Full List Of All Hausa Speaking States In Nigeria

This article is a compilation of the full list of all Hausa speaking States in Nigeria also known as the Northern States, where majority of the people are Hausa speakers. It is noteworthy to mention that while Hausa is the universal language of the North, not all its inhabitants are Hausas but for the purpose of this post, we have included every State in the country where Hausa is predominantly spoken. Religion in Hausaland is predominantly Islam but you will find a good number of Christians there as well.

The Hausa ethnic group is one of the three main ethnic groups in Nigeria, and the Hausa people are primarily concentrated in the North-East, North-West, and North-Central geopolitical zones of the nation. As a result, every land in the region of the country where the Hausa people are from is known as Hausaland or Arewaland, which is also the location of the Hausa film industry known as Kannywood boasting some of the richest Hausa movie actors in Nigeria.

With a population of over 30 million, the Hausa people are not only the largest ethnic group in Nigeria but also throughout West and Central Africa. The fabled ancestor of the Hausa people, Bayajidda, is said to have migrated from Baghdad, Iraq, around the ninth or tenth century AD. Not much is known about him in history as his legend has been passed on by word of mouth from generation to generation. However, his descendants are said to be the founders of the Hausa seven States which include: Daura, Kano, Katsina, Zazzau (Zaria), Gobir, Rano, and Biram; as well as the “illegitimate seven” States such as Kebbi, Zamfara, Gwari, Jukun, Ilorin, Nupe and Yauri through which every Northern State in today’s Nigeria exists.

The historical Hausa States were separate governmental units established by the Hausa people and located between the River Niger and Lake Chad, which is an intriguing fact about them. Up to the middle of the 14th century, Hausaland was an independent political entity with no centralized government. No matter where they were, they shared a language, a set of rules, and traditions. Fishing, hunting, agriculture, salt mining, and blacksmithing were the Hausas’ primary occupations.

The Northern city of Kano had risen to prominence by the 1500s and was a significant hub for commerce in goods like ivory, gold, grains, salt, textiles, leather, and slaves. The Hausas were vulnerable to outside dominance because they were seen by their neighbours as loose alliances without a strong central government or military might. Up until Usman dan Fodio, a well-known Islamic scholar, led a Jihad (holy war) against them between 1804 and 1815, establishing the Sokoto Caliphate, all the States remained independent. When the British overthrew the Caliphate in 1903 and renamed the region Northern Nigeria, it was later disbanded.

FULL LIST OF ALL HAUSA SPEAKING STATES IN NIGERIA 2024 

Post-independence Nigeria is made up of nineteen States and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, that has a large concentration of Hausa speaking people in Nigeria and they are listed below:

NORTH-CENTRAL NIGERIA 

• Abuja (FCT)
• Benue State
• Kogi State
• Kwara State
• Nasarawa State
• Niger State
• Plateau State.

NORTH-EASTERN NIGERIA

• Adamawa State
• Bauchi State
• Borno State
• Gombe State
• Taraba State
• Yobe State.

NORTH-WESTERN NIGERIA 

• Jigawa State
• Kaduna State
• Kano State
• Katsina State
• Kebbi State
• Sokoto State
• Zamfara State.

Typically, Hausa speakers are thought to be concentrated in Nigeria’s north-eastern and north-western regions. The Islamic caliphate in Nigeria’s Sokoto State is one example. The Hausa language is spoken with a distinctive accent throughout all of the aforementioned Nigerian States. Therefore, it is simple to recognize Hausa speakers from any of the aforementioned States when they talk.

The Hausa language, however, does not change but as we have mentioned earlier, there are moments when Hausa speakers’ accents can be clearly distinguished from those of the other Northern Nigerian States listed above, and some Hausa terms are employed in quite distinct ways across these States. The States in the country with the highest populations of Hausa native speakers overall are as follows: Kano State, Kaduna State, Sokoto State, and Katsina State. Additionally, other States in the Federal Republic of Nigeria also have speakers of the Hausa language. Because the language is simple and easy to learn.