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'''Kitaubani''', known officially as the '''Kingdom of Kitaubani''', is a sovereign state located at the northern tip of XISLAND. The current population of XX people is spread across XX square kilometers, making Kitaubani one of the more moderately-dense nations in Bahia at 84 persons per square kilometer.
The islands presently known as Kitaubani were inhabited since ancient times by numerous groups, such as the Hausa and the Tamasheq. These groups frequently associated with one another and with their cohorts on the Bahian mainland through a cross-channel trade network. City-states were beginning to form on the coasts, which interfaced with the more nomadic groups in the hinterlands through trade, diplomatic marriage and warfare. These patterns of interaction were interrupted in the early [[Hourege|Houregic Period]]. In the mid-eleventh century CE, an {{wp|Swahili_people|Ungwana}} ruler known as Mataka fled warfare in his home in modern-day [[Maucha]]. Mataka's arrival in Kitaubani presaged many of his followers', which included a significant merchant caste that soon dominated the city of Gashi. For around a century, Gashi operated indistinctly from other coastal Kitauban city-states. By the end of the twelfth century, however, Gashi's Ungwana rulers had begun attacking neighboring city-states, either to annex them or force them into tributary status. This eventually transformed into the elite of Gashi holding at least nominal control of most of the Kitauban islands by the 1500s. To this day, Mataka's initial takeover of the village of Gashi is seen as the direct predecessor of the modern Kitauban state, and Mataka himself is considered in the popular consciousness as the first ''mfalme'', or Ungwana ruler of Kitaubani.
'''Zolin Kotzatino''' (12 November 1968—''present'') is a politician, lawyer, and writer who currently serves as the mayor of [[Aachanecalco]], the largest city in the [[Pulacan|Union State of Pulacan]]. He has held the position since August 23, 2014; previous posts held include serving as the chief prosecuting attorney (Nahuatl: ''Huehuetque tenemiliz temoani'') for the Cenaachanecalco district from 2007 to 2014, and prior as the deputy prosecuting attorney from 2005 to 2007. As a prosecutor, Kotzatino led or assisted numerous high-profile investigations into the city's organized crime network. Kotzatino's crowning achievement as chief prosecutor was the effective dismantling of the local Juwa party {{Wp|political machine}}.
Presently, the Kingdom of Kitaubani is ruled as a constitutional monarchy under the guiding principle of parliamentary sovereignty. The government retains moderately low corruption and high transparency scores. It is a member of the [[Congress of Bahian States]], the [[Community of Nations]], the [[Council for Mutual Development]] and the [[International Forum for Developing States]]. Kitaubani maintains one of the stronger economies in Bahia, benefitting from a growth in urban manufacturing and its influence in the global shipping industry. Its nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the largest per capita in Bahia.
== Early life ==
Zolin was born to Lyubomir and Yana Kotzatino (''née'' Galyofa), immigrants from the state of [[Zhovozha]] in [[Ludvosiya]]. Their surname was initially written as "Koztadimof" before naturalization, when the name was adjusted to better match {{Wp|Nahuatl|Nahua}} [[Writing systems in Zacapican|orthography]]. In interviews and autobiographical blurbs, Zolin has often described his family as "simple, hardy, working folk"; in particular, his grandparents are remembered as "the sort of people who become the fictive grandparents of a whole village." Zolin's father Lyubomir worked as an insurance underwriter and had chosen to migrate after a Pulatec freight shipping ''calpolli'' offered both himself and his wife (an educator) steady employment. They followed Zolin's maternal uncle X, whom had previously migrated to Pulacan in 1964.
From as early as possible, Zolin was immersed in education. In addition to enrollment in Pulatec public schools, which by law must instill proficiency in both Setswana and Nahuatl, he was placed into {{Wp|Bulgarian language|Zhovi}}-language courses provided by an immigrants' organization to ensure that he retained the mother tongue of his parents. As Zolin later recounted, "I spoke Zhovi at home, even in front of my friends. Often, I was made to translate between them and my parents, though by that age my parents were both able to understand at least Nahuatl." As a child, Kotzatino experienced the controversial 1974 municipal annexation of Tliltapoyec as a ward of Aachanecalco. Kotzatino is also the first mayor of Aachanecalco to have been born in Tliltapoyec Ward.
==Etymology==
== Legal career ==
The name ''Kitaubani'' likely derives from a KiUngwana phrase, though it has been altered to fit Hausa language phonology. Following the Bahian consolidation during the Houregic Age, an expedition led by ''mfalme'' Mataka, landed on the shores of Kitaubani at the site of modern-day Gashi. Mataka had fled his homeland of modern-day Maucha both to escape violence at home and to re-establish his wealth through new economic holdings. After a long journey fraught with adverse conditions, conflicts with local authorities, and other innumerable hardships, was the island of Kitaubani: according to popular folklore, in his relief at completing his journey, Matake proclaimed the site ''kituo wa pwani'', or the Coast of Respite. As Mataka carries an almost-mythified status in Kitauban consciousness as one of the first kings of the island, this story has persisted and grown to be the most popular folk etymology for the name of the country.
Upon matriculation from university in 1990, Kotzatino found employment at the Cenaachanecalco Prosecutor's Office through a connection via his uncle. Working initially as an investigative clerk for the Office, Kotzatino was promoted to assistant prosecutor in 1994. His promotion coincided with a shift in Pulatec strategy towards organized crime. Prior to the 1990s, law enforcement and organized crime groups often maintained an uncomfortable coexistence. Such groups were seen as inevitable, and left alone with the expectation that their violent conflicts be kept from the public eye. With the [[Lost Decade (Pulacan)|rapid contraction of the national economy]] in the early 1990s, organized crime's influence in the economy ballooned, and gangs were infiltrating further into legitimate business. Beginning in 1992, however, the [[Pulacan#Supreme Colloquy|Supreme Colloquy]] passed a sweeping set of anti-mob legislation, empowering prosecutors for the first time to {{Wp|witness protection|protect their witnesses}} and criminalized membership in a mob-like organization. Empowered with these new tools, Kotzatino was among the first judicial officials to seriously investigate the finances of Pulacan's major organized criminal groups. In late 1994, a pool of magistrates was formed to investigate criminal gangs in Aachanecalco's Hvoruzi and Jakraji neighborhoods, headed by Kotzatino. Through a targeted series of arrests on mid-level members and use of informants, the court discovered the makings of a coordinated network of several ethnic mafias. Collectively, this organization had stakes in multiple legitimate Pulatec ''calpolleh'' groups, and connections as far afield as Zacapican's [[Western Underworld]] and southern Belisaria. The ensuing trial, dubbed the "Great Triangle Tribunal" for the three main criminal families under prosecution, lasted from January 1995 to August 1996. During the trial, violence between criminal gangs escalated notably through several high-profile shootouts, with increasing civilian casualties. Kotzatino's life throughout the trial was under threat from the mob; he narrowly avoided assassination numerous times and many court sessions were conducted from specially-secured locations to secure the magistrates' safety. The Triangle Tribunal saw several prominent gangleaders sentenced to long prison terms and, crucially, entire criminal networks dismantled; neither the Hvoruzi nor the Jakraji mobs ever recovered to their former strength. The case earned Kotzatino adoration from the public and permanent ire from organized criminal elements, many of whom remained prominent in Aachanecalco society and government. Kotzatino, as a second-generation immigrant and political outsider, was an immediate target for retaliation. Kotzatino fed into his good public reputation through managed media appearances and frequent press conferences in order to keep himself in the public eye. Through remaining relevant, he secured himself from retaliatory firing or forced resignation.
==History==
Kotzatino was made ''Huehuetque tenemiliz temoani'' on August 22, 2007 by then-mayor Tsepo Motshekga. Motshekga, himself from the Moral Government Movement party and not from the locally-dominant Juwa, was not beholden to the latter's political machine.
As an island, Kitaubani was settled by prehistoric humans later than mainland Bahia.
===Pre-Houregic Period===
===Arrival of Mataka===
== Mayor of Aachanecalco ==
===Second Gashi Period===
=== City election of 2014 ===
===Protectorate===
=== Tenure ===
===Independent Kitaubani===
The late 1950s and early-mid 1960s saw increasing frustration with Yatasu's continued rule. With other Bahian nations decolonizing into (at least nominal) republics, sentiment was high for the establishment of a republic in Kitaubani. Disillusioned with the continued suspension of the Constitution's promulgation and buoyed by international support, protests began calling for anything from the promulgation of a new Constitution to the abolition of the monarchy entirely. During this time, the Royal Police and Royal Army intelligence agenices conducted small-scale, targeted purges of both ethnic separatist and Councilist dissidents; the Kitauban Dirty War weakened public and international support for Yatasu, though it is arguable whether or not he had lost control of these security forces by the end of his absolutist reign. Wishing to retain life and livelihood, Katasu bowed to the pressure from both domestic and international sources (namely from the United Bahian Republic) and accepted a much more ceremonial role, leaving open the door for the political parties kept much in limbo to step forward into fully legitimate politics. The first Premier was a moderate Pan-Bahian and social democrat named Danjimma Ringim, who then executed numerous policies designed to placate radical sentiment and disarm potential Councilist sympathies. This led to a gradual restabilization of Kitaubani's political scene over the ensuing decades, thanks largely to the support of business elites from several different minority ethnic groups lending much-needed political capital to Ringim's reforms in the interest of keeping the peace. Yatasu, not wishing to tip the boat and recognizing the bad public image he already had, reluctantly acquiesced to many of the political changes solidfying the supremacy of the parliamentarian system in Kitauban politics. The death of Yatasu in 1972 was in hindsight remembered as the final transition point from "old Kitaubani" to "new Kitaubani."
==Geography==
===Climate===
A combination of prevailing trade winds to the south and the central highlands of Kitaubani Island have shaped the nation's climate. The south experiences nearly sub-tropical precipitation, though retains average temperatures well within the temperate zone thanks to the island's latitude and the moderating effects of the ocean. The north of the island lies within a rain shadow created by the central highlands, creating more arid and variable conditions. Kardjiba Island experiences a similar arid-temperate climate to the north of Kitaubani Island.
As Kitaubani lies on two islands, the country is home to numerous endemic species and variants not found elsewhere in the world.
===Administrative divisions===
Kitaubani is subdivided into 22 departments, further subdivided into districts. These districts are centered around a significant autonomous settlement with a city council, with the remaining territory divided into wards overseen by municipal, village, or rural councils. The departments of Kitaubani were drawn for the most recent time in 1970, designed to roughly correspond to equal population size per district. Due to substantial industrialization and urbanization in the intervening decades, however, there now exists a substantial population disparity between rural and more urbanized departments.
==Demographics==
===Ethnicity===
===Language===
Hausa and KiUngwana, through their historical prominence, have retained their positions as dual ''linguae francae'' across the island. Some students elect to learn XXX as a foreign language, though for many decades this was discouraged due to political reasons.
===Education===
===Religion===
[[File:130415-Eglise_de_Faravohitra.jpg|thumb|220px|right|St. Engelbert's Church in Kaduna]]
Owing to Kitaubani's long history as a multicultural state and prolonged historical contact with overseas groups, the modern-day religious makeup of the country is widely varied, with no one religion holding a majority. According to the Kitauban Decennial Census, the largest group of adherents belong to the Aladura faiths. ''Aladura'' is a broad term covering a wide variety of faiths that syncretize traditional faiths with elements of Sotirianity, most notably Solarian Catholicism. This term embodies religious groups formed during and after the colonial period, as well as the Philipites, an autocephalous sect in partial communion with the Solarian Church that predates the arrival of colonial missionaries by several centuries. As a result of this varied background, the Aladura faith is highly decentralized; some groups are in full communion with the Solarian Church, while others hold such different beliefs that they are considered heterodox by mainstream, non-Bahian Sotirians. As of 2020, around 8.4 million Kitaubans self-identify as affiliated with some form of Aladura.
==Government==
Kitaubani is a {{wp|unitary_state|unitary}} {{wp|constitutional monarchy}}, governed under its 1969 Constitution. The head of state is Queen Medare I. Under the Kitauban Constitution, the monarch holds mostly symbolic power. Most real executive authority lies with the parliamentary head of government, a title often translated as Premier. Currently, the Premier is Balarabe Zango of the Progressive Bahian Front. The Premier is elected from the ranks of Kitaubani's parliament, the National Assembly. Under the principle of {{wp|parliamentary sovereignty}}, the legitimacy of the Kitauban government is meant to derive from the citizenry through voting for representatives in the parliament.
==Economy==
[[File:Lafarge cement factory in Ewekoro Ogun state -Nigeria.jpg|thumb|220px|left|A cement factory in X Department, Kardjiba]]
Kitaubani is often categorized as an {{wp|developing economy|lower-middle-income}} nation. Through a burgeoning industrial sector and nascent services sector, along with footholds in the global shipping industry, the nation has maintained one of the stronger economies in Bahia. Kitaubani holds the highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita both nominally and in terms of {{wp|Purchasing Power Parity}} (PPP) in Bahia. Decades of relative political stability and peaceful transfers of power have helped encourage steady economic growth.
Major industries in Kitaubani include manufacturing, agriculture, shipping, and, increasingly, tourism. Shipping, especially in providing crews for international vessels and through {{wp|flag of convenience|flags of convenience}}, generates significant revenue and employs a large number of Kitaubans. Kitauban shipping crews and other foreign workers provide a significant influx of foreign capital through {{wp|remittance|remittances}}.
===Transportation===
Kitaubani's transport network is diverse, with numerous methods available connecting settlements, the islands, and the country itself to the outside world. Compared to other Bahian nations, the Kitauban rail network is relatively robust, including both intercity service, freight transport, and in Kwamuimepe and Gashi, limited urban light rail.
{{Gallery
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|File:Train Movement at oshodi stations rushing hour of the day Photo Taken by Mr Olusola D, Ayibiowu.jpg
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| A passenger rail service bound for Kwamuimepe in central Kitaubani
|File:Fokker 100 de IRS Airlines estacionados en Lagos Nigeri.JPG
Zolin Kotzatino (12 November 1968—present) is a politician, lawyer, and writer who currently serves as the mayor of Aachanecalco, the largest city in the Union State of Pulacan. He has held the position since August 23, 2014; previous posts held include serving as the chief prosecuting attorney (Nahuatl: Huehuetque tenemiliz temoani) for the Cenaachanecalco district from 2007 to 2014, and prior as the deputy prosecuting attorney from 2005 to 2007. As a prosecutor, Kotzatino led or assisted numerous high-profile investigations into the city's organized crime network. Kotzatino's crowning achievement as chief prosecutor was the effective dismantling of the local Juwa party political machine.
Early life
Zolin was born to Lyubomir and Yana Kotzatino (née Galyofa), immigrants from the state of Zhovozha in Ludvosiya. Their surname was initially written as "Koztadimof" before naturalization, when the name was adjusted to better match Nahuaorthography. In interviews and autobiographical blurbs, Zolin has often described his family as "simple, hardy, working folk"; in particular, his grandparents are remembered as "the sort of people who become the fictive grandparents of a whole village." Zolin's father Lyubomir worked as an insurance underwriter and had chosen to migrate after a Pulatec freight shipping calpolli offered both himself and his wife (an educator) steady employment. They followed Zolin's maternal uncle X, whom had previously migrated to Pulacan in 1964.
From as early as possible, Zolin was immersed in education. In addition to enrollment in Pulatec public schools, which by law must instill proficiency in both Setswana and Nahuatl, he was placed into Zhovi-language courses provided by an immigrants' organization to ensure that he retained the mother tongue of his parents. As Zolin later recounted, "I spoke Zhovi at home, even in front of my friends. Often, I was made to translate between them and my parents, though by that age my parents were both able to understand at least Nahuatl." As a child, Kotzatino experienced the controversial 1974 municipal annexation of Tliltapoyec as a ward of Aachanecalco. Kotzatino is also the first mayor of Aachanecalco to have been born in Tliltapoyec Ward.
Legal career
Upon matriculation from university in 1990, Kotzatino found employment at the Cenaachanecalco Prosecutor's Office through a connection via his uncle. Working initially as an investigative clerk for the Office, Kotzatino was promoted to assistant prosecutor in 1994. His promotion coincided with a shift in Pulatec strategy towards organized crime. Prior to the 1990s, law enforcement and organized crime groups often maintained an uncomfortable coexistence. Such groups were seen as inevitable, and left alone with the expectation that their violent conflicts be kept from the public eye. With the rapid contraction of the national economy in the early 1990s, organized crime's influence in the economy ballooned, and gangs were infiltrating further into legitimate business. Beginning in 1992, however, the Supreme Colloquy passed a sweeping set of anti-mob legislation, empowering prosecutors for the first time to protect their witnesses and criminalized membership in a mob-like organization. Empowered with these new tools, Kotzatino was among the first judicial officials to seriously investigate the finances of Pulacan's major organized criminal groups. In late 1994, a pool of magistrates was formed to investigate criminal gangs in Aachanecalco's Hvoruzi and Jakraji neighborhoods, headed by Kotzatino. Through a targeted series of arrests on mid-level members and use of informants, the court discovered the makings of a coordinated network of several ethnic mafias. Collectively, this organization had stakes in multiple legitimate Pulatec calpolleh groups, and connections as far afield as Zacapican's Western Underworld and southern Belisaria. The ensuing trial, dubbed the "Great Triangle Tribunal" for the three main criminal families under prosecution, lasted from January 1995 to August 1996. During the trial, violence between criminal gangs escalated notably through several high-profile shootouts, with increasing civilian casualties. Kotzatino's life throughout the trial was under threat from the mob; he narrowly avoided assassination numerous times and many court sessions were conducted from specially-secured locations to secure the magistrates' safety. The Triangle Tribunal saw several prominent gangleaders sentenced to long prison terms and, crucially, entire criminal networks dismantled; neither the Hvoruzi nor the Jakraji mobs ever recovered to their former strength. The case earned Kotzatino adoration from the public and permanent ire from organized criminal elements, many of whom remained prominent in Aachanecalco society and government. Kotzatino, as a second-generation immigrant and political outsider, was an immediate target for retaliation. Kotzatino fed into his good public reputation through managed media appearances and frequent press conferences in order to keep himself in the public eye. Through remaining relevant, he secured himself from retaliatory firing or forced resignation.
Kotzatino was made Huehuetque tenemiliz temoani on August 22, 2007 by then-mayor Tsepo Motshekga. Motshekga, himself from the Moral Government Movement party and not from the locally-dominant Juwa, was not beholden to the latter's political machine.
