Azare

Azare is a city in Bauchi State in northeastern Nigeria and the headquarters of the Katagum Local Government Area. Its history is tied to the Katagum emirate, whose first ruler, Mallam Zaki, was appointed by the Islamic reformer Usman dan Fodio in the early nineteenth century; the article dates the founding of Azare to 1803 and names a line of later emirs, among them Mallam Dankauwa, who ruled from 1816 until his resignation in 1846. The surrounding plain lies in the Sudan and Sahel savanna zone, with a dry season from October to April and a rainy season from May to September. Most residents live by farming and animal husbandry, and cotton, millet, sorghum, groundnuts, cassava and beans are the main crops. The town is bordered by the Damban, Misau, Jama'are and Itas/Gadau local government areas and, to the east, by Potiskum in Yobe State. The 1991 census counted 69,035 people in the urban settlement.