How the 36 Nigeria states got their names

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Abia
Abia is an acronym from the four main groups of people in the state as at the time it was formed in 1991. Ava, Bender, Isuikwuato and Afikpo

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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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Akwa ibom
Akwa ibom is named after the Qua Iboe (kwa Iboe) river in the area

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Anambra
The state got its name from the corrupted version of Oma Mbala, a popular river in the area

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Bauchi
Bauchi is a hausa word meaning the southern flanks of Hausaland. Tribes living in the southern parts of the Hausa land were referred to as Kadashen Bauchi and the area they lived in later came to be known simply as Bauchi

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Bayelsa
Bayelsa is a combination of the acronyms of three local government areas which were pulled out of old Rivers State.
Brass known as BALGA, Yenegoa known as YELGA and Sagbama known as SALGA

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Benue
The state was named after the Europianised corruption of Binuwe, the Batta word for mother of waters

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Borno
It is the alternative names of the Kanuris, the predominant ethnic group in the state

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Cross River
The state tookmits name from a River called Oyono or Cross River

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Delta
The state is where River Niger forms a Delta as it enters the Atlantic ocean.

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Ebonyi

It is the anglicised version of Aboine, a river that cuts through Abakaliki, the state capital

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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.

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Ekiti
Okiti is a term that is said to denote a settlement of many hills, it later became Ekiti

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Enugu
Due to the many hills and rocky terrain in the area, people name it in Igbo Enu Ugwu, meaning top of the hill. The state is named after the anglicised version

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Gombe
Gombe is the dialect of the Fulani language spoken in the area

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Imo
Just like many of the Nigerian states, Imo took its name from the popular river Imo

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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.

[Sharon Jay]

Anambra was created on 27 August 1991.

However, old Anambra State was created in 1976 from part of East Central State, and its capital was Enugu. In 1991 a re-organisation divided Anambra into two states, Anambra and Enugu.

Anambra got its name from the Omambala River, a river that runs through the state. Anambra is the Anglicized name of the Omambala.

[Sharon Jay]

Benue
The state was named after the “europeanised” corruption of ‘Binuwe’, the Batta word for ‘Mother of Waters’.

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Ebonyi

It is the anglicised version of Aboine, a river that cuts through Abakaliki, the state capital

[Yamcybab]

BAUCHI STATE
Bauchi state is inhabited by a large number of ethnic groups, including the Tangale, Waja (Wajawa), Fulani, and Hausa. The state also contains a number of traditional Muslim emirates. According to tradition, it was named for a hunter known as Baushe, who settled in the region before the arrival of Yakubu, the first traditional ruler of Bauchi emirate (founded 1800–10).

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