Benue

Benue State exists because Nigeria's food basket needed its own governance. Created in 1976 from Benue-Plateau State, the region's agricultural output justified administrative separation. Named for the River Benue that waters the land, this state feeds Nigeria: largest soybean producer, major yam producer (Nigeria leads the world), and grower of oranges, mangoes, rice, groundnuts, and sesame. The Tiv and Idoma peoples who dominate the population have farmed these lands for centuries, developing expertise that colonizers exploited but could not replicate. The Tor Tiv (paramount ruler of the Tiv) and Och'Idoma (paramount ruler of Idoma) maintain traditional authority structures alongside democratic governance. Cultural transmission runs deep - the Tiv's Kwagh-hir theatrical tradition embeds moral lessons in performance, while Idoma's Aje Alekwu festival honors ancestors. Agriculture employs over 70% of the workforce, making this the definition of agrarian economy. Yet Benue suffers from what it produces: herder-farmer conflicts over grazing land have displaced communities and disrupted production. Limestone at Tse-Kucha and kaolin at Otukpo represent mineral alternatives. By 2026, Benue will intensify irrigation and storage infrastructure to reduce post-harvest losses and convert food production into food security.