicians, tractor drivers, carpenters, motor mechanics, etc).
Another major feature of the State’s population structure is the near 1:1 male/female ratio, not just for the state as a whole, but even among all the LGAs. The effects of this may be helpful to the future social and economic development of the rural sector especially in the agro-allied rural industries. The large number of secondary school leavers, polytechnic and university graduates provides a growing skilled labour force for the growing industries in the State.
URBAN AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND PATTERNS OF SETTLEMENT
The pattern of human settlement throughout the state is tied to the historical, political and socio-economic forces the area has been subjected to, from the pre-colonial to post-colonial period. Prior to the advent of the British occupation, the basic unit of human settlement was the extended family compound. As compounds grew, the needs for security and defence led to a higher hierarchy of settlements called “Garuruka” (towns). These towns were protected by walls with a titled/administrative head appointed by higher political authority, the “Sarki”. This pattern of settlement dominated the Hausawa cultural groups to the north (i.e. Gwiwa, Igabi, Zaria, Sabon GARI, Kudan, Makarfi and parts of Ikara LGAs).
Higher settlement hierarchy than the rural extended family compounds in other parts of the state was delayed, until the development of social amenities and infrastructure such as motor and rail road, Christian Missionary establishments and recently, produce buyers, markets and administrative reorganizations gave impetus (settlements such as Birnin Gwari, Kuda’a, Kachia, Zango Kataf, Kwoi-Sambam Kagoma and Saminaka are good examples). It is the impact of these historical and cultural developments on settlement pattern and probably because of the nature of the rural economy (agrarian) that created the dominance of the two urban centres (i.e. Zaria and Kaduna) in the state.
PROBLEM OF URBAN PRIMACY
The growth of Zaria urban settlement, though influenced by historic circumstance and the political authority it wielded prior to the 19th century, is also the result of deliberate establishment of educational institutions. First, as a centre for Arabic/Quranic studies, with its fame reaching Sokoto and Borno Kingdoms in the northwest and northeast respectively. Second, the establishment of the Agricultural Vocational School in Samaru (1923) and a Research Station for animal husbandry at Shika (now National Animal Production Research Institute – NAPRI) in 1928; followed by government secondary and higher institutions of learning such as Zaria Government College (now Barewa College) which started in 1992 in Katsina. The establishment of the Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology gave additional thrust not only by expanding the built up area but increasing the population. Between 1962 and 1992, Zaria, as an urban centre, has been transformed form an educational centre to a rapidly growing manufacturing industrial city sprawling for more than 25km stretch along Kaduna-Sokoto motor road.
Similarly, founded in 1917 as an administrative headquarters, Kaduna held a leadership position in the former Northern Region well into the late 1970s. Changes in the political structure of the country in 1967, 1975 and 1991 successively eroded her powerful leadership position as the newly created states were given autonomy. Even the Interim Common Services Agency (ICSA), a body established to oversee the common economic interests of the former Northern Region and located in Kaduna, could not protect the gradual loss of her past leadership in the northern state. Although Kaduna, as an urban centre, has ceased to be the political leader, it has gradually evolved and is growing to be a powerful commercial, industrial and financial nerve centre. Indeed, the location of the popular International Trade Fair in Kaduna and the increasing presence of the Federal Government through the location of several parastatals, have further strengthened the city’s new evolving leadership position.
The two urban centres alone command up to a third of the state’s total population (i.e. about 1,512,000). Most of the remaining settlements are small and located in the vast, rich agricultural lands. As a result of the dominance of the two urban centres, there is a continual drift of young men and women into them. Thus, a lot of social facilities such as housing, schools, health institutions, portable water and electricity are inadequate and under serious pressure. Consequently, the unskilled men and women (16-30 years) roam the city streets in large numbers jobless or, at best, underemployment. Getting this potential rural labour force back to the countryside may have to await comprehensive rural development.
Two other groups of rural-urban migrants are conspicuous; these involve children (under 20 years) coming in large numbers from as far as Illela and Jibiya, border towns in Sokoto and Katsina States respectively; and several scores of men, between 25 and 40 years) mainly from Kano/Jigawa States. The children come from the end of September to early July as pupils in Quranic schools or dry season migrant workers (“yan cinrani” in Hausa) and reside mostly in Zaria. Older in-migrants also come into the cities as “Fadama” farmers and market gardening workers (yan lambu” in Hausa).
SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE
Education
Kaduna State again enjoys the leading position in educational development in the entire region north of the Niger-Benue valley. Prior to the acceptance and liberalization of formal Western education by the government of the Northern Region, the efforts of Voluntary Agencies (Church Mission Groups) in establishing schools at both primary and secondary levels, gave the present Kaduna State an enviable advantage of early educational infrastructure establishment. Most of the present primary and secondary schools in all the southern and in Sabon Gari LGAs were founded by Mission Voluntary Agencies (e.g S.I.M/ECWA in Kwoi, Zonkwa and Kagoro; Anglican and Baptist in Kaduna, Makera/Tudun Wada, Sabon Gari, Kafanchan, Saminaka and Kaura LGAs). It is this early start that accounts for Kaduna’s relatively high level of literacy in the then Northern Region. Reliable enrolment figures are not accessible at the time of writing and are difficult to estimate. But projections from a record of about 1,800 primary and secondary schools in the mid 1980s and the large number of private proprietors schools that have sprang up, suggest that about 70-75 per cent of children of school age are receiving formal education in the state. About a third of that end up in the estimated sixty-eight Secondary Schools (Federal and State Government owned and private/voluntary agencies) with large average enrolments of between 300 and 500. Enrolments in some large schools in Zaria and Kaduna urban areas go up to between 2,000 and 4,000 each, respectively. There is a wide range of tertiary institutions established to produce high-skilled manpower needed by the state. Twelve out of seventeen are located in Zaria and include the Ahmadu Bello University Complex, Federal College of Education, Kaduna State College of Advanced Studies, State Polytechnic, College of Aviation Technology, National Institute for Chemical Research and Technology (all in Zaria); the Command and Staff College at Jaji, and a Federal Polytechnic, Federal School of Forestry, National Water Resources Institute, and a College of Agriculture and Animal Science in Kaduna.
Health Care Delivery
Apart from a large two-unit University Teaching Hospital in Kaduna and Zaria, there are large and fully equipped government hospitals located in Zonkwa, Jama’a and Kafanchan as well as in Kaduna and Zaria. Smaller government and privately owned ones are also found in towns like Birnin Gwari, Kagoro, Saminaka and Soba. The State Government, together with the Federal Government and the World Health Organisation (WHO), have also established Comprehensive Primary Health Care Units in some selected rural areas; (e.g. Yaka Wada in Giwa LGA) which cater for child care, pre and ante-natal health care.
Water Supply
While high evaporation during the long dry season poses serious limitations on available water resources, the two large river systems, the Kaduna and Gurara that run through the state provide opportunities for good sources of water supply. But many of the tributary streams dry up during the long dry season. Even so, the wide alleviated valley bottomlands in many medium drainage basins (e.g. Galma, Tubo, Karami, Sarkin Pawa and Damari) favour extraction of groundwater from shallow acquifers and boreholes from deep ones. Thus, although the climatic conditions north of latitude 10oN pose problems of water shortages and the river valleys appear to be dry, moist valley bottom lands have sustained certain traditional horticultural/agricultural activities and provided domestic water for people in many rural areas of the state.
Presently, there are five completed large and medium dams and water intakes at Zaria and Galma and Kubanni rivers; at Kangimi on Karami River; at Birnin Gwari on Kusheriki River; at Kaduna on Kaduna River. Also, one or two bore holes in every LGA have been completed and are now in operation to complement water supply for rural domestic uses (provided by the Federal Government through the now defunct Directorate of Foods, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFFRI). The State Government has also secured a N10 million World Bank loan to boost and expand water supply schemes to both the urban and rural populace.
Transport and Communication
Kaduna State is served with 2,820km stretch of trunk “A” Federal, well-surfaced roads radiating from Kaduna City in five cardinal directions – westwards to Tegina, northwards to Kano, eastwards to Jos, southwards to the Federal Capital Territory. The State Government has also constructed good-tarred surface roads comparable to the trunk “A” totaling 1,200km; and several other road development projects are still going on. Again, in order to open up the large rural areas, the former Federal Government Agency, DFFRI, constructed feeder roads to specific project locations. For example, the road linking Rigachikun to Sabon Birnin and Gumel to Jere in Igabi and Kachia LGAs respectively, are good feeder roads. Several other stretches have been constructed in Zango Kataf and Jama’a LGAs in order to gain access to the state’s rural agriculture lands.
Apart from motor roads, railways converge on Kaduna city, from Lagos in the southwest and Port-Harcourt in the southeast; and extend to Zaria which is another railway nodal settlement, with railway lines branching to Kaura Namoda in Zamfara State and Kano. These transportation networks are assets to the State Government for movement of goods, raw materials and services.
Recently, development in air travel within Nigeria has linked the state to every corner of the country. Kaduna City now has a standard international airport. This is welcome progress bringing the state closer to foreign investors. Indeed, business in any part of Kaduna State from any part of the federation can be reached within an hour or town, using either the Nigeria Airways or other indigenous chartered aircrafts.
Also, a modern communication system connects Kaduna State with all other states and the outside world. Nigeria Telecommunications Corporation (NITEL) provides twenty-four hours automatic telephone exchange services in form of telex and fax, in addition to telephone services in Kaduna, Zaria, Kafanchan and Kachia.
Tourism and Recreation
Although the present state of tourism in Kaduna does not reflect the state’s long history and its rich cultural developments, there are several tourist attractions in different parts. For example, the famous Zaria city walls, the Emir’s legendary insignia and the palace drums are all in the old city. During Muslim festivals, like those mentioned above, mini-durbar “Hawan Doushe”, is normally staged in the open field in front of the palace.
The origin of Nigeria’s famous Nok terracotta and its rich cultural heritage in Jaba LGA and the annual traditional festival of “Tuk – Itamo” in Nok Village and Kwoi respectively; and the “Afan” festival among the peoples in Jama’a, Sanga and Kaura LGAs are held during Christmas and Easter and attract other Nigerians and foreigners, by thousands. The most recent Nok terracotta find is the dual face portraits (male and female said to predate the single female burst culture dated 258 BC. 13. Wildlife parks and games are very limited in the state, but there are some good spots of natural history and recreational sites, such as the Plateau scarp, “The Assob Falls and Kagoro hills bathylith with the Matsirga falls all in the Jama’a LGA.
NATURAL RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT
Kaduna State is endowed with a wide range of natural resources, which are awaiting development/investment on large commercial scale. The natural resource potentials are grouped into agriculture/forestry and livestock, and minerals.
Agriculture, Forestry and other Basic Activities
The agriculture and forest resources are enormous. On the gentle rolling high plains, the tropical ferruginous soils have been intensively used for cereal and cotton cultivation. Although the soils are poor because of leaching and poor cover management, but with good conservation and land management practices, it is capable of supporting calcium-rich annual grass for livestock development. In the north of latitude 10oN, the soil is good for production of large quantities of cotton lint and seed for which Soba, Makarfi, Kudan, Ikara, Kubau, Kauru and Lere LGAs are known. Yam and maize have successfully been producing high yields with the use of fertilizer in recent times, especially in Igabi, Giwa and Birnin Gwari LGAs. In the well-watered southeastern part, the rich darker soils are used for cultivating cereals, cassava, rice and the famous southern Kaduna ginger (“Chitta in Hausa).
In the fadamas, the dark grey clay soils (vertisols) have become highly valued and are focused on for intensive agricultural activities especially during the dry season. Large areas of such fadamas are being used for economically valuable market gardening for growing tomatoes, chillies, sweet pepper, okra, onion, Irish potato and sugar cane using traditional “shadoof” irrigation (in the floodplains/fadama of Galma and Tubo basins). Presently, the traditional irrigation scheme is too small and laborious to cope with the rate of expansion and agricultural development of the fadama lands. The State Government is intensifying feasibility studies and seeking interested industrialists and agro-allied companies to invest in the area. In April 1993, the State Government approved the commissioning of pilot schemes for sugar processing industry in Makarfi, Kudan, Ikara and Kubau LGAs using the sugar cane grown under irrigation and rain systems.
Recently, grapevine growing has been introduced and has gained wide acceptance on small but intensively cultivated farms. A few large-scale vineyards have also been established on the lower Galma valley near Zaria. Small farm holdings of ten to fifteen vines produce between 200 and 300 kg. That these small farms produce mainly for local markets, in Kaduna, Kano, Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory, suggests that the state has considerable potentials for vineyard development.
Except in some favourable localities along the riverine areas and in the southern LGAs, there are limited forest resources. Much of the woody shrubs in the northern parts have been felled for fuel wood. Because of the annual bush fires during the long dry season, the grass straw traditionally used for roofing in the rural areas is becoming scarce. In the south, there are good stands of hard tropical trees such as mahogany and raffia palm bushes. These are still being exploited for building construction. State and local governments are embarking on improving the vegetation cover in the state by planting fast-growing and drought-resistant trees in large plantations, called Forest Reserves.
Despite a substantial faction of the state’s annual budget being allocated to the development of agriculture, productivity is still comparatively low. This is partly because of the shyness of the State Government in getting involved in commercial agriculture and partly because of the many different arms of the Ministry that make demands on the limited financial resources. So, like the Federal Government, Kaduna State has concentrated on encouraging farmers, by providing certain capital-intensive infrastructure (e.g. irrigation, earth dams like in the Tubo valley), supplying them with improved seeds and subsidizing farm inputs. Since most farmers lack the capital and are not ready to take risks, only a handful of individuals (mostly retired military officers and top civil servants) have involved themselves in medium-scale commercial agriculture. Even so, majority only grows grains (especially maize and beans) to meet local market demands or use it for personal small livestock breeding.
An entrepreneur, UAC Farms, in the late 1980s, started investing in commercial grain farming at Kidandan, some 90km east of Zaria along Birnin Gwari Road. However, the venture is now producing improved seeds for farmers, mainly maize, sorghum and rice.
Certainly, with increasing demands for cereals, livestock feeds and as raw materials for breweries, and presently, because it is practically non-existence in the state, commercial agriculture in grains on a large scale will be highly profitable.
Despite the present poor rangeland conservation and management practices, Kaduna State has the potentials to produce large quantities and good quality livestock for consumption in the state and for inter-state trade. Indeed, the area bounded by parallel 10o30′ and longitude 8o00′ westward, possesses development potential for excellent rangeland to support large-scale livestock production. The National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI) at Shika near Zaria also offers good veterinary/technical advice and services. There is good infrastructure already established for good take-off of beef, mutton, pork, poultry and diary products in large quantities for national markets. Furthermore, based on the livestock rearing habits, love for it as food, and a probably large market for pork in the area and many southern states, there is need for a good piggery industry in the southern Kaduna area.
Minerals Livestock
Livestock resources in the state are still on a small scale, and are used mainly to raise cash during emergencies or meet demands during religious festivals. Based on the 1991 livestock survey in urban Zaria and its rural fringe alone, there were over 16,000 heads of cattle (zebu), about 180,000 goats, 138,000 sheep and rams, 10,000 pigs, 55,000 rabbits and over 880,000 birds (poultry mainly chicken, kept in commercial farm pens and on traditional free-range in compounds). In the southern parts, pig rearing is dominant. The number of pigs in the area is not known. However, considering the urban livestock surveys in Zaria and Kaduna in 1991, most of the pigs are kept and owned by people from Jama’a, Sanga, Zango Kataf, Jaba, Kachia and Kagarko LGAs.
Minerals
In Birnin Gwari LGA, the graphite, kyanite and rutile reported to be in large quantities are good sources of raw materials for pencils and welding electrodes and ceramic industries. Even the ease to mine magnetite/haematite in the same locality is still being exploited locally for making local iron implements; but it has the potential to support small to medium furnace for production of iron billets that can in turn be used in small scale industries. Also, some broad river valleys in the northwestern quadrant are rich sources of sand and granite rocks (for crushing) and clay (especially) kaolinite that are already being exploited in the building industry.
Existing Industries
Almost all the industries in Kaduna State are located in Zaria and Kaduna urban centres. Indeed, the entire heavy manufacturing industrial establishments are concentrated in Kaduna alone. Certainly, the locations are influenced by government policy and probably market. For example, the high concentrations of textile manufacturing industries in Kaduna with just two in Zaria, and none in Soba, Maigana or Saminaka, which are cotton-producing towns, illustrate the strong governmental control. Also, the Federal Government’s decisions in the mid 1970s to locate a petroleum refinery and an automobile assembly plant (PAN) in the city further widened its industrial growth base and increased the agglomeration in Makera/Tudun Wada, Kakuri, along Kachia Road. Other major manufacturing industries in the city include Super Phosphate Fertiliser Company Ltd and Petro-Chemical Company Ltd. Again, all these are Federal Government Parastatals. There are other small to medium scale industries too numerous to list but are very important in providing potable equipment for rural dwellers’ use (e.g in old “Panteka” market, construction of metal doors, windows and frames, boxes, grinding stones, huller machines, kitchen wares, ox-plough blade, planters, shellers, etc. may be found). Certainly, there is need to encourage location of other industries outside Kaduna urban center in the future.
Local Sourcing of Raw Materials
Some cultivated crops require special mention for their potentials as sources of raw materials in some localities of the state. Sugar cane, grown in the flat fadamas, has been discussed. Its production is still in small individual farmers’ plot of ½ – 1 hectare along the Galma and Tubo valleys. There are two varieties, the white and brown. However, the brown variety has gained more popularity recently because it gives higher yield per hectare. On average, an individual farmer harvests 12-15 tons of the cane per year which sells for between N10,000.00 and N15,000.00. Apart from its use as refreshment among the local people, some quantity is being used for making local candy (“Alawa” in Hausa) and brown sugar (“Magar-Kwoila” in Hausa) in Makarfi and Ikara LGAs in the Galma river system.
Ginger, a spicy rhizome plant grown in the local government areas south of latitude 10o00’N, was a major national export up till the onset of heavy petroleum exportation in the mid 1960s. High production from the state made Nigeria a world producer of ginger since the 1930s. Although export has declined, production in large tonnage has not abated. A market survey carried out in Kwoi district, a major producing area, estimates that up to 460 tons are produced annually in Jaba LGA alone.
Another agricultural commodity that is already an industrial raw material is tobacco leaf, grown mainly in Soba LGA since the 1930s. The success of a tobacco pilot farm project at Maigana, gave the district the lead in becoming a major national tobacco-producing area with a curing center. A training school was established for local farmers in 1986 and is located at Tashar Iche for fifteen – thirty students at any one time/season. Besides, a factory with current labour force of over 3,500 is located in Zaria. The company manufactures several brands of cigarettes running into several million sticks annually.
Cotton is also an important agricultural product that has high development potentialities. The trial of a crossbreed of the local variety, the Gossypium hirsutum and the 26J (N.A) at Zaria during the first decade of the last century, gave Kaduna State a long history of its production. By the mid 1930s, cotton production from northern Nigeria, mainly centred in Zaria, increased and now produced over 98 per cent of the total cotton lint demands. With the establishment of ginneries, the Cotton Agricultural Processing Company (former BCGA), cottonseed is processed for oil and livestock feeds. However, as yet, there are only two textile manufacturing industries in Zaria (Tarpaulin Manufacturing). Certainly, the establishment of other light textile industries or cotton yarn will further stimulate cotton production in Soba, Igabi, Giwa and Zaria LGAs.
INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Economic Climate
With each of the six successive administrations since the early 1960s, the economic climate of the country, and that of Kaduna State in particular, got worse. However, gradual political reorganization and a return to democratic rule have been calming the stormy economic climate. Also, all the three tiers of government (LGAs, State and Federal), have adopted the policy of pursuing vigorous diversification of the economy. Thus, efforts are now being made to ensure healthy economic environment through peaceful social and political co-existence within and between States.
Specifically, Kaduna State has instituted agencies to cater for the interests of local, national and foreign entrepreneurs/industrialists. Mainly, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry arm of the State Government is now charged with the responsibility of maintaining a good economic climate. In order to promote industrial/commercial enterprises, the State Government has put in place several infrastructural facilities. For example, in Kaduna and Zaria, up to seven and four industrial states, respectively, have been laid out and provided with access roads, water and power.
Other incentives include pioneer status scheme for newly established industries in order to survive the initial capital outlay and other related problems. Approved user scheme provides for transfer of profit and dividends arising from investments in accordance with exchange control regulations after payment of income tax. Also, the Federal Government has given approval for a Debt Conversion Programme (DCP), which aims at assisting industries that are viable but ran into some financial predicaments.
Industrial Potentialities
Considering the wide range of natural resources outlined above and the limited use of many of them by the existing industrial establishments, it is obvious that the industrial potentialities of the state are rich and enormous. The wealth of agricultural resources offers high potentials for food processing and refrigeration in large commercial quantities. At present, many of the farm produce are wasted in the fields or in poor storage facilities. For example, such crops as tomatoes, onions, yam, beans, sugar cane and fruits rot during harvest season because of large surplus. While good storage facilities may help solve the problem of scarcity during the off-season, good integrated processing/manufacturing industries established nearby might achieve multi-purpose objectives in stimulating social and economic development in the state. The new industrial layout at Dakace, on Jos road, is already becoming congested. (Zaria Pharmaceutical Factory, Tarpaulin Industry, Rigid Pack and Sunnola Oil Industry are the major industries located there
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PARASTATALS IN KADUNA STATE
- Federal Superphosphate Fertilizer Company Ltd
- National Oil & Chemical Company Ltd
- Kaduna Refining and Petro-Chemical Company Ltd
- Peugeot Automobile Nigeria Ltd (PAN)
- Ahmadu Bello University Complex (All Campuses)
- National Research Institute for Chemical Technology
- National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI)
- Nigerian College of Aviation Technology
- National Institute for Transport Technology
- Command and Staff College, Jaji
- Nigerian Army Depot and School, Zaria
- National Commission for Colleges of Education, Kaduna
- National Water Resources Institute
- National Steel Council
INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING IN KADUNA STATE
- Ahmadu Bello University, ABU Main Campus, Samaru-Zaria.
- Division of Colleges of Agriculture P.M.B. 1082, Zaria
- National Research Institute for Chemical Technology (Leather Research Institute of Nigeria) Basawa P.M.B. 1055, Zaria
- National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI) Shika P.M.B. 1096, Zaria
- Nigerian College of Aviation Technology P.M.B. 1031, Zaria
- Federal College of Education (ATC) P.M.B. 1041, Zaria
- Nigerian Institute for Transport Technology P.M.B. 1148, Zaria
- Federal Co-operative College P.M.B. 1126, Zaria
- College of Advanced Studies (Gaskiya Campus) P.M.B. 1061, Zaria
- Kaduna State Polytechnic (Main Campus) P.M.B. 1061, Zaria
- State College of Education, Gidan Waya, Kafanchan P.M.B. 1024, Zaria
- National Water Resources Institute P.M.B. 2309, Kaduna
- College of Agriculture and Animal Science, Mando Road, Kaduna P.M.B. 2134, Kaduna
- Federal School of Forestry, Mando Road, Kaduna P.M.B. 2028, Kaduna
- Institute of Administration, A.B.U. Kongo P.M.B. 1013, Zaria
- Institute for Agricultural Research, Samaru P.M.B. 1044, Zaria
- Command and Staff College Jaji-Kaduna
- Federal College of Chemical and Leather Technology P.M.B. 1034, Zaria
LIST OF KADUNA STATE GOVERNMENT PARASTATALS
- Kaduna State Hotels Board
- Kaduna State Tourism Board
- Kaduna State Library Board
- Kaduna Industrial and Finance Company
- Kaduna Agency for Mass Literacy
- Kaduna State Property Development Authority
- Kaduna State Schools Board
- Kaduna State Media Corporation
- Kaduna State Water Board
- Kaduna State Rural Electrical Board
- Ikara Food Processing Co. Ltd.
- Kachia Ginger Processing Co. Ltd.
- Civil Service Commission
- Board of Internal Revenue
- Kaduna State Transport Authority
- Kaduna State Rehabilitation Board
- Kaduna State Sports Council
- Council for Arts and Culture
- Kaduna State Agricultural Development Project
- Kaduna State Urban Planning and Environmental Protection Authority
- Farmers Supply Company
- Kaduna State Pilgrims Welfare Board
- Kaduna State Management Project
- Capital School, Kaduna
- Gaskiya Printing Corporation
PLACES OF TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IN KADUNA STATE
- Emir of Zazzau’s Palace Zaria City, Zaria
- Kpop Ham Palace P.O.Box 1, Kwoi, Jaba LGA.
- Matsirga Falls afanchan, Jama’a LGA.
- Kagoro Hills Kagoro, Jama’a LGA
- CHELTECH (Leather Processing Institute) P.M.B. 1034, Samaru-Zaria.
- Dyeing and Traditional Leather Works Zaria City
POSSIBLE INDUSTRIES IN SELECTED LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF KADUNA STATE
Probable Local Raw Materials Possible Enterprises/Industry
Birnin Gwari, Giwa, Igabi & Zaria
i. Iron Smelting Medium scale hematite & migmatite industry (laterite iron ore)
ii. Grains esp. maize and Flour mills-poultry and rice, feeds Sorghum tomatoes, pepper, onions, etc Seeds processing/packaging for Vegetable canning factory.
ii. Livestock as cattle Diary products, esp. and poultry sheep (local varieties) yoghurt beef/ Mutton processing. Fruit drink/ Wine processing (grape vine).
Sabon Gari, Lere, Kaura, Soba, Ikara & Zaria
i. Cotton wool & seed Light textile or yarn. Sugar cane Sugar, tomatoes & processing/manufacturing pepper, onions.
ii. Grains and yarns and Vegetable canning factory some cassava Livestock feeds Yam flour mills.
Chikun and Kachia
i. Grains and tuber crops Commercial agriculture (i.e. yam and cassava) growing grains Starch production Livestock rearing and fattening
Jaba, Jama’a
i. Ginger Piggery, Ginger processing fibre Zango-Kataf factory. Soft drink bottling And Kaura company.
ii. Grains (like rice) and cooking spices industry Sorghum Flour Mills Livestock esp. pigs Grain processing for urban Markets, brewery Piggery and pork processing.