Browse / Nigeria / Kogi / Lokoja
Lokoja
Kogitown
Lokoja
Total population
90,000
Demographic figures from National Bureau of Statistics (Nigeria). Overview below cites Wikipedia and may reference a different year.
City facts
Overview
Lokoja is a city in central Nigeria. It lies at the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers and is the capital city of Kogi State.
Read more on WikipediaHistory & geography
History
The area that would become Lokoja has been inhabited for hundreds of years by people from different ethnic groups prior to the arrival of Europeans. The migrations of these groups to the area could be in part accounted for by its nearness to the banks of the Niger and Benue rivers. Some of the first groups of people to have settled in Lokoja were the Nupe groups from Gbara near Bida, They are believed to have settled in Mount Patti, which is the settlement of the earliest inhabitants of Lokoja. The Kupa and Kakandas are said to have migrated downstream the Niger from the town of Baro and other parts of present-day Niger State to the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers, Oworo people/Yoruba from Ile-Ife joined in later. The Nupe and Zazzau emirs historically appointed the Hausas as political leaders, while the Nupe filled the position of religious leader as chief imam of Lokoja. Lokoja was ruled by the following Maigari of Lokoja: Hamza, Dauda, Musa, Muhammadu Maikarfi. The British then installed a Muslim convert called Bukar (originally named Abigel), who designated his residence at Yaragi Madabo Junction of Lokoja as the new Lokoja palace. In time, the position fell to Alhaji Yahaya Muhammadu Maikarfi, and after his demise, Alhaji Kabiru, his son, succeeded him. The people sustained themselves by engaging in farming and hunting activities at Agbaja hill. Lokoja has an abundance of hills which were popular for hunting. At Mount Patti ("Patti" being the Nupe word for hill), there is a tree where the names of hunters were recorded in Ajami and Latin script. When Dr William Balfour Baikie arrived at Lokoja first in 1854 and later in 1857, he played a role in encouraging the outward movement of the people from their hilly settlements. He did this by influencing…
Geography
Lokoja lies about 7.8023° north of the equator and 6.7333° E east of the Meridian. It is about 165 km southwest of Abuja as the crow flies, and 390 km Northeast of Lagos by same measure. Residential districts are of varying density, and the city has various suburbs such as Felele, Adankolo, Otokiti and Ganaja. The town is situated in the tropical wet and dry savanna climate zone of Nigeria, and temperatures remain hot year-round. Rain begins in May and typically ends in October. Lokoja has a maximum temperature of about 37.9 °C between December and April, average annual rainfall of about and average relative humidity of about 60% during the rainy season.
Excerpted from the corresponding Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA).
Geography
Coordinates & boundaries from the US Census TIGER/Line shapefiles.
Climate
Air quality
Walkability
Amenities nearby
Wildlife & biodiversity
Earthquake history
Photos
Sights & places nearby
Notable people from here
Nearby places in Kogi
Geography & sun
Elevation, sunrise/sunset and daylight from Open-Meteo. Solar climatology from NASA POWER.
Nearby airports
Public attention
Pageview totals from the Wikimedia Pageviews API.
Books about Lokoja
Search results from Open Library.
Recent natural events nearby
Ground air-quality sensors
Recently spotted species
Events
Gallery
Sources
- • Wikipedia
- • Open-Meteo / sunrise-sunset.org
- • Wikipedia Pageviews API
- • Open Library