Kogi State

For the Amerindian tribe, see Kogi people. For other uses, see Kogi (disambiguation).

Kogi
State
Flag of Kogi State
Flag
Seal of Kogi State
Seal
Nicknames: 
The Confluence State
Location of Kogi State in Nigeria
Location of Kogi State in Nigeria
Coordinates: 7°30′N 6°42′E / 7.500°N 6.700°E / 7.500; 6.700
Country Nigeria
Date created27 August 1991
CapitalLokoja
Government
 • BodyGovernment of Kogi State
 • GovernorUsman Ododo (APC)
 • Deputy GovernorSalifu Joel (APC)
 • LegislatureKogi State House of Assembly
 • SenatorsC: Natasha Akpoti (PDP)
E: Jibrin Isah (APC)
W: Sunday Karimi (APC)
 • RepresentativesList
Area
 • Total
29,833 km2 (11,519 sq mi)
 • Rank13th of 36
Population
 (2006 census)
 • Total
3,314,043[1]
 • Estimate 
(2022)
4,466,800[2]
 • Rank24th of 36
DemonymKogite
GDP (PPP)
 • Year2021
 • Total$23.88 billion[3]
 • Per capita$4,593[3]
Time zoneUTC+01 (WAT)
postal code
260001
ISO 3166 codeNG-KO
HDI (2022)0.625[4]
medium · 9th of 37
Websitewww.kogistate.gov.ng

Kogi State is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria,[5][6] bordered to the west by the states of Ekiti and Kwara,[7][8][9] to the north by the Federal Capital Territory, to the northeast by Nasarawa State, to the northwest by Niger State, to the southwest by the Edo and Ondo states, to the southeast by the states of Anambra and Enugu, and to the east by Benue State. It is the only state in Nigeria to border ten other states. Named after the Hausa word for river (Kogi). Kogi State was formed from parts of Benue State, Niger State, and Kwara State on 27 August 1991.[10][11][5] The state is nicknamed the "Confluence State" due to the fact that the confluence of the River Niger and the River Benue[12] occurs next to its capital, Lokoja.[13][14]

Of the 36 states of Nigeria, Kogi is the thirteenth largest in the area and twentieth most populous with an estimated population of about 4.5 million as of 2022.[15] Geographically, the state is within the tropical Guinean forest–savanna mosaic ecoregion. Important geographic features include the key rivers, with the Niger flowing from the northwest and the Benue coming from the northeast before the two rivers meet in Kogi's centered and bisect the state southward.[16]

Kogi State has been inhabited for years by various ethnic groups, including the Igala, Ebira, Oko (Mainly Ogori and Magongo), Gbagyi, and Nupe (mainly the Bassa Nge, Kakanda, and Kupa subgroups) in the state's center; the Igala (most dominant in the east), Agatu, Basa-Komo and Idoma in the east;[17] and the (mainly the Okun, Ogori, Oworo, and Magongo subgroups) in the west and central.[18]

In the pre-colonial period, the area that is now Kogi State was split up between various states with some states being tiny and village-based as others were part of larger empires like the Nupe Kingdom which held much of now-western Kogi State until the early 1800s when the Fulani jihad annexed the kingdom and placed the area under the Sokoto Caliphate while the Eastern half of the State is the land of the ancient Igala Kingdom. In the 1900s and 1910s, British expeditions occupied the area and incorporated them into the Northern Nigeria Protectorate[19][20] with its capital as Lokoja until 1903. The protectorate later merged into British Nigeria before becoming independent as Nigeria in 1960. Originally, modern-day Kogi State was a part of the post-independence Northern Region until 1967 when the region was split and the area became part of the North-Western State, Kwara State, and Benue-Plateau State. After the defunct Benue-Plateau and the North-Western states were splitted in 1976, Kogi became a part of the new Benue and Niger states along with Kwara. Western Benue State, southeastern Kwara State, and far southern Niger State were carved out to form the new Kogi State.

Economically, Kogi State is largely based around agriculture, mainly of coffee, cashew, groundnut, cocoa, oil palm, and yam crops. Other key industries are coal, limestone, marbles, Iron-Ore, feldspar, clay, cassiterite, columbite and tantalite, gold, gems, quartz, mica crude oil extraction and the livestock herding of cattle, goats, and sheep.[21] Kogi has both the 9th highest Human Development Index and GDP in the country.[22]

  1. ^ "2006 PHC Priority Tables – NATIONAL POPULATION COMMISSION". population.gov.ng. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  2. ^ "Kogi State: Subdivision". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b Okeowo, Gabriel; Fatoba, Iyanuoluwa, eds. (13 October 2022). "State of States 2022 Edition" (PDF). Budgit.org. BudgIT. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  4. ^ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  5. ^ a b "History". Kogi State Government. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  6. ^ Omole, Abayomi (21 October 2022). "Kogi Receives First Allocation As Oil-producing State". Leadership News. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  7. ^ "Boundary Disputes: Ekiti, Kwara, Osun States Embrace Peace – Ekiti State Website". Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  8. ^ Oluwole, Josiah (3 August 2022). "Terrorists' Threat: Ekiti, Kwara reach agreement on boundary patrol". Premium Times Nigeria. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  9. ^ "Administrative Map of Nigeria - Nations Online Project". www.nationsonline.org. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  10. ^ Onyeakagbu, Adaobi. "See how all the 36 Nigerian states got their names". Pulse.ng. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  11. ^ "This is how the 36 states were created". Pulse.ng. 24 October 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  12. ^ Ogunyinka, Victor (27 August 2021). "Kogi at 30: The journey so far". Vanguard News. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  13. ^ A. B. MAMMAN, J.O. OYEBANJI (2000). Nigeria: A people united, A Future Assured. p. 333.
  14. ^ "IJMB Study Centre In Lokoja, IJMB Centres In Kogi State, IJMB Registration In Kogi State, Universities accepting IJMB In Kogi State". www.ijmb.org.ng. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  15. ^ "Population 2006-2016". National Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  16. ^ Abiodun, J.O. (1985). On polarization and Regional Development: An Empirical Study: Urban and Regional Planning problems in Nigeria. University of Ife Press Ltd. pp. 79–92.
  17. ^ "Place: Kogi, Nigeria - Genealogy". www.werelate.org. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  18. ^ kogistatehub (17 March 2022). "Indigenous Languages Spoken in Kogi State". Kogi State Hub. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  19. ^ unesdoc.unesco.org https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000065575. Retrieved 4 November 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. ^ "History of Nigeria". nigerianembmexico. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  21. ^ Akanbi, Festus. "As Anambra, Kogi Join Oil-producing States". ThisDay. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  22. ^ "Human Development Indices". Global Data Lab. Retrieved 15 December 2021.