Taraba

Taraba is a north-eastern Nigerian state noted for exceptional ethnic diversity, home to dozens of groups including the Jukun, Mumuye, Kuteb, Tiv, Chamba, Fulani and many others, with no single group forming a clear majority across the state. Its capital, Jalingo, is smaller than many other state capitals in the north. Taraba is dominated geographically by the Mambilla Plateau, one of Nigeria's highest and coolest highland areas, and by the Gashaka-Gumti National Park, the country's largest national park, straddling the border with Cameroon. The state's nickname, Nature's Gift to the Nation, reflects this landscape, which supports both distinctive highland farming and significant wildlife conservation.

The territory now forming Taraba was historically home to the Jukun-led Kwararafa confederacy, a significant pre-colonial power that at times contested Hausa and Bornu states, alongside numerous other autonomous groups across its plateau and river valleys who were never unified under a single centralised authority. British colonial administration incorporated the area into Muri Province and later Adamawa Province of Northern Nigeria. After independence it was part of the North-Eastern State and then Gongola State from 1976. Taraba State was created on 27 August 1991 when Gongola State was split into Adamawa and Taraba states, with Jalingo, previously a divisional town, becoming the new state capital.

Taraba's terrain is dominated by the Mambilla Plateau in the south-east, which rises above 1,800 metres and has a notably cooler climate than the surrounding lowlands, alongside the Benue River valley and its tributaries, including the Taraba and Donga rivers, which cross the state's lowlands. The Gashaka-Gumti National Park, Nigeria's largest, covers a substantial area of mountainous forest and savanna in the south, sheltering diverse wildlife including chimpanzees. Rainfall varies considerably with elevation, generally 1,000-2,000mm annually, heaviest on the Mambilla Plateau, with a wet season from April to October. Vegetation ranges from Guinea savanna in the lowlands to montane grassland and forest at altitude.

Taraba's economy is predominantly agricultural, and the Mambilla Plateau is particularly known for tea cultivation as well as potatoes, maize and dairy cattle rearing suited to its cooler climate; a state-linked tea estate operates on the plateau. Lowland areas grow rice, yams, cassava, maize and guinea corn, and fishing takes place along the Benue and its tributaries. Livestock rearing, particularly cattle, is widespread among Fulani communities. Gashaka-Gumti National Park supports limited eco-tourism and conservation-related employment. The state government and public sector employment centred on Jalingo are significant, while much of the population relies on subsistence and smallholder farming across its varied terrain.