Kogi

Kogi State, in central Nigeria, is known as the "Confluence State" because its capital, Lokoja, sits at the meeting point of the Niger and Benue rivers, Nigeria's two largest waterways. This location gave Lokoja particular strategic importance during the colonial period, and the town served briefly as the capital of the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria in the early twentieth century. Kogi was created in 1991 from parts of Kwara and Benue states and is ethnically diverse, home to the Igala, Ebira and Okun Yoruba peoples among others, along with Nupe communities in the west. The state's geography, straddling the Niger-Benue confluence, has long made it a corridor of trade and administration linking the north and south of the country.

Lokoja's position at the Niger-Benue confluence made it a significant point of contact from the nineteenth century onward, when it served as a base for British trading expeditions along the Niger and later for the Royal Niger Company. Frederick Lugard used Lokoja as an administrative base, and the town briefly served as the capital of the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria before Zungeru and later Kaduna assumed that role, though Lokoja holds particular historical weight as the location where Lugard proclaimed the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates into the single colony of Nigeria on 1 January 1914. The wider area was historically home to the Igala Kingdom, a powerful pre-colonial state centred at Idah on the Niger, and Ebira communities around Okene, alongside Yoruba-speaking Okun communities in the west. Kogi State was created in August 1991 from portions of Kwara and Benue states, bringing these distinct groups together within one administrative unit, with Lokoja selected as capital owing to its historic and geographic significance.

Kogi State occupies a central position in Nigeria, bordered by Niger, Kwara, Ekiti, Ondo, Edo, Anambra, Enugu, Benue and Nasarawa states, making it one of the country's most centrally located states. Its defining geographic feature is the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers at Lokoja, which divides the state's landscape and has shaped settlement patterns for centuries. The terrain includes riverine floodplains along the two rivers as well as higher ground and low hills further from the water, including the Mount Patti ridge overlooking Lokoja. Vegetation ranges from Guinea savanna to patches of forest, and the confluence area is prone to seasonal flooding when the rivers rise during the wet season, occasionally affecting Lokoja and other riverside communities.

Kogi State's economy draws on agriculture, river trade and mineral resources. Yam, rice, cassava, sorghum and oil palm are cultivated across the state's farmland, and fishing is significant along the Niger and Benue rivers and around the confluence. Kogi holds notable mineral deposits, including limestone, iron ore and coal, and cement production takes place at facilities in the state that draw on local limestone reserves. Okene is known for traditional weaving of Ebira cloth. Lokoja's position on the Niger and at major road junctions supports its role as a transport and trading hub linking northern and southern Nigeria. The state government has sought investment in agro-processing and mineral extraction as routes to diversify its revenue base.