The 36 States Of Nigeria And Their Meanings

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We hail from one (or more, if ya parents are from different states na…hehe) of the 36 states of the Nigerian federation. But, many of us do not actually know the meanings or the story behind the names of these states. Abiyamo has brought that to you. Happy reading

#1 ABIA STATE: The 36 States Of Nigeria And Their Meanings

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1. ABIA STATE
As many might have guessed (yelz…lol), Abia is an acronym derived from the name of the four main groups of people in the state as at the time it was formed in 1991. These were the: Aba, Bende, Isuikwuato and Afikpo. Former Governor, Orji Uzor Kalu (hin too dey talk joor) is from Bende while Lambert Ndukwe, one of the richest men in Nigeria in the 50s (he imported stockfish from Northern European nations like Norway and exported cotton back) was from Isuikwato. Afikpo now belongs to Ebonyi State and as for Aba, we all know berra…lol! Okay, let’s roll!

  

#6 BAYELSA STATE: The 36 States of Nigeria and their Meanings

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6. BAYELSA STATE


Famed for being the homestate of our dear President (where the First Lady also known as Mama Ice Cream is also a Perm Sec), Bayelsa is also the place of Samson Siasia and Finidi George. Let’s continue before we delve into football…lol! How the name came about is quite interesting. In the old Rivers State, it was the tradition to use acronyms when naming the local government areas (LGAs). For example, Brass LGA was simply called BALGA, Yenagoa was YELGA while Sagbama was just SALGA. And since it was the people of these three former LGAs of Rivers State that clamoured and fought for the creation of the state forming the State Creation Movement, the name that they finally agreed upon was this:

BA + YEL + SA = BAYELSA. Simple. No long thing.

  

#5 BAUCHI STATE: The 36 States Of Nigeria And Their Meanings

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5 BAUCHI STATE:
Nicknamed the Pearl of Tourism (check out Yankari). ‘Bauchi’ is Hausa word meaning the southern flanks of Hausaland. Tribes living in the southern parts of the Hausaland were referred to as kasashen bauchi and the area they lived in later came to be known simply as Bauchi. Then, kasashen bauchi included the areas that we now call Bauchi itself, Plateau State, Northern Niger, Southern Sokoto (that includes Yauri and Zuru) and Southern Kaduna (hello to my Barnawa friends). It was a major center for the slave raiders of the day. In another rendition, the state was named for Baushe, a famous hunter who settled there before the 19th century while another states that ‘bauchi’ is Hausa word for slavery since it was a center for slave raiders. You decide.

SIZE (LAND AREA): 5TH

  

#4 ANAMBRA STATE: The 36 States Of Nigeria And Their Meanings

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4. ANAMBRA STATE
Okay, this is pretty straightforward. It was derived from the name of the Oma Mbala (Omambala) River (in Ibo, the native name of the river is Ànyịm Ọma Mbala). Anglicize the pronunciation and you have Madam NAFDAC’s homestate. The river is quite long o, about 210 kilometers, it is a major tributary of the River Niger, the most important below Lokoja. Yep! Let’s keep rolling.