February 13, (THEWILL) – Niger state is found in the Middle Belt Region of Nigeria. It is the largest state in the country by land mass. It was created on February 3, 1976. The state capital and major business hub is Minna. Its other major cities are Bida, Kontagora and Suleja. It is bounded to the north by Zamfara and Kebbi, with Kaduna to the north-east. Kogi is its neighbour in the south-east, while Kwara is on the southern border with the Niger River. The Abuja Federal Capital Territory is also on Niger state’s eastern border, while the Republic of Benin is on its western border.
The landscape consists mostly of wooded savannas and includes the floodplains of the Kaduna River. The state experiences distinct dry and wet seasons with annual rainfall varying from 1,100mm in the northern parts to 1,600mm in the southern parts. The maximum temperature (usually not more than 94 degree C) is recorded between March and June, while the minimum is usually between December and January.
The rainy seasons last for about 150 days in the northern parts and 120 days in the southern parts of the state. Generally, the fertile soil and hydrology of the state permits the cultivation of most of Nigeria’s staple crops and still allows sufficient opportunities for grazing, fresh water fishing and forestry development. Most of the inhabitants are engaged in farming.
Cotton, shea nuts, yams, and groundnuts are cultivated both for export and for domestic consumption. Sorghum, millet, cowpeas, corn (maize), tobacco, palm oil and kernels, kola nuts, sugarcane and fish are major commodities for local trade. Paddy rice is widely grown as a cash crop in the floodplains of the Niger and Kaduna rivers, especially in the area around Bida. Cattle, goats, sheep, chickens, and guinea fowl are raised for meat. Pigs are raised around Minna for sale to southern Nigeria.
Niger is dubbed ‘Power State’ which is derived from playing host to Nigeria’s major hydroelectric power stations, the Kainji Dam and Shiroro Dam. There is also Zungeru Dam. The Jebba Dam straddles the border between the state and Kwara. Kainji, Jebba and Shiroro stations collectively produce nearly 2,000 MW of electricity to major cities across the country. Besides generating hydroelectric power, these dams sustain irrigation projects and fishing has developed as a viable industry on their reservoirs.
Being an agrarian state, it is said that 85 percent of the population engages in agriculture, while others are in secular jobs. Some of the natives are involved in pottery, brass work, glass manufacturing (using gold, tin, iron, and quartz as raw materials for glass artisans in Bida). Raffia articles and locally dyed cloth are significant exports. Marble is quarried at Kwakuti near Minna, which hosts a large brick-making factory.
Most of the educational centres and tertiary institutions in the state are located in Minna and Bida. A rice research institute and an agricultural research station are situated near Bida. A railway from Lagos traverses the state as a major highway road network system runs north of the railway and serves the market towns of Mokwa, Kontagora, Tegina, Kagara and Kusheriki.
Natural Resources
Niger State has enormous natural resources, which include talc, gold, ball clays, silica, sand, marble, copper, falser and lead. Others are kaolin, casserole, columbite, mica, quartzite, and limestone. Uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, petroleum, molybdenum, salt and gypsum are found in the state.
Tourist Sites
Niger is among the richest states in the country, in terms of tourism. Some of the Tourist attractions are Zuma Rock, Gurara Falls, Baro Empire Hill, Lord Lugard colonial ruins at Zungeru, Nagwamatse Well, Kainji Lake and National Park.
Agriculture and Rural Development
The state government partners with Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) towards sustainable food security and agricultural growth. The scheme also involves partnering with consortiums that ensure enhanced value chain in the agriculture and rural development plans. Government officials disclosed that the project which included readily available farm produce and machinery for smallholder farmers is all-encompassing and involved professional partners working on the different aspects of the agricultural value chain.
“For this project, which we started in 2017 and concluded this year (2021), we focused on the value chain of rice. We had partners who engaged in creating access to seeds, partners who focused on the extension aspect, and partners who focused on giving the farmers access to fertilisers.
“The initiative was aimed at getting farmers to understand good agronomic practices and field technologies, such as line spacing, the use of improved seeds, effective fertiliser application and best practices in the post-harvest area, such as threshing and harvesting. We targeted 150,000 farmers in the state and were able to reach them all, with different levels of intervention.
“In terms of institutional collaborations, AGRA supported Niger State’s Ministry of Agriculture in a project called the State Capacity Strengthening Project to strengthen their staff and institutional capacity to achieve their mandate. With our support, they were able to develop their agricultural policy and agriculture investment plan, as well as other policy documents.
“We also supported the training of staff and helped them to get work equipment such as computers. In addition, there has been an attitudinal change in terms of how they engage partners in the budget process making it more inclusive. I think this was a very significant partnership.
“Based on the evaluation that was conducted towards the end of the project, it was observed that the productivity of the farmers we worked with improved from the baseline of 2.5mt of rice to 4mt and above in all the locations where we worked, so I can say that one impact made was improved productivity which was also reflected in the income of the farmers.
“Secondly, we witnessed increased access of farmers to farm inputs like improved seeds, and agrochemicals. For example, we supported the agro-dealers to have shops which we described as the last mile contact with the farmers, especially in communities which previously had none of those shops,” the state government said in a report.
FACT-FILE
LGA: 21
Land Area: 29,484 sq mi.
Registered businesses: 429
Public primary schools: 3,960 circa
Public secondary schools: 190 circa
University (3): Federal – 1, military – 1, state – 1
Polytechnic (3): Federal -1, state – 1, private – 1
College of Education (2): Federal -1, state – 1
College of Agriculture: State – 1
Nursing School/Health Science: State – 3
Technical School: State – 4
College of Wildlife Management: Federal – 1
College of Freshwater Fisheries Technology: Federal -1
Minna Institute of Technology and Innovation: 1
Total Revenue: N49.077bn @ 2020
Total Tax: N10.27bn @ 2020
Total IGR: N10.52bn @ 2020 (16.17% of total revenue)
FAAC: N54.56bn @ 2020 (83.83% of total revenue)
Domestic Debt: N66.77bn @ 2020
External Debt: $70.59m @ 2020
Airport: 1
Niger Woos Investors For Infrastructure Development Amidst Security Challenges
Notwithstanding the mounting security challenges, the Niger State Government says it has moved to attract investors to infrastructure development as a way of lifting the state’s economy. According to Governor Abubakar Sani Bello, priority has been given to providing infrastructure that will benefit the people and promote economic development in the state.
“For us to attract investments into the state, we need to have a good infrastructure system in place that guarantees access to the market and other factors of production,” he said.
The governor noted that his administration constructed over 40 civil engineering projects, 80 mechanical/electrical projects, while 30 public buildings have been built across the state among other projects.
He reaffirmed that despite the daunting economic and security challenges, the state government will continue to provide the dividends of democracy to the people.
According to the governor, most projects started from the beginning of the present government in 2015 had been completed and already being put to use, while others are still ongoing.
Among the completed roads was the Broadcasting Dual Carriageway constructed under the N25 billion Sukuk Private Bond Programme captured in the 2019 and 2020 Appropriation laws. The project includes the payment of compensation and relocation of utilities, such as water, mines and electricity installations.
Other aspects are the milling of existing bituminous surface, concrete works in the median, side drains, laterite in sub-base, crushed stone base and asphalt in concrete binder and finishing.
The state government disclosed that it initiated 299 projects, with 165 already completed, including 12 new roads already in use in Minna.
To sustain the tempo, the Appropriation bill for 2022 approved by the State House of Assembly includes N100.4 billion capital projects. The budget will be utilised towards completing ongoing projects, especially to critical roads in the state.
“The budget was a reflection of our desire and commitment towards consolidating our achievements in the previous years,” said the Commissioner for Finance, Zakeri Abubakar. He added that strengthening the state security apparatus and completing vital ongoing projects were aimed to impact positively on the lives of the residents.
Aside from infrastructure development, the government disclosed that the 2022 budget will be utilised to tackle security challenges in the state. “It will help the government to step up measures against the criminal elements as security challenges have greatly affected the effective implementation of the 2021 budget.”
Challenging Factors: Insecurity, poor/low educational standard, large number of out-of-school children, poverty, lack of basic infrastructure.
*** BY SAM DIALA & OLAYEMI SHABA
About the Author
Sam Diala is a Bloomberg Certified Financial Journalist with over a decade of experience in reporting Business and Economy. He is Business Editor at THEWILL Newspaper, and believes that work, not wishes, creates wealth.
