Jigawa

Jigawa State exists because Hadejia's emirate resisted absorption into Kano. Created from Kano State in 1991, Jigawa unified five emirates whose histories predate the Sokoto Caliphate. Hadejia, once called Biram, was one of the "seven true Hausa states" (Hausa Bakwai) descended from Bayajidda and Daurama. When the Fulani War swept through in 1808, Emir Sambo transformed Hadejia into an emirate, moved headquarters to Hadejia town, and consolidated Fulani rule. The emirate resisted British occupation in 1906 under Emir Muhammadu Mai-Shahada before absorption. Today Jigawa is one of twelve Sharia law states, with Hausa-Fulani majority and overwhelming Muslim population. Agriculture employs over 80% of residents in a semi-arid climate that forces seasonal migration to Kano for work. Groundnuts and cotton are the cash crops, so significant that the British built a railway from Kano to Nguru through Hadejia just to transport groundnuts. Millet, sorghum, rice, and maize feed local consumption. The Hadejia-Nguru wetlands provide fish and floodplain farming. But desertification threatens - timber cutting destroys trees, arable land shrinks, flooding increases. By 2026, Jigawa will struggle between groundnut export income and climate adaptation as the Sahel advances.