Sokoto, state, northwestern Nigeria. Bordering the Republic of Niger to the north, it also shares boundaries with Kebbi state to the west and south, and Zamfara to the south and east. Sokoto state occupies an area of short-grass savanna vegetation in the south and thorn scrub in the north. A generally arid region that gradually merges into the desert across the border in the Niger republic, it has limited rainfall from mid-May to mid-September and is subjected to the Sahara’s harmattan (dry, dust-laden wind) from November to March. It is drained by the Sokoto (Kebbi) River and its tributaries, the Sokoto being itself a major tributary of the Niger River.
Before 1804 and the jihad (holy war) conducted by the Fulani people, the region, including what is now Sokoto and Kebbi states, was ruled by the Hausa states of Gobir (north), Zamfara (east), Kebbi (west), and Yauri (south). After the Fulani victory in 1808 over the Hausa peoples of Gobir, Shehu (Sheikh) Usman dan Fodio, the jihad leader, split his vast domain into two spheres of influence. In 1809 he made his son, Muhammad Bello, emir of Sokoto and overlord of the eastern emirates. Upon Usman’s death in 1817, Muhammad succeeded his father as sarkin musulmi (“commander of the faithful”) and became the first sultan of Sokoto and the spiritual and political leader of the Fulani empire.
During Muhammad’s reign (1817–37), Sokoto successfully defended the empire from uprisings of the Hausa peoples. Sokoto signed a treaty of commerce with Great Britain in 1853. The British were allowed additional trade privileges after a treaty of 1885, but British colonial expansion was opposed. Following the defeat of Sokoto’s forces by the British in 1903, almost all of the emirate was incorporated into the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria.
The sarkin musulmi, who, since 1933, has also held the title of sardauna (“sultan”) of Sokoto, has retained his position as the spiritual ruler of the Fulani and as the leading Muslim figure in Nigeria. The assassination of Sir Ahmadu Bello, the sardauna of Sokoto, in a military coup (1966) led by Igbo (Ibo) tribesmen provoked massacres of Igbos in the north and was a factor leading to the Nigerian civil war (1967–70). Sokoto state still contains Sokoto, one of the most senior emirates of the former Fulani empire.
Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, and the riverine floodplains produce cash crops of peanuts (groundnuts), cotton, and rice. The upland areas are planted with sorghum, millet, cowpeas, and cassava (manioc). The 3-mile- (5-kilometre-) long Bakolori Dam (1975), one of the world’s longest, on the Sokoto River provides year-round irrigation in the Sokoto-Rima basin, but the project has become an economic disaster because the soil is becoming increasingly infertile as a result of irrigation and there is less water available downstream from the dam. Much of the land in the state is used for grazing; cattle hides, goatskins, sheepskins, and finished leather products are significant exports, as are cattle, goats, and fowl. Limestone and kaolin deposits are exploited. Sokoto town, the state capital, has a cement factory, tanneries, and a modern abattoir and refrigeration plant. Gusau, a commercial and industrial centre, has a modern textile industry, a seed-oil mill, and a soybean-processing plant.
Sokoto is sparsely settled. The Fulani and the Hausa are the dominant ethnic groups. The majority of the population is Muslim. Sokoto town is the site of the Usmanu Danfodio University (founded 1975). Sokoto town is served by several major roads and also has an airport. The Kwiambana Game Reserve in the southeast is a major tourist attraction. Pop. (2006) 3,696,999.