SOKOTO STATE

SOKOTO STATE

Governor: Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko


Deputy Governor: Mukhtar Shehu Shagari

Date Created: 1976

Capital City: Sokoto

Major Towns: Yabo, Guddu, Ilela, Binji, Gwada Bawa, Bogings, Sokoto, Tambulwal, Wurno etc.

Created out of the former North Western State, Sokoto State falls on the boundary between the semi-arid region and the Sahel Savannah. The topography of the state is dominated by rolling peneplain which rises from an elevations of 300 metres to an average height of 450 metres in the South-West.

Sokoto State teas since its creation given birth to the present Kebbi and Zamfara States and today comprises of 22 local government areas. These are Tangaza, Binji, Illela, Gada, Sabon Birni, Gwada Bawa, Kware, Goronyo, Wurno, Rabah, Wamakko, silame, Yabo, Bodinga, Tambulwal, Dange/Shunte, Gudu, Kebbe, Sokoto, Sokoto South, Shagari and Tureta.

Culturally, Sokoto State is a veritable centre of Islamic learning and jurisprudence. However, realizing that both islamic and western education are crucial ingredients for socioeconomic development, successive governments in the state strive for the attainment of high standard in both systems of education. Education therefore ranks high on the priority scale of the state. The state is serviced by a university, the Usman Dan Fodio University which assists in the training of high level manpower both for the state and the country as a whole.

Sokoto State is essentially an agricultural state with traditional mode of production predominating and more than 90 percent of the population engaged in subsistence farming. The main crops produced in the State are millet, guinea corn, maize, rice, beans, wheat, cassava, potatoes, groundnut, cotton, sugar cane, and tobacco. Fruits And vegetables grown in the State include oranges, mangoes, cashew, bananas, lettuce, spinach, okra, cabbage, pawpaw and guava.

Livestock production is a major activity in Sokoto State: There is an estimated 15 million head of livestock - cattle, camel, sheep, goats etc - making the State second to Bomb State in livestock production. The state government encourages the development of the livestock industry by providing good pastures for grazing, modern facilities for processing livestock products and efficient animal healthcare services.

Agro-Argentinad industries are prominent in Sokoto State. These include those for wheat flour processing, wheat handling, tomato processing, sugar/refining, textile etc.

Other companies include Sokoto Cement company and Sokoto Soft Drinks factory. The state is also one of the major suppliers of leather for the world market. In pursuance of its industrialization policy, tremendous efforts have been made to see that both foreign and indigenous entrepreneurs are encouraged to invest in the industrial development of the state.

The provision of health care facilities is also a major task of successive governments of the state. Thus, the Sokoto State Health Project, a world bank assisted parastatal will provide access to modern health services to some 700,000 inhabitants.

dispensaries located in various parts of the state. Other heal, facilities in the state include Women and Children Clinics and one Leprosarium as well Usman Dan Fodio Teaching hospital.

On its part, the School of Nursing and Midwifery has continued to produce the much needed qualified manpower for Hospitals in the state