Sokoto, city in Nigeria, capital of Sokoto State, near the confluence of the Rima and Sokoto rivers. With an average annual temperature of 28.3° C (82.9° F), it is one of the world's hottest cities. Sokoto functions as a trade center for the dry savanna region of northwestern Nigeria. Rice and onions are cultivated and livestock is raised in the area. Industries in Sokoto include tanning and leather crafts, pottery, rice milling, and cement production. Sokoto is located at the junction of two highways connecting the city to Zaria and Jega, and it is served by an airport. It is 220 km (140 mi) from the nearest railhead at Gusau. Sokoto is an important center of Nigerian Islam, but it is also the seat of a Roman Catholic bishop. Usmanu Danfodio University (1975) is located in the city.
Originally the capital of the Hausa kingdom of Gobir, established before the 10th century, Sokoto is one of the seven traditional walled Hausa towns. It first blossomed as a center of Islamic culture in the 14th century, when it was an important terminus on the trans-Saharan caravan routes. In the early 19th century, Fulani chief and Islamic leader Usuman dan Fodio chose Sokoto as the capital of his caliphate and a base for the spread of Islam and the expansion of the Fulani empire. In a holy war known as the Fulani Jihad, lasting from 1804 to 1830, Usuman and his followers took control of most of northern Nigeria and adjacent parts of Cameroon and Niger. The empire was conquered by the British in 1903. Today many visitors make a pilgrimage to Usuman's tomb in Sokoto. Population (1995 estimate) 199,900.
