Nigeria is made up of 36 states and one federal capital territory. Between 1960 and 1963, Nigeria was only divided into
3 regions, which were the eastern, western and northern region.
From 1963 to 1967, it became 4 regions when the mid western region was carved out the old western region.
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From 1967 and 1975, General Yakubu Gowon created the first 12 states in Nigeria. They were Rivers, Cross Rivers, East Central State (all from the old eastern state), Bendel, Western State and Lagos (all 3 from the old western state), Benue-Plateau, Kaduna, Kwara, Kano, Northwestern State and North-Eastern State (all from the old northern region).
Abuja was created from the old Niger State (1976-1987). List of state in Nigeria increased to 19. In 1991 this number increased to 21. Then Finally, 36 states and capitals were recorded in Nigeria in 1996.
Here's how they got their names;
1. Abia Abia is an acronym from the four main groups of people in the state as at the time it was formed in 1991: Aba Bende Isuikwuato Afikpo.
2. Adamawa Adamawa was named after a warrior, Modibbo Adama Bin Ardo Hassan, that conquered the region in the beginning of the 19th century.
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3. Akwa-Ibom Akwa Ibom is named after the Qua Iboe (or Kwa Iboe) River.
4. Anambra The state got its name from the corrupted version of Oma Mbala (Ànyịm Ọma Mbala), a popular river in the area.
5. Bauchi '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.
6. Bayelsa Bayelsa is a combination of the acronyms of three local government areas which were pulled out of old Rivers state — Brass LGA known as BALGA, Yenegoa LGA known as YELGA and Sagbama LGA known as SALGA. in the formation of their names is BA + YEL + SA.
7. Benue The state was named after the "europeanised" corruption of 'Binuwe', the Batta word for ‘Mother of Waters’.
8. Borno The alternative name of the Kanuris, the predominant ethnic group in the state, is 'Borno' which gave inspiration for the naming of the state.
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9. Cross River The state took its name from a River called Oyono or Cross River.
10. Delta The state is where the River Niger forms a delta as it enters the Atlantic Ocean.
11. Ebonyi Ebonyi is the anglicised version of 'Aboine', a river that cuts through Abakaliki, the state capital.
12. Edo The Bini people who dwell in the area had always referred to themselves as Edo or Iduu. This inspired the name of the state.
13. Ekiti ‘Okiti’ is a term that is said to denote a settlement of many hills. It later became 'Ekiti'.
14. Enugu Due to the many hills and rocky terrain in the area, the people named it in igbo, "Enu Ugwu" meaning "top of the hill". The state is named after the anglicised version, Enugu.
15. Gombe Gombe is the dialect of Fulani language (Fulfulde) spoken in the area.
16. Imo Just like many of the Nigerian states, Imo took its name from the popular river, Imo Mmiri.
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17. Jigawa Jigawa takes inspiration from its distinctively golden-coloured soil.
18. Kaduna 'Kadunas' is the plural form of crocodile in Hausa. The state therefore got its name from the many crocodiles in Kaduna River.
19. Kano Kano was the name of a blacksmith from the Gaya tribe who settled in the area while sourcing for ironstone. The state was named after him.
20. Katsina The state was named after the wife of a popular local ruler known as Janzama. Her name was Katsina.
21. Kebbi It is said that Kebbi was named after the Ka’abba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
22. Kogi Since the popular confluence in Nigeria is located in the state, Kogi is said to have been derived from ‘kogin’, the hausa word for river.
23. Kwara River Niger used to be called River Kwara by the Nupes at the Northern border of the state. The state was named after this.
24. Lagos In 1472, the first set of Europeans to set foot in Lagos were the Portuguese. Due to the many lagoons and rivers in the town, they named it Lagos, which is the Portuguese word for 'lakes'.
25. Nasarawa Nasarawa is a native word for 'victorious'. The state was named by the founder of Nasarawa kingdom, Makama Dogo.
26. Niger This was named after the River Niger.
27. Ogun This state was also named after a river — Ogun River.
28. Ondo Ondo is a word used for settlers. The state was named after the settlers of the old Ondo Kingdom.
29. Osun This state was also named after a river — the River Osun.
30. Oyo The state was named after the Old Oyo empire.
31. Plateau The state was named after the picturesque Jos plateau. Jos got its name from the mispronunciation of the town 'Gwosh'.
32. Rivers Rivers State was named after the many water bodies present in the area.
33. Sokoto Sokoto is the anglicized version of the Arabic word ‘suk’ meaning ‘market’ or ‘place of commerce’. The state itself was named after the defunct Sokoto Caliphate.
34. Taraba Taraba state got its name from the Taraba River.
35. Yobe Komadugu Yobe (Waube or Ouobe) or River Yobe (or River of Yo) inspired the name of the state.
36. Zamfara This state was named after Zamfarawa, one of the subdialects of the Eastern Hausa group.
FCT: Abuja "Abuja" was in the earlier 20th century the name of the nearby town now called Suleja. The indigenous inhabitants of Abuja are the Gbagyi (Gwari), with the Gbagyi language formerly the major of the region language.
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