[4] The Fourteen Kingdoms unified the diverse lore and heritage of Northern Nigeria into a cohesive ethno-historical system.

Their primary exports were leather, gold, cloth, salt, kola nuts, animal hides, and henna.

With the decline of the Nok and Sokoto, who had previously controlled Central and Northern Nigeria between 800 BCE and 200, the Hausa were able to emerge as the new power in the region.

They are closely linked with the Kanuri people of Kanem-Bornu (Lake Chad), the Birom, Gwari, Nupe and Jukun.

Many of their early mosques and palaces are bright and colourful and often include intricate engraving or elaborate symbols designed into the facade.

[7] Usman Dan Fodio, the 18th century revolutionary and a social, religious and political reformer finally united the seven Hausa States with newly created provinces into the Sokoto Caliphate.

The Royal Niger Company's territory did not represent a direct threat to much the Sokoto Caliphate or the numerous states of Northern Nigeria.

This changed, when Frederick Lugard and Taubman Goldie laid down an ambitious plan to pacify the Niger interior and unite it with the rest of the British Empire.

[8] Governor Lugard, with limited resources, controlled the region with the consent of local rulers through a policy of indirect rule, which he developed into a sophisticated political theory.

The Richards constitution proclaimed in 1945, gave overwhelming autonomy to the North, including eventually in the areas of foreign relations and customs policy.

This entity encompassed the predominantly Muslim and Hausa-Fulani dominated regions of the north, distinct from the southern territories under direct British rule.

The British aimed to consolidate control over the diverse regions of Nigeria, leveraging indirect rule through traditional Hausa rulers and Emirs.

The Protectorate of Northern Nigeria evolved through administrative reforms and faced challenges such as resistance to colonial rule and socio-economic transformations.

[citation needed] The office of High Commissioner was first established on 1 January 1897, by letters patent from Queen Victoria.

The highest point in Northern Nigeria is Chappal Waddi at 2,419 m (7,936 ft), which is located at gasha gumti Taraba state.

[16] The South Western part of the region included Ogidi, Iyamoye, Iyara that have deep forests inter spacing the guinea savannah areas (and borders the forested areas of southern protectorate and as such shared similar rain patterns and given to the cultivation of cash crops such as coffee and cocoa).

[13] Groundnut and cotton industries in the province of Kano provided the main source of revenue for Northern Nigeria.