This article will provide information on the list of the 23 local governement areas in Sokoto state and their towns in Nigeria and also provide answers to questions as regards Sokoto state, Nigeria.
Sokoto had been used as early as October 1804 by the Shehu Usmanu Dan Fodiyo as the venue for the meeting with Galadima, Yunfa's Vizier. Subsequently, it was used by Muhammad Bello as a staging post for an attack on Dufua in the spring of 1806. Bovil suggested that the area/district may have been known as Sokoto as early as the seventeenth century. In historical perspective, Sokoto was founded as a ribat (military camp or frontier) in 1809, when Shehu Usmanu was at Sifawa. It later became the capital of the caliphate after Shehu's death. In the 1820s, Sokoto was at its peak of prosperity coinciding with the peak of its 'rulers' powers at the center of the caliphate, receiving annual tribute from all the fiefs before a long period of decline. The explorer Hugh Clapperton (1827) was highly impressed by this prosperity and its effects on the city. Clapperton noted the importance of Sokoto's closely settled surroundings: the rivers, rather than long-distance trade, in the city's economy. But the trade of Sokoto is at present inconsiderable, owing to the disturbed state of the surrounding country. By the time the explorer Heinrich Barth arrived in 1853 Sokoto was thinly inhabited and greatly dilapidated. Barth in 1857 estimated the population at only 20,000–22,000, but the market was still supplied and attended, and a thriving suburb outside the wall was more animated than Sokoto itself. In the early 19th century, the town (Sokoto) was divided into wards. Such wards include Magajin Gari ward, Waziri ward, Sarkin Musulmi ward, Sarkin Adar ward, Magajin Rafi ward, and Sarkin Zamfara Ward. At this time the wards were small and surrounded with a wall, which included the mosques of Sultan Bello and Shehu, Sultan Palace and other buildings as well as the compound of Shehu. In 1818, the wall was extended up to the extent that it has gates that come in and out of the Birni wall. Such gates are Kofar-Kade, Kofar-Kware, Kofar-Rini, Kofar-Dundaye, Kofar-Taramniya, Kofar-Aliyu Jedo, and Kofar-Marke. The area of the present Sokoto was the home of many empires and kingdoms of the pre-colonial western Sudan. These include the Gobir and Kebbi kingdoms as well as the world-renowned caliphate whose spiritual and political capital is the headquarters of the state. Following the conquest of the caliphate by the British in 1903, its various components were made autonomous and joined into the government of Northern Nigeria. The northern region was thus made up of mainly parts of the Sokoto caliphate and Kanem-Bornu Empire. This continued up to January 1967 when states were created to replace regional governments by General Yakubu Gowon. Sokoto became the headquarters of the north-western state created in 1967. In 1976 following the creation of Niger state out of North Western state, Sokoto state emerged with its headquarters. Yet in Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states were carved out of Sokoto, in 1991 and 1996 respectively. Sokoto metropolis has thus been the capital of various governments since its establishment by Caliph Muhammad Bello in 1809. Over eighty percent (80%) of the inhabitants of Sokoto practice one form of agriculture or another. They produce such crops as millet, guinea corn, maize, rice, potatoes, cassava, groundnuts and beans for subsistence and produce wheat, cotton and vegetables for cash. Local crafts such as blacksmithing, weaving, dyeing, carving and leather works also play an important role in the economic life of the people of Sokoto; as a result different areas like Makera, Marina, Takalmawa and Majema became important. Sokoto is also one of the fish producing areas of the country. Thus a large number of people along the river basin engage in fishing as well.
It is located in Binji town with about 12 districts and villages which include:
- Bunkari
- Gawazzai
- Inname
- Jammali
- Maikulki
- Samama
- Soro
- Gabas
- Yamma
- T/Kose S/Gabas
- S/Yamma
- Samama
It is located in Bodinga town with about 12 other towns which include:
- Bagarawa
- Danchadi
- Dingyadi
- Badawa
- Sifawa
- Lukuyawa
- Jirago Miyo
- Kwacciyar Lalle
- Kulafasa
- Mazan-Gari
- Takatuku
- Madorawa
- Bodinga
It has its adminstrative center in Dange town with about 14 other towns and villages which include:
- Wababe
- Salu
- Tsehe
- Tuntube
- Tsafanade
- Rudu
- Amanawa
- Rikina
- Gajara
- Giere
- Fajaidu
- Shuni
- Ruggar-Gidado
- Dange
It is located in Gada town with about 14 other towns and communities which include:
- Gilbadi
- Duka Maje
- llah
- Kwarama
- Kyadawa
- Holai
- Tsitse
- Kaffe
- Kaddi
- Kadassaka
- Kadadi
- Buda
- Gada
- Wauru
It is located in Goronyo town with about 10 other towns and villages which include:
- Takakume
- Tasakko
- Kwakwazo
- Kojiyo
- Kagara
- Giyawa
- Boyekai
- Birjingo
- Rimawa
- Shinaka
It has its headquarters in Balle town with about 12 other towns and villages which include:
- Kurdula
- Maraken Bori
- Tulun Daya
- Karfen Sarki
- Karfen Chana
- Gwazange
- Boto
- Chilas
- Makuya
- Bolle
- Bachaka
- Awulkiti
It is a town and also the area headquarters among 11 other communities which include:
- Asara Kudu
- Asara Arewa
- Chimola Arewa
- Chiomola Kudu
- Gidan Kaya
- Gigane
- Salame
- Mammande
- Huchi
- Gwadabawa
- Atakwanyo
It is located in illela town with about 14 other towns and districts which include:
- Damba
- Araba
- Darna
- Sabon-Gari
- Garu
- Kalmalo
- Darne
- Tozai
- Illela
- Katta
- Hamma
- Tsolawa
- Abarura
- Dango
It is located in Kebbe town with about 13 other towns and communities which include:
- Sangi
- Margai 1 and 2
- Ungushi
- Kebbe-East
- Kebbe-West
- Girkau
- Fakku
- Nasagudu
- Zugu
- Jabga
- Budun
- Dukura
- Kuchi
It is a semi urban-town and an area council headquarter with about 13 communities which include:
- Durbawa
- Basansan
- Bankanu
- Saki
- Mallamawa
- Tunga Walake'e
- Modibbo
- Marabawa
- Birni
- Akwara
- Rugga
- Umaruma
- Hamma Ali
It is locted in lsa town with about 10 0ther towns and districts which include:
- Turba
- Yanfako
- lsa North
- lsa South
- Bargaja
- Gebe 1 and 2
- Tidibale and Tsabren
- Tozai
- Sarkin Darai
It has its headquarters in Rabah town with about 12 other towns which include:
- Tursa
- Yar Tsakuma
- Tsamiya
- Kurya
- Gandi 1 and 2
- Gawakuke
- Gwaddodi
- Gidan Bu Wai
- Rara
- Rabah
- Riji
- Maikujera
It is located in Sabon-Birin town with about 9 other towns which include:
- Gatawa
- Gangara
- Kalgo
- Lajinge
- Kuruwa
- Tara
- Sabon-Birin east and west
- Tsamaye
- Unguwar lalle
It is located in Shagari town with about 10 other towns and communities which include:
- Gangam
- Horo Birim
- Jaredi
- Kajiji
- Kambama
- Lambara
- Mandera
- Shagari
- Dandin Mahe
- Sanyinnawal
It is a town doubling as the area headquarter of the council with about 10 other communities which include:
- Labani
- Silame
- Gande-East
- Gande-West
- Katami-North
- Katami-South
- Marafa-East
- Marafa-West
- Kubodu South
- Kubodu North
It is in the capital city of Sokoto covering about 6 major districts which include:
- Magajin Rafi 1 and 2
- Waziri 1 and 2
- Musulimi 1 and 2
- Sokoto North
- Sabon Adar
- Magajin-Gari
It is located in Sarkin Zamfara town with about 11 districts which include:
- Sarkin Zamfara 1 and 2
- Dorowa 1 and 2
- Gagi 1 and 2
- Tudun Wada 1 and 2
- Adar Kwanni
- Dandi
- Rujin Sambo
- Rijiyar Dorowa
- Mabera ldi
- Salami
- Mana
It has its headquarters in Tambuwal town with about 5 major districts which include:
- Tambawal
- Dagon Daji
- Jabo
- Sanyinna
- Gindi
It is located in Gida Madi town with about 11 other towns and communities which include:
- Gurdam
- Tangaza
- Salewa
- Sutti
- Sakkwai
- Ruwa-Wuri
- Raka
- Magonho
- Gidan-Mida
- Kwacce-Huru
- Kalanjeni
It comprises of about 11 towns and villages which include:
- Gidan Kare
- Bimasa
- Kuruwa
- Kwarare
- Lofa
- Gari
- Barayar
- Giwa
- Duma
- Fura Girke
- Tureta
It is a semi-urban town doubling as the adminstrative center for Wamako with about 16 districts which include:
- Kammata
- Gedwa
- Gwamatse
- Kaura
- Kamba
- Wammakko
- Kalambaina
- Gwamatse
- Gumbi
- Wajake
- Bado
- Kasarawa
- Dundaye
- Gumborawa
- Akiyia
- Gidan-Buba
It is located in Wurno town with about 12 other towns which include:
- Achida
- Marafa
- Magarya
- Lahodu
- Dinawa
- Wurno
- Kwargaba
- Sisawa
- Chacho
- Alkammu
- Dankemu
- Marnona
It is among the oldest local government areas in the state located in Yabo town with about 9 other towns which include:
- Binji
- Bakale
- Bingaje
- Birniruwa
- Fakka
- Kilgorii
- Ruggar lya
- Yabo 1 and 2
- Torankawa
The Sokoto Caliphate was a sovereign Sunni Muslim caliphate in West Africa that was founded during the jihad of the Fulani War in 1804 by Usman dan Fodio.
Sokoto is sparsely settled. The Fulani and the Hausa are the dominant ethnic groups.
The name Sokoto (which is the modern/anglicised version of the local name, Sakkwato) is of Arabic origin, representing sooq, 'market' in English. It is also known as Sakkwato, Birnin Shaihu da Bello or "Sokoto, Capital of Shaihu and Bello" Bello Umar Maikaset.
Sokoto state is known as the "Seat of the Caliphate"