Kwara State history and capital, Kwara State Local Government Areas and senatorial districts in Kwara State. The post also has Local Government Area that make each Kwara North Senatorial Districts.
Kwara State was created on 27 May 1967, when the Federal Military Government of General Yakubu Gowon broke the four regions that then constituted the Federation of Nigeria into 12 states. At its creation, the state was made up of the former Ilorin and Kabba provinces of the then Northern Region and was initially named the West Central State but later changed to “Kwara”, a local name for the River Niger.
Kwara state has numerous mineral resources such as tourmaline, tantalite, and many mineral deposits in the northern part. Cocoa and Kolanut in the Southern parts Oke – Ero, Ekiti and Isin LGA.
Kwara State is categorized as one of the northern states in Nigeria. It is one of the thirty-six states in the country. The capital of Kwara State is Ilorin. Kwara State is considered a northern state because it is within the north-central geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Other states within this zone include Benue, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger and Plateau. The slogan of Kwara State is the “State of Harmony”.
Considering that it is one of the states of the north central, it is expected to be surrounded by a number of states. Kwara State shares its eastern boundary with Kogi state, to the north is Niger state, to the south is Osun and Oyo states and Republic of Benin is at its west. The state itself is at the west of Abuja.
Kwara State comprises of sixteen local government areas. It is home to a considerable amount of ethnic groups such as Bariba, Yoruba, Fulani, Nupe etc. Kwara State is considered to be named after the River Niger, in which “Kwara” means river in the Nupe language.
History of Kwara State
Kwara State is regarded as one of the oldest states in Nigeria. Kwara state was established in 1967 under the General Yakubu Gowon regime. It was at this period that the first twelve states were created in Nigeria. The twelves states took over the four provinces that were available. Before the creation of Kwara state, this particular area was under the Northern Province.
It is important to note that Kwara State was part of the Northern Region before independence. The country used to run a regional system until it was dissolved in 1963. The regions were only three at that time and lasted for three years. It was later replaced by four provinces following the 1966 coup that put General Aguiyi Ironsi into power.
However, the counter-coup of 1967 brought in General Yakubu Gowon into power who later dissolved the provincial system and created the first set of states – twelve. It was the creation of these twelves states that gave birth to Kwara state. Though it was first referred to as West Central State before the name change to Kwara State.
Kwara State Senatorial Districts
There are three (3) senatorial districts in Kwara State. Namely: Kwara North, Kwara Central and Kwara South.
Kwara North Senatorial Districts and Local Government
Baruten, Edu, Patigi, Moro-Iga and Kaiama.
Kwara Central Senatorial Districts and Local Government
Asa, Offa, Ilorin East, Ilorin South and Ilorin West
Kwara South Senatorial Districts and Local Government
Ekiti, Ifelodum, Isin, Irepodun, Irpodum and Oke-Ero
What Is The Population of Kwara State?
The population of Kwara State according to the 2006 national census was around 2.3 million. It is, however, expected to more than that now. Although, Kwara State is not among the top most populated states in Nigeria.
Four Major Ethnic Groups In Kwara State
Yoruba
The Yoruba ethnic group is one of the major ethnic group in Kwara. Though these said Yorubas are part of the Igbomina Yoruba – a sub-ethnic group among the Yoruba ethnic. They are the major occupants of the Kwara South region. Inasmuch as they are a sub-ethnic group of the entire Yoruba ethnic, they have similarities with other Yorubas in the southwest.
Being one of the major ethnics in Kwara state, it is not uncommon to hear people speak the language. In fact, it is the main language spoken in Ilorin, the city’s capital. This does not mean it is only the Yoruba’s that occupy Ilorin. What is, however, common among the Yorubas in Ilorin is the way they end every sentence with ‘fa’.
The Ilorin Yorubas are often not regarded as pure Igbomina Yorubas. There are often claims by the Igbomina that they are more of a pure Yoruba people than the Ilorin Yoruba. Parts of Kwara State that are core settlements of Igbomina Yoruba include Omu-Aran, Oro, Ajasse, Illofa, Oke-Onigbin, Offa etc.
Other traces of Yorubas in the state include the towns that are closer to Osun state and Ekiti State. For instance, Oyun LGA is closer to Osun and the people speak more of the Osogbo dialect. Another example is the Ekiti LGA where the Ekiti State dialect is predominantly spoken.
Nupe
The Nupes are another major ethnic group in Kwara state. They are the main occupants of the northern part of Kwara State. The LGAs in which they occupy include Edu, Pategi and some areas of Moro, Kaiama and Ifelodun. It is not unusual for people to always confuse the Nupes for Hausas or Fulanis. This is often due to the shared similarities like religion and quiet nature.
Fulani
The Fulani group are another major ethnic group in Kwara State. They are arguably the largest ethnic group in the state. Though one might argue that the Yorubas are more. One thing that might make it hard to ascertain is that most of the Fulanis speak Yoruba too.
Though the entire Kwara State comprises of mix ethnic groups, most of them are of Fulani descent. Inasmuch as most of the Fulanis speak Yoruba, there are some core Fulanis in Ilorin.
Bariba
The Bariba ethnic group are considered the minority of the four ethnic groups. They are mainly found in the Benin Republic. However, they occupy the Kaiama and Baruten LGAs. The Bariba people are primarily Muslims and are often mistaken for Hausa, Fulani or Nupe.
Kwara State Is An Old State
Another fact that you should know about Kwara state is that it is a very old state. It is actually one of the oldest states in Nigeria. As mentioned earlier in the history of Kwara State, it was part of the first twelve states. These states were created by Yakubu Gowon in 1967, which saw Nigeria drop the regional system.
It is also important to note that the state initially covered some parts of Kogi and Niger State.
Kwara State Local Government Areas
They are sixteen (16) Local Government Areas in Kwara State.
Asa
Baruten
Edu
Ekiti
Ifelodun
Ilorin East
Ilorin South
Ilorin West
Irepodun
Isin
Kaiama
Moro
Offa
Oke Ero
Oyun
Pategi
ABDUL KHALIL