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The state
is made up of two emirates which feature
prominently in the establishment of the seven Hausa Kingdoms.
The
lineage between Bayajida and Daurama produced the founders of Daura,
Katsina, Zaria, Kano, Rano Gobir and Biram. The legendary Kusugu well
where the snake called Sarki was slain is
one of the tourist attractions of Daura.
 Katsina was founded by Kumayo and before
the Fulani conquest had been an important seat of learning and a
commercial centre of the trans-Saharan Trade. It provided one of the
earliest education centres of the north.
The state government in its bid to provide
effective and comprehensive health care
services for all and sundry expanded and upgraded all existing health
centres. Rural health centres in Bakori and Faskari have been
converted into General Hospitals. The Government also constructed the
Katsina Specialist Hospital in its-effort to provide special health
care services. There is a children's hospital located at Malumfashi.
Katsina
consists largely of scrub vegetation
with some wooded savanna in the south.
There are 34 local government areas in the
state namely as shown on the left hand side.
The indigenes are Hausa and Fulani with pockets of other ethnic groups
such as the Ibos and Yorubas.
Katsina State Government attaches a lot of importance to
education. Scholarships are awarded to deserving indigenes to
study relevant courses in institutions of higher learning at home
and abroad.
In the
field of special education, adequate plans have been made to
provide each Local Government with special schools for the blind.
The state has also established an Education Resource Centre with
Headquarters at Dutsin-Ma. The Centre has the responsibility of
inspecting schools, designing and developing curriculum and
ensuring effective supervision of teaching in schools.
The
state's industrial policy objectives include improving living
standard, provision of regular employment, balanced industrial
growth through establishment of industries in rural areas. Katsina
state has large deposit of kaolin and asbestos and other needed
minerals for good industrial take off.
Katsina is one of the few states in the country where crops are
grown all the year round. Apart from farming during the rainy
season, dry season farming is done along river banks and along the
numerous dams built by the State and Federal Governments. |
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BACKGROUND
INFORMATION
Historical
Development: Katsina was one of the prejihad hausa city states
which was conquered and annexed into the Sokoto caliphate by
Mallam Urnmarun Dallaji in the early part of the 19th Century.
After the British
colonial conquest in 1903, the erstwhile Katsina and Daura
emirates became Katsina Province of the former Northern region of
Nigeria. Later, Katsina and Zaria Provinces together formed the
North Central State under the Gowon regime's twelvestate
structure.
North Central State
was left intact in 1976 when the number of states were increased
to nineteen under the new name of Kaduna State. Katsina State came
into existence on the 23rd of September, 1987 covering the same
area of the former Katsina Province of the defunct Northern
Region.
Its creation along
with Akwa lbom State, raised the number of states from nineteen to
twen tyone under the then Babangida military administration.
Thence forth, the agitation for the creation of Katsina State,
which dated back to over a decade under an umbrella organisation
called the Movement for the Creation of Katsina State, came to
rest. (Udo and Mamman, 1993).
Administrative
Structure: Three tiers of gov ernment exist in the state
namely; executive, legislature and judiciary. The executive arm is
administered through the State Executive council which is headed
by the governor.
The current
Governor being Alhaji Umar Musa 'Yar'Adua (the younger brother of
late General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua of blessed memory),
democratically elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP). Other members of the Executive Council include the
Commissioners (who head ministries); various parastatals are
either under the office of the gover nor, or other related
ministries.
The legislature is
headed by the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, his deputy,
chief whip, majority and minority leaders; a registrar of the
house serves as the Secretary and head of the non legislative
officers. The judiciary is headed by the Chief Judge.
Local Government
Structures: Each local government has two tiers; the executive
and the leaislature. The executive wind is headed by the Chairman,
others include the officers heading various departments and a
secretary. The legislative arm is made up of the Speaker, his
deputy and eight councillors.
Indigenous
Structure: This is headed by the Katsina and Daura Emirate
Councils which are headed by the Emirs. Each emirate is subdivided
into districts, which are headed by district heads (hakirnai).
Each district is also made up of villages headed by village heads
(or dagatai). Further, towns wards and hamlets are headed by the
Masu anguwa or ward/hamlet heads. |
