Asaba

Posted by OnlineNigeria.com on 2009/12/28 | Views: 670 |

Asaba is the capital of Nigeria's Delta State, and has an estimated population of 723,745 (2007).


Demographics
The city is an Igbo city. The population is mainly Delta Igbo, with some Itsekiri, Urhobo, Isoko, Ijaw, and growing immigrant Hausa and Yoruba communities.


History
Asaba was once the colonial capital of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate. It was founded in 1884. It hosted the Royal Niger Company, which the British authorities set up to stimulate trade and the exportation of goods to England. That company has grown today into the UAC Nigeria PLC. The city itself was founded by Prince Nnebisi, the child of an Igala prince and an Igbo mother. Its traditional ruler is the Asagba, Joseph Chike Edozien. Maryam Babangida, who became first lady of Nigeria, was born in Asaba.