Kaduna: History
Kaduna was founded by British colonists in 1900. The first British governor of Northern Nigeria, Sir Frederick Lugard, chose the site for development due to its proximity to the Lagos-Kano Railway. It became the capital of Nigeria's former Northern Region in 1917, and retained this status until 1967. The city is still influential as the headquarters of various political, military and cultural organisations, especially in Northern Nigeria.
In 1976, when the General Murtala Mohammed administration created seven new states in Nigeria, North Central State was renamed Kaduna State, along with its capital. The state was made up of the two colonial period Provinces of Zaria and Katsina. In 1991, the number of states in the country was increased from twenty-one to thirty, after which Katsina Province became Katsina State, while the old Zaria Province became the new Kaduna State. There are twenty-three local government areas (LGAs) in the state, although the number of ethnic groups is much larger.