National Wire About Nigerians, Nigerian Business and Other Stories
By Dayo Emmanuel
The Middle Belt of Nigeria is not a new concept, it is also not a recent social media invention.
The agitation for the recognition of the Middle Belt began about aix years after the amalgamation of the northern and southern protectorates. Then by the 1950s, the agitation by people of the area had been firmly rooted in Nigeria’s political history.
Unfortunately, misinformation has spread widely online, often circulated by people who lack historical understanding. The truth, however, is clear: the Middle Belt has a rich and well-documented past shaped by decades of political struggle, cultural assertion, and the demand for justice for minority groups in northern Nigeria.
The Middle Belt movement took formal shape in the 1950s with the Middle Belt Union, which advocated for the rights, autonomy, and recognition of minority ethnic groups who felt marginalised by the dominant Hausa-Fulani political structure in the old Northern Region. This agitation did not start suddenly; it evolved from various tribal and cultural unions that had existed since the 1920s.
A major turning point came in 1957 with the formation of the United Middle Belt Congress (UMBC), created through the merger of the Middle Belt People’s Party and the Middle Zone League. The UMBC became the political voice of the region, championing the demand for a separate Middle Belt State.
Their agitation gained further legitimacy during the Willink’s Minorities Commission of 1958, where the fears of domination expressed by minority groups were formally documented.
Joseph Sarwuan Tarka emerged as the central figure of this movement. Widely regarded as the “Father of Middle Belt politics,” Tarka served as the UMBC’s first president and played a pivotal role in pushing for political inclusion and regional recognition.
Alongside him were other founding leaders such as Rev. David Lot, Patrick Dokotri, and Gwamna Awan, whose early activism laid the foundation for the region’s political identity.
The movement continued into later decades with leaders such as Chief Solomon Lar, Air Commodore Dan Suleiman, Wilberforce Juta, Chief Cornelius Adebayo who would later become the Governor of the old Kwara State in the Second Republic, and Dr. Bitrus Pogu, who kept the struggle alive.
Their collective efforts challenged Northern hegemony and strengthened the region’s call for equity, justice, and self-determination.
The UMBC also forged strategic alliances, most notably with the Action Group (AG) of the Western Region, to counter the influence of the Northern People’s Congress (NPC). This alliance highlighted the seriousness of the Middle Belt’s political aspirations.
Today, the legacy of these struggles survives through socio-cultural bodies such as the Middle Belt Forum, which continues to advocate for restructuring and the fair treatment of minority groups.
Geographically, the Middle Belt spans approximately 242,425 square kilometres and includes Kwara, Niger, Kogi, Nasarawa, Plateau, Benue, and the Federal Capital Territory, with some definitions extending into the southern Kaduna, parts of Bauchi, parts of defunct Gongola State now known as Taraba and Adamawa States. These are people though different but connected by lifestyle, culture and occupation.
The Middle Belt remains a symbol of diversity, resilience, and the ongoing quest for justice within Nigeria’s complex political landscape.
The people, distributed among almost a hundred district ethnic groups have come a long way in their struggle for political relevance beyond mere population figures, may not easily be carved differently into geographical locations or states but have come to live together after their first realisation of the 1920s.
The recent agitation now is to be seen as unique people different from the perceived Hausa-Fulani and the self realisation that would bring out the beauty in their resilience and diversity.
Below are unique ethnic groups within the Middle Belt- a state-by-state categorisation of the Middle Belt ethnic groups.
Note: Some groups appear in more than one state due to geography and migration.
Kwara State
Nupe
Kambari
Ekiti- Yoruba
Igbomina- Yoruba
Ibolo- Yoruba
Kamuku
Okun- Yoruba (in the east bordering Kogi)
Kupa
Fulani (settled communities)
Bassa (minor pockets)
Gbagi/Gbagyi (border communities)
Kogi State
Igala
Ebira (Igbira)
Bassa
Okun- Yoruba subgroup
Gbagyi/Gwari
Kupa
Kakanda
Ogori/Magongo
Oworo- Yoruba subgroup
Nupe (in Kogi LGA)
Niger State
Nupe
Gbagyi/Gwari
Koro
Kamuku
Kambari
Pire (Pabir)
Bassa (minor)
Yoruba (border areas of Borgu)
Fulani (settled groups)
FCT
Gbagyi/Gwari (dominant)
Koro
Bassa
Gade
Nasarawa State
Eggon
Mada
Alago
Gbagyi/Gwari
Koro
Migili (Minei)
Tiv
Idoma
Afo (Eloyi)
Gwandara
Arago
Bassa
Fulani (indigenous settlements)
Benue State
Tiv
Idoma
Igede
Etulo
Jukun (border communities)
Nyandang
Abinsi (Tiv subgroup)
Masev (Tiv subgroup)
Ichongo (Tiv subgroup)
Plateau State
Berom
Afizere (Jarawa)
Anaguta
Angas/Ngas
Tarok
Goemai
Mwaghavul
Ron/Kulere
Pyem
Bogghom
Montol
Sura
Rukuba
Irigwe
Bache (Rukuba subgroups)
Southern Kaduna
Atyap (Kataf)
Bajju (Kaje)
Jaba (Ham)
Ninzam/Ninzo
Ikulu
Ayu
Kadara
Adara
Koro
Gbagyi/Gwari
Taraba State
Jukun
Mumuye
Kuteb
Chamba/Samba
Wurkun
Jenjo
Kona
Nyam-Nyam (Korafe)
Yandang
Ichen
Tiv (border LGAs)
Mambilla (central/northern Taraba belt)
Kaka
Adamawa State
Bachama (Bwatiye)
Mbula
Chamba
Kilba
Margi
Higgi/Kamwe
Bura/Babur
Longuda
Fali
Mambilla (boundary areas)
Gombe State part of the Middle Belt
Tangale
Tula
Waja
Bolewa
Dadiya
Kamo
Bauchi State portion of the Middle Belt
Sayawa (Zaar)
Gerawa
Dass
Jarawa (distinct from Plateau’s)
Boghom pockets
Bolewa
Butawa
Siri
Fulani (indigenous clans)
Nasarawa State
(Some scholars count these as separate micro-groups)
Doma
Arago
Migili
Afo/Eloyi
Note: Data sourced from the Internet.
