NIGERIA-NORTHERN PROVINCES 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. Until 1914 the Northern 

 Provinces of Nigeria were separately administered 

 under the designation of Northern Nigeria, and were the 

 largest as well as the most recent of our West African 

 Colonies. They lie between 7 3' and 13 54' north lati- 

 tude, and 2 50' and 14 5' east longitude, and are bounded 

 on the north by the French Sudan, on the east by the 

 Kameruns and on the west by Dahomey and French 

 Guinea. The Southern Provinces of Nigeria almost com- 

 pletely adjoin the southern boundary. 



The estimate of the populations and areas of the 

 thirteen provinces given below is taken from the Colonial 

 Office Report No. 821 for 1913 : 



Area, sq. miles. Population. 



Sokoto . . . 32,600 1,300.000 



Kano . . . 29,500 3,500,000 



Bornu . . . 33,600 700,000 



Central* . . . 23,700 700,000 



Zaria . . . 13,320 402,000 



Niger* . . . 16,770 400,000 



Kontagora . . 27,800 122,000 



Ilorin . . . 6,500 200,000 



Muri . . . 28,700 700,000 



Nassarawa . . 16,710 600,000 



Yola . , , 11,600 300,000 



Kabba . . . 8,200 140,000 



Bassa . . 6,700 205,000 



255,700 9,269,000 



The total population is thus nearly double that of the 

 estimation of 1907-8. For convenience the Northern 

 Provinces may in places still be referred to in this work 

 by the old title of Northern Nigeria. 



As will be seen below there is less variation in the rain- 

 fall of the different provinces than is found elsewhere in 

 West Africa. The averages of the following centres for 



* These names are substituted for Bauchi and Nupe in the old 

 system. 



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