12°00N 8°31E, pop (2000e) 853 000. Capital of Kano state, N Nigeria, 1130 km/700 mi NE of Lagos; ancient Hausa settlement; modern city founded in the 19th-c, becoming a major terminus of trans-Saharan trade; city walls nearly 18 km/11 mi long, 12 m/40 ft thick at the base, and up to 12 m/40 ft high; airport; railway; university (1975); food processing, brewing, textiles, leather, groundnuts, cattle, glass, metals, chemicals.
| Kano, Nigeria | |
| Map of Nigeria showing the location of Kano in Nigeria. | |
| Province | Kano State |
|---|---|
| Governor | Ibrahim Shekarau ANPP |
| Area | |
| - City | km² |
| Population | |
| - City (2005) | 3,626,204 |
| - Urban | 3,626,204 |
| estimated | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+1) |
Kano is the administrative center of the Kano State and the third largest city in Nigeria, in terms of geographical size, after Ibadan and Lagos. Kano houses the Bayero University and a railway station with trains to Lagos routed through Kaduna, while Kano International Airport lies nearby.
History
The city of Kano was founded around the year 1000 as an independent Hausa city-state.
According to the Kano Chronicle, the thirty-seventh Sarkin Kano (King of Kano) was Mohammed Sharef (1703–1731).
At the beginning of the 19th Century, Fulani Islamic leader Usman dan Fodio led a jihad against Kano, removing its Hausa Emir and reforming the government and religious authority.
Kano was replaced as the centre of government for the Northern Region of Nigeria by Kaduna, and only regained administrative significance with the creation of Kano State following Nigerian independence.
Transport
Because Kano is north of the rail junction at Kaduna, it has equal access to the seaports at Lagos and Port Harcourt.
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