The Slogan

Pride of the Sahel

Date Of Creation

27 August 1991

Geography

The state borders four states: Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, and Jigawa. It borders to the north the Diffa and Zinder Regions of Niger. Because the state lies mainly in the dry savanna belt, conditions are hot and dry for most of the year, except in the southern part of the state which has more annual rainfall.

Brief History

Yobe State came into being on 27 August 1991. It was carved out of the old Borno State by the Babangida administration. Yobe State was created because the old Borno State was one of Nigeria’s largest states in terms of land area and was therefore considered to be too large for easy administration and meaningful development. Ethnic rivalries within the old Borno State also contributed to the decision.

The Local Government area

Yobe State consists of 17 local government areas (or LGAs). They are:

Bade
Bursari
Damaturu
Geidam
Gujba
Gulani
Fika
Fune
Jakusko
Karasuwa
Machina
Nangere
Nguru
Potiskum
Tarmuwa
Yunusari
Yusufari

The Governor

Mai Mala Buni (APC)

The Deputy governor

Idi Barde Gubana (APC)

The Senators

C: Ibrahim Gaidam (APC)
N: Ahmed Lawan (APC)
S: Ibrahim Mohammed Bomai (APC)

Representatives

Constituency	Member
Bade/Jakusko	Zakariyau Galadima	APC
Bursari/Geidam/Yunusari	Lawan Shettima Ali	APC
Damaturu/Gujba/Gulani/Tarmuwa	Khadija Bukar Abba Ibrahim	APC
Fika/Fune	Abubakar Yerima Idris	APC
Machina/Nguru/Yusufari/Karasuwa	Tijjani Zannah Zakariya	APC
Nangere/Potiskum	Ibrahim Umar Potiskum	APC

The Website

yobestate.gov.ng

Major Cities

Damaturu, Gashua, Giedam, Nguru, and Potiskum

Prominent Places

Daura Old Settlement

Old Daniski Settlement

Tulo-Tulowa

Mineral Resources

 gypsum and kaolin

The population

Population (2006 census)
• Total 2,321,339

Postal Code

320001

Culture and tourism

The people of Yobe are well known for their Durbar – rich culture and traditions arising from their historical connection with North Africa and Eastern Arabian. The Durbar provides illuminating perspective to the display of horses, regalia and spectacular horseman ship to bring about colour, pump and pageantry to the joy of spectators

 Dufuna Canoe (Africa’s oldest known boat)
The Dufuna canoe was discovered near the region near the region of the River Yobe. The canoe was discovered by a Fulani Herdsman in May 1987, Dufuna village while digging a well

Old Daniski Settlement
The old Daniski is situated on a flat hill about 12 kilometres north of Fika, the headquarters of Fika LGA and it used to be the administrative seat of the Bolewa people in the 16th century. Of historical significance today in Daniski are the ruins of emirs’ palaces and graveyard, old Daniski storage system (Silos) and an ancient well.

Bade Fishing & Cultural Festival
The is a prominent feature of the state cultural heritage that comes up annually and performed by the Bades near the historical town of Gogaram in Jakusko LGA at Al-Kamaram river site. Visitors to the festival are entertained through cultural acrobatics and water displays as well as traditional techniques of fishing.

Daura Old Settlement
It is situated about 11km south of Dogon-Kuka off Damaturu- Potiskum road in Fune LGA, the settlement is an historic attraction located between three hills. An ancient well of over 200 years and some ancient walls standing up to 4 feet high offers a nice site for tourists.

Fika
The Bolewa founded Fika town in 1805 after they migrated from Daniski hill in search of good place for settlement and it is currently situated along Potiskum–Gombe road. This town is still significant as it serves as the administrative headquarters of present day Fika LGA. It was the administrative headquarters of the then Fika Emirate before the Emir moved to the present headquarters at Potiskum in 1924. The old palace, Emirs graveyards and collapsed city wall are some of the historical monuments found in the town today.

Goya Valley
This is probably the deepest Gorge Valley in Nigeria and it is situated north-west of old Daniski settlement in Fika LGA. Besides being a contemporary habitat for variety of wild animals, it used to be a safe hiding place to the Karai–Karai and Ngamo people during inter-tribal wars

Notable People

Ibrahim Talba – a former permanent secretary to the office of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Usman Albishir – (15 June 1945 – 2 July 2012) former senator and Senate Minority Leader
Mamman Bello Ali – (1958 – 26 January 2009) former senator Yobe Zone B and former governor of Yobe State.
Idris Alkali former chief of administration, army headquarters
Usman Alkali Baba (born 1 March 1963) current Nigerian inspector-general of police
Audu Bulama Bukarti- (1 January 1984) Senior Analyst in the Extremism Policy Unit of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change
Mai Mala Buni – (born 11 November 1967) politician and the current Governor of Yobe State
Goni Modu Bura – former deputy governor, former senator, and current ambassador of Nigeria to Syria and Lebanon
Adamu Ciroma – (born 20 November 1934) former Minister and Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria
Ibrahim Gaidam, former governor and now Senator for Yobe Zone A
Buba Galadima – politician and National Secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change(CPC) party,
Bukar Ibrahim – (born October 1950) former governor of Yobe State and Senator in Nigeria
Khadija Bukar Abba Ibrahim – (born 6 January 1967) member of the House of Representatives and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs
Waziri Ibrahim first republic minister and presidential candidate of GNPP in the second republic
Alwali Kazir former chief of army staff
Ahmed Lawan – senator and Senate President of the 9th National Assembly
Zakariya Maimalari – a brigadier-general, who was killed in the 1966 Nigerian coup d’état while commanding the 2nd Brigade, Apapa, Lagos
Adamu Garba Talba – a politician and former senator Yobe south
Adamu Waziri – (born 14 September 1952) former minister of Police Affairs
Uwani Musa Abba Aji – CFR (born 7 November 1956) is a Nigerian Jurist and Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria
• Adamu Fika- Permanent Secretary in the following Ministries: Internal Affairs 1975, Commerce 1979, Public Service Department, Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, 1981 – 1982; Communications 1982-1984.

Languages

The major ethnic groups living in Yobe State are the Kanuri and Fulani, while other major ethnic communities include Bolewa, Ngizim, Karai-Karai, Bade, Hausa, Ngamo, Shuwa, Bura, Marghi and Manga

Institutions

Tertiary institutions in Yobe state include:

Federal College of Education (Technical), Potiskum
The Federal Polytechnic Damaturu
Federal University, Gashua
Mai-Idris Alooma Polytechnic
Umar Suleiman College of Education
Yobe State University