Jega

Jega is a town in Kebbi State, headquarters of Jega Local Government Area, which covers about 891 square kilometers and had a population of roughly 193,000 at the 2006 census. It was founded by Muhammad al-Bukhari, son of a Sokoto jihad leader who later revolted against and was killed by Sokoto forces; al-Bukhari and his brothers subsequently submitted to Abdullahi dan Fodio, the first Emir of Gwandu, who allowed them to settle on the riverbank. Under British colonial administration, following the 1903 conquest of the Sokoto Caliphate, Jega became part of Kebbi Province and grew into a major trade hub, its market drawing merchants from across the region and eventually eclipsing Birnin Kebbi as a caravan and riverside trading center at the head of navigation on the Zamfara River, a tributary of the Sokoto. Jega's mercantile tradition continues today through a group of influential local business leaders who dominate the regional petroleum trade. The wider LGA economy is largely agricultural, built on millet, maize, rice, and sorghum alongside animal husbandry and trading.