Kaduna

Kaduna is the state capital of Kaduna State in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade centre and a major transportation hub for the surrounding agricultural areas, with its rail and road junction. The population of Kaduna was at 760,084 as of the 2006 Nigerian census.

Rapid urbanization since 2005 has created an increasingly large population, now[when?] estimated to be around 1.3 million. Kaduna’s name derives from the Hausa word kada, for crocodile (kaduna being the plural form).[2]

The etymology of the word Kaduna is said to be a corruption of the Hausa word for “crocodiles”, Kaddani in the Hausa language.[3] Another version of the name proposes a link to the Gbagyi word/name ‘Odna’, meaning ‘river’.[4]

Kaduna was founded by British colonists in 1900.[5] It became the capital of Nigeria’s former Northern Region in 1917,[6] and retained this status until 1967. The first British governor of Northern Nigeria, Sir Frederick Lugard, chose the present site for development due to its proximity to the Lagos-Kano Railway.[7]