The oldest surviving Hausa mud-brick building in northern Nigeria, the Gidan Makama — "House of the Makama" — was the official residence of the Makama, a senior official in the emirate court. The building has been restored and converted into a museum charting the history of the ancient emirate of Zazzau, one of the original seven Hausa city-states. Rooms display traditional instruments, royal regalia, weapons, and photographs documenting the transition from the old Hausa kingdom to the colonial period and beyond. The architecture alone is worth the visit: thick earthen walls, narrow doorways, and carved wooden doors are precisely how Hausa nobles lived for centuries.