Katsina, created out of Kaduna State, is considered one on the most peaceful states in the core Muslim part of the North with a focus on education. Katsina is one of the few states in the country where crops are grown all year-round. Due to its vast arable land, the state is currently playing a leading role in commodity/food production (crops include cotton, groundnut, millet, guinea corn, maize, rice, wheat and vegetables). It has, too, large deposits of kaolin and asbestos and other needed minerals for industrial take off.

The government has a series of programs focusing on expanding economic opportunities in the agricultural sub-sector, especially for women and youths.

Katsina’s government prioritizes on education, handing out scholarships to deserving students so they can study in institutions of higher learning either at home or abroad.

Katsina city is a tourist attraction because of the wall that surrounds it, built about 900 years ago during the reign of King Murabus. The Emirs palaces in Katsina and Daura are also tourist attractions because of their unique architectural structure.

In the predominantly Muslim North, the most important festival is Sallah, celebrated three months after the end of Ramadan. Every family is required to slaughter a ram and festivities last for several days.

The Katsina Teacher’s College, built in 1992, is the oldest institution of learning in the northern part of Nigeria. Its main attraction is the red-baked city mud with which it was built.

The state is home to leaders and statemen such as Umar Musa Yar’Adua, Nigeria’s late President.

CAPITAL: Katsina POPULATION: 6.5 Million AREA: 24,192 km2 CREATION: 1987