Benue is a state in the MidEast region of Nigeria with a population of about 2.8 million in 1991. Tiv, Idoma, and Igede are spoken predominantly. There are other ethnic groups as well. These include Etulo and Abakwa. With its capital at Makurdi, Benue is a rich agricultural region; some of the crops grown there are: potatoes, cassava, soya bean, guinea corn, flax, yams and beniseed.

Benue State is named after the Benue River and was formed from the former Benue-Plateau State in 1976, along with Igala,and some part of Kwara State. Also in 1991 some areas of benue state(majorly igala area), along with areas in Kwara state, where carved out to become part of the new Kogi State. Traces of Igbo people and tribes are found in the boundary areas of Ebonyi state and Enugu state in local government areas like the Obi, Oju etc.

Gabriel Suswam is the Governor and Steven Lawani is the Deputy Governor. Both are People's Democratic Party (PDP) members. Benue state has three universities namely, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State University [BSU], Makurdi and Mkar University, Gboko. It also has two Polytechnics namely Benue State Polytechnic, Ugbokolo and Fidel Polytechnic, Gboko as well as the Akperan Orshi College of Agriculture. And there about four Colleges of Education which are, Federal College of Education Agasha, College of Education Oju, College of Education Kastina Ala.

Nigeria ⁱ/naɪˈdʒɪəriə/, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north. Its coast in the south lies on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean. The three largest and most influential ethnic groups in Nigeria are the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba.

In terms of religion Nigeria is roughly split half and half between Muslims in the North and Christians in the South; a very small minority practice traditional religion. Since 2002 there have been a spate of clashes, particularly in the North of the country, between government forces and the Islamists Boko Haram, militant jihadists who seek to establish sharia law.

The people of Nigeria have an extensive history. Archaeological evidence shows that human habitation of the area dates back to at least 9000 BCE. The area around the Benue and Cross River is thought to be the original homeland of the Bantu migrants who spread across most of central and southern Africa in waves between the 1st millennium BC and the 2nd millennium.