Minna is a city in west central Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

. It's the capital of Niger State

Niger State

Niger State is a state in the western part of Nigeria and the largest state in the country. The state capital is Minna, and other major cities are Bida, Kontagora, and Suleja. It was formed in 1976 when the then North-Western State was bifurcated into Niger State and Sokoto State.The state is named...

, one of Nigeria's 36 federal states

States of Nigeria

Nigeria is currently divided into 36 states and Abuja, the federal capital territory. The states are further divided into 774 Local Government Areas....

, and is the headquarters of Chanchaga

Chanchaga

Chanchaga is a Local Government Area in Niger State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the state capital of Minna which occupies much of the LGA.It has an area of 72 km² and a population of 201,429 at the 2006 census.The postal code of the area is 920....

 Local Government Area.

Geography

Minna is connected to neighboring cities by road. Abuja

Abuja

Abuja is the capital city of Nigeria. It is located in the centre of Nigeria, within the Federal Capital Territory . Abuja is a planned city, and was built mainly in the 1980s. It officially became Nigeria's capital on 12 December 1991, replacing Lagos...

, the capital, is only 150 km away. Minna is also connected by railroad to both Kano

Kano

Kano is a city in Nigeria and the capital of Kano State in Northern Nigeria. Its metropolitan population is the second largest in Nigeria after Lagos. The Kano Urban area covers 137 sq.km and comprises six Local Government Area - Kano Municipal, Fagge, Dala, Gwale, Tarauni and Nassarawa - with a...

 in the north and Ibadan

Ibadan

Ibadan is the capital city of Oyo State and the third largest metropolitan area in Nigeria, after Lagos and Kano, with a population of 1,338,659 according to the 2006 census. Ibadan is also the largest metropolitan geographical area...

 and Lagos

Lagos

Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...

 in the south which is also boarder by Illori city. The city (Minna) also has an airport.

Economy

Cotton

Cotton

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....

, guinea corn, and ginger

Ginger

Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....

 are the main agricultural products of the city. The economy also supports cattle trading, brewing, shea nut processing and gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

 mining.

Traditional industries and crafts in Minna include leather

Leather

Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...

 work, metal

Metal

A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...

working, and cloth weaving.

History

Archaeological evidence suggests settlement in the area dates back to about 47,000-37,000 years ago. Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

 culture filtered into Minna by way of the ancient Saharan trade routes and the city contains many mosques

Mosque

A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...

 and Muslim organizations. Minna is the home of Nigeria's former military President Gen. Ibrahim B. Babangida

Ibrahim Babangida

General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida CFR DSS mni , popularly known as IBB, was a Nigerian Army officer and military ruler of Nigeria...

, and of former Head of State Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar

Abdulsalami Abubakar

General Abdulsalami Alhaji Abubakar is a Nigerian general who was President of Nigeria from June 9, 1998 until May 29, 1999. He succeeded Sani Abacha upon Abacha's death. It was during Abubakar's leadership that Nigeria adopted its new constitution on May 5, 1999, which provided for multiparty...

. Dr. Mu`azu Aliyu Babangida resides in Minna as the present governor of Niger State

Niger State

Niger State is a state in the western part of Nigeria and the largest state in the country. The state capital is Minna, and other major cities are Bida, Kontagora, and Suleja. It was formed in 1976 when the then North-Western State was bifurcated into Niger State and Sokoto State.The state is named...

. He served a term of four years (2007-2011), and is currently serving another term of four years (2011-2015), obviuosly his last term as the political system does not allow elected governor to serve more than two terms.

Education

Minna is also the seat of the Federal University of Technology, that is located in Gidan-Kwano and Bosso.
Niger State College of Education, Minna