Yobe

Yobe State exists because Borno's western reaches needed closer governance - then Boko Haram's founder was born there. Created from Borno State in 1991, Yobe sits in the dry savanna and Sahel, hot and arid most of the year. The Trans-Sahel Highway passes through, connecting the state regionally. Potiskum hosts one of West Africa's largest cattle markets; Damaturu serves as capital. The Kanuri are the principal ethnic group alongside Fulani, Bolewa, Ngizim, and Bade. Mohammed Yusuf, the Kanuri Salafi Islamist who created Boko Haram in the early 2000s, was born in Yobe - a connection that brought devastating violence home. The state was among the "worst affected" by insurgency alongside Adamawa and Borno. Attacks from 2011-2014 caused an estimated 1,341 fatalities; a 2018 Dapchi school raid abducted 279 girls. Sharia law was established in 2000, making Yobe one of twelve states with Islamic criminal code. Agriculture remains the economic base despite disruption: gum arabic, groundnuts, beans, cotton, sorghum, millet. Desertification threatens livelihoods as the Sahel advances. Nicknamed "Pride of the Sahel," the state struggles between its agricultural identity and security crisis. By 2026, insurgency containment and agricultural recovery will define whether Yobe reclaims stability.