Katsina

Katsina State exists because Daura is the spiritual home of the Hausa. According to legend, Bayajidda crossed the Sahara in the 9th century, killed the snake Sarki that prevented Daura's people from drawing water, and married Queen Magajiya Daurama. Their descendants founded the seven true Hausa states (Hausa Bakwai). Katsina and Daura were both among those seven, emerging as major centers of Islamic learning and trans-Saharan trade by the 15th-16th centuries. While Kano dominated commerce, Katsina was known for dye production and scholarship. The Fulani jihad transformed both into Sokoto Caliphate emirates in the early 19th century. Carved from Kaduna State in 1987, Katsina State reunified these two ancient kingdoms under one governance. Agriculture dominates - millet, sorghum, maize, groundnuts, cotton - with the state ranking as a major tomato, pepper, and onion producer nationally. Traditional crafts persist: cotton weaving and dyeing, leatherwork, metalwork, embroidery. Daura remains ruled by women in legend and queens in memory even as emirate councils maintain Islamic governance. By 2026, Katsina will deepen agricultural export capacity while preserving the Hausa Bakwai heritage that makes Daura sacred.