Jigawa State - Political Economy

Political Economy

The Economy of Jigawa State is largely characterized by informal sector activities with agriculture as the major economic activity. Over 80% of the population is engaged in subsistence farming and animal husbandry. Trade and commerce are undertaken on small and medium scale, especially in agric goods, livestock and other consumer goods. Other informal sector activities include blacksmithing, leather-works, tailoring services, auto repairs, metal works, carpentry, tanning, dyeing, food processing, masonry etc. Even though modern industrial sector is yet to gain a solid footing, the seed for their development was planted through establishment of small-scale industries particularly in areas of food processing and other agro-allied activities. These industries have been helped by the Information Communication Technology program initiated by the Saminu Turaki, the states former governor.

The Federal Office of Statistics, in 2001, classified Jigawa State among those with relatively high severity and incidence of poverty in the country, with a Gross Per Capita Income of N35, 000 per annum (US$290), which is below the National Average. However, the 2002 Core Welfare Indicators Questionnaire (CWIQ) Survey indicated that over two-fifths of the population do not consider themselves poor.

The State of infrastructure for economic development such as roads, electricity, telecommunication and information technology have recently witnessed tremendous improvements through massive rehabilitation and expansion works. With massive road rehabilitation projects already undertaken throughout the State during the last five years, coupled with efforts made towards power generation via Independent Power Platforms, and the Internet Broadband Project, investment climate in Jigawa State in terms of economic infrastructure is quite promising.