Sokoto (Sakkwato) is the capital city of Sokoto State in North West Nigeria. Being the seat of the former Sokoto Caliphate, the city is predominantly Muslim and an important seat of Islamic learning in Nigeria. The Sultan who heads the caliphate is effectively the spiritual leader of Nigerian Muslims. The slogan of Sokoto is nicknamed "Seat of the Caliphate".

Understand

The city had a population of 426,000 in 2006.

Sokoto is sparsely settled and is mainly populated by Hausa and Fulani people. Other minority groups include the Zabarmawa and Tuareg who also speak Hausa as a common language. Majority of the residents in Sokoto are Sunni Muslims, with a Shia minority. It is the site of the Usmanu Danfodio University which was founded in 1975. The city of Sokoto has a cement factory, tanneries, and a modern abattoir and refrigeration plant, commercial and industrial centre, modern textile industry, a seed-oil mill, and a soybean-processing plant.

Minerals resources such as kaolin, gypsum, limestone, laterite, red mills, phosphate both yellow and green, shade clay, sand etc., are available in commercial quantities.

Climate

Sokoto is surrounded by sandy savannah and isolated hills. It is located in the dry Sahel with an annual average temperature of 28.3 °C (82.9 °F). Sokoto is known to be one of the hottest cities in Nigeria, however the maximum daytime temperatures are generally under 40 °C (104.0 °F) most of the year, and the dryness makes the heat bearable. February to April are the warmest months where daytime temperatures can exceed 40 °C. The highest recorded temperature is 45 °C. The rainy season starts from June to October, during which showers are a daily occurrence. From late October to February, the climate is dominated by the harmattan wind blowing Sahara dust over the land. This dust dims the sunlight which causes significant reduction in temperatures.

Agriculture

The area around the city produces crops such as millets, guinea-corn, maize, rice, potatoes, cassava, groundnuts and beans for subsistence as well as wheat, cotton, tobacco and vegetables for cash.

Get in

You can get into Sokoto by plane or by bus depending on where you are coming from and the means of transportation you prefer

By plane

There are daily flight from the capital Abuja.

• 1 Sadiq Abubakar III International Airport, Airport Road. SKO  ^IATA (updated Jan 2022)

By bus

• 2 GUO Transport - Sokoto Terminal, Central motor park, Kilgori Rd, Minanata, Sokoto, ☏ +2348052772082. Daily 5AM-9PM. GUO Transport is one of the largest providers of intercity and interstate transportation, serving more than 200 destinations across Nigeria and West Africa. GUO Transport Company has a large fleet of vehicles made up of Toyota Sienna 7-seater vehicles, Sprinter 14-Seater buses, Toyota Hiace 15-seater buses, and luxurious buses which range from 33 to 59 seaters. ₦7,000-15,000. (updated Jun 2021)
• Ifeanyichukwu Transportation Services located at Minanata, Sokoto
• Hamza Transporter Nigeria Limited is located at 14J, along Sokoto Cement Company Road, Wamako. It opens on Monday to Saturday from 9AM and close by 4PM, Customer care line: +234 8069434319
• Cross country sokoto, Sokoto Bye Pass, Mamarun Nufawa, Sokoto 0802 845 7694
• Young Shall Grow Bus Terminal, Mamarun Nufawa, Sokoto. It opens Monday to Sunday 24 hours
• Sokoto State Transport Authority, Dandima, Beside NTA, It opens Monday to Sunday 24 hour

Get around

Sokoto lacks a public transport system. Transport within the city (when not by foot) is mainly by mopeds which operate as one-person taxis and sometimes tricycles transport persons from one place to the other; this allows for carriage of more than one person at a time (still at a cheap price as mopeds). Buses and taxis are infrequent and are generally used only for transport between cities.

See

• 1 Waziri Jumaidu History and Culture Bureau. Established in 1973. The museum has an assortment of over 500,000 historical treasures that tell the story of the Sokoto people. There are various display of the cultural relics and artifacts of the local people. (updated Jan 2022)
• 2 Palace of Sultan of Sokoto. Architecture’s masterpiece with great cultural and artistic excellence. It is also the spiritual head of all Muslims in Nigeria and the sultan’s palace symbolizes the unity of the Nigerian Muslim Ummah. (updated Jan 2022)
• Tomb of the Islamic scholar
• Shehu Kangiwa Square located at Princess Alexandra Road, Mabera, Sokoto. It used to be known as Ginginya, it was the site of the battle between British troops and the forces of Sokoto led by Sultan Attahiru in 1903. The area used to be an open square outside the city wall, and on the northern side there used to be a Gingiya tree-palm tree
• Sokoto Museum is a national museum that houses artifacts and monuments of the old Sokoto caliphate. The museum is dedicated to Usman Dan Fodio and many of his personal items such as thrones, scriptures, maps and copies of his Koran are on display.
• Heritage Museum is located at the Department of Fine, Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto, the museum showcases the rich cultural artifacts of the Sokoto kingdom.
• Gilbadi Rocks is located in Gada LGA, these rocks contains ancient fossil remains that are said might provide clue to the origin of life in general.
• Goronyo Dam located in Goronyo is one of the largest in the West African sub-region and was built in 1981 along River Rima to boost the irrigation in the area.
• 3 IBB CENTER UDUS (Udus), Abdulahi Fodio Rd, Gidan Alkal (By Road), ☏ +234 803 982 8268. Wednesday 7 am–6 pm Thursday 7 am–6 pm Friday 7 am–6 pm Saturday Closed Sunday Closed Monday 7 am–6 pm Tuesday 7 am–6 pm Suggest new hours. It's a center for an event activities within the town of Sokoto. It's ready to serve all needs of the people in event services. It depends. (updated Aug 2024)
• 4 Skyland Park and Wellness Center (Skyland.), Kilometer 1 Nana Asma'u road, along Umaru Aliyu Shinkafi Polytechnic road, adjacent Khalifa International School, Sokoto (By Road), ☏ +234 906 608 0945. 9am/ 10pm every day.. It's a Park and center for the recreational activities of the children and adults. It provides a play ground, games facilities and other services for the refreshment of the people of Sokoto. It depends. (updated Aug 2024)

Do

• Sharo-/Shadi festival is also known as flogging competition. It is a traditional rite of passage for Jafun Fulani. This festival is carried out annually. During the festival, young bachelors are being whipped so as to determine whether they are eligible for marriage. It is also an avenue to test their endurance when they are faced hard times. The youths, escorted by girls, are led into the ring of spectators bare chested and armed with whips. As the noise of singing, drumming and cheering rises to its peak, each young man must stoically endure a flogging to demonstrate his manhood. The young man only qualifies to marry if he passes the test. The flogging is administered by another youth of about the same age and size. Most do pass, but carry scars from the ordeal for the rest of their life. The sharo festival is usually take place during the dry-season guinea corn harvest, and again during the festival of Id-el-kabir. Usually, it lasts for a week and is held in a marketplace. Other types of entertainment during the festival include dances, musical performances and tricksters.
• Halbi festival is a hunting expedition that is being carried out annually by men in Sokoto. During this festival, they embark their hunting with dogs, guns and drums. Usually, it last for more than one week.
• Aikin Gawa festival is a community annual farming exercise undertaken mainly by the youths to cultivate the farmland of the village head, hamlet head or an Imam of the community. During the farming exercise, drummers, singers and dancers entertains the youths that are working.
• Kalankuwa festival occurs annually at the end of the rainy season and it is being organized by youths who are within the same age category in order to celebrate bumper harvest. During the festival, the young men will be in the farms of the community leaders while the young women will prepare mouth watery dishes for their would-be suitors.
• Nwunyu Fishing festival is an annual festival that normally takes place in April. The activities that are being carried out during this festival include cultural dances, canoe racing and swimming competition.
• Romo Fishing Festival occurs annually and it takes place between April and May.
• Shan gumba’-pab drinking festival occurs annually every October and it is being an annually and it is being organized by youths who are butchers. It features rigorous dancing after which a dancer will move to the centre of the stage to have a drink from a big calabash that contains Gumba, a mixture of millet, alewa and kilishi. Any dancer that drinks is automatically out of the stage.

• The Durbar festival is an annual religious and equestrian celebration. The festival marks the end of Ramadan and also coincides with the Muslim festivities of Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr. It normally begins with prayers, followed by a colourful parade of the Emir and his entourage on horses, accompanied by musicians, and ending at the Emir's palace.

Buy

Markets

Sokoto is made up of many markets where food items and other commodities are being sold

• Kasoa Ndaji is quite a big market where wholesalers meet with retailers, as it boast bulk packages of goods and services. Other items are sold in the market, and the cloth section of the market is one you will leave, smiling you visited. The market opens at 10AM and closes at 6PM to honour the Islamic time of prayer.
• Kasoa Dankure is a big market where food items are being sold. It opens from 10AM and closes by 6PM. In this market, items such as beans, rice, varieties of fishes such as tilapia, cat fish, etc, varieties of meat like chicken, turkey, cow head, cow tail, beef, goat, ram Also varieties of fruits such as cucumber, water melon, carrots, cabbage and pepper are being sold there. There is nothing edible which you cannot get from this market.
• Kasoa Rubber is the biggest market that sells plastic related items.
• Old market alongside Mariam Abacha Road. it is the oldest market in Sokoto and it was established in the early 1980s. It is one of the best markets in Sokoto that deals on quality items. All kinds of goods are sold in this market in bulk.
• Albarka Modern Market, Sokoto, Minanata, Sokoto. It opens daily 9AM-6PM.
• Shagari Gate, Central Market Sokoto, Minanata, Sokoto, it opens Monday to Sunday from 9:30AM-6:30PM.
• Marna Market Sokoto located at Mabera, Sokoto, it opens Monday to Sunday from 9am-6pm.

Supermarkets

There many supermarkets for shopping in Sokoto. They offer a wide range of products from hair and beauty products to groceries, household items, clothing and many more with good prices.

• AGG Mall Shopping Complex is an ultramodern shopping mall that offers sales of wide variety of products such as home goods, glass wares, electronic goods, clothing, laces, Swiss materials and many more. It is located at Mabera Jelani Area Shuni Road, Sokoto. Customer care Service contact: +234 8135164052
• HLM Shopping Complex Nig Ltd located at Achida Road, Gawon Nama, Sokoto North, Sokoto, Nigeria. It is a supermarket that offers sales of everyday needs such as provisions, canned drinks and others. Customer Care service: +234 8039855189 or +234 7033890402.
• Kindo Gift Shop is at State Low Cost Road, Sokoto. It is a variety store that offers sales of corporate greeting cards, seasonal cards, notable days cards, gift items cards and toys. Customer Care service: +234 7068888853.

Eat

Sokoto has a number of spots where visitors and tourists can sample a taste of the city’s amazing cuisines plus other foreign dishes.The city’s popular foods are Dawo and mostly sold by Fulani hawkers and roadside food vendors. Howbeit, these plus other meals can also be gotten from the conventional restaurants within the town of Sokoto.

Some of the prominent eating spots are:

• Beebee Fast Food Restaurant & Catering Services Breakfast, Launch & Dinner; including cakes for all occasion; Snacks, Shawama,Ice-cream. Ilorin Rd, Off Kano Rd, Behind Zenith Bank, Sokoto South, Sokoto. It opens from Monday to Saturday  8AM-11PM, website: beebee.com, customer care line: 08037137478
• Shhukura Carol Hotel, No. 1 Kano Road, Sokoto, Customer care line: +234 816157059
• Gidan kanawa, Atiku Road Sokoto, G/1363, Gidan Kanawa, Atiku Road, Sokoto South LGA.
• Dandanon Kowa Cafe, No. 29, Abdullahi Fodiyo Road, Sokoto, 08043214563.
• Cuisine Restaurant & Fast Food, Sultan Abubakar Road, Opposite NYSC Secretariat Diplomat Area, Sokoto, 08133671880.
• Davkem Restaurant and Snacks located at No. 1, Maiduguri Road, By Aliu Fly Over, Behind CBN, Sokoto, 08035739797 or 08091393989.
• Haiya Saamai Saa Restaurant, No.3, Kamba Road, Sokoto South, 07068334626.
• Humaira Restaurant Sokoto, Bye Pass, Mabera Mujaya, Sokoto, 08068144603.
• Mr Biggs at Maiduguri Road, Sokoto 07043050439.
• Royal Dish Restaurant, No.16, Ibrahim Dasuki Road, Sokoto, 07043050439.
• Tasty Treat Fast Food, Restaurant and Cold Store, Abdullahi Fodiyo Road, By Alu Flyover, Sokoto, 08108130648 or 08177770999.
• Sokoto Clinic Restaurant
• D & D fast food Restaurant sokoto
• Caliphate Lodge Restaurant Sokoto

Drink

There are a number of places where visitors can go and drink in Sokoto

• Shhukura Carol Hotel
• Pinnacle guest Inn Nd Resort
• Sokoto. Hotel  bar and Restaurant.

Sleep

Budget

• Sokoto Hotel Kano Road, Sokoto.
• Sokoto Guest Inn Kalambaina Road, Sokoto.
• Ibro International Abdullahi Fodio Road, Sokoto
• Mabera Guest Inn Mabera New Layout
• Catering Rest House Kano Road, Sokoto,
• Rima Hotels Bye Pass Road, Sokoto,
• Tudun Wada Guest Inn Majema Tudun Wada, Sokoto,
• Rima Valley Hotel Western Bye Pass road.
• Zumunta Hotel Kwannawa Quarters

Splurge

• Giginya Hotel is well equipped with all modern facilities such as recreational centres, swimming pools, internet access, souvenir, conference facilities, restaurant, gift shop etc. Contact: Located along Western by-pass Sokoto, Tel: +234 60 231262-4, 231670
• Shukura Hotel has 57 rooms which include executive suites and standard rooms all tastefully furnished and serve with friendly and courteous staffs. Contact:Along 10 Kano Road, Sokoto. Tel: +234 60 230006-9
• 1 Sokoto Guest Inn, Kalambaina Rd, ☏ +234 802 607 6353. Provides car hire services, 24 hours laundry and dry cleaning services, internet access etc. (updated Jan 2022)

Go next

• Birnin Kebbi
• Gusau
• Katsina