Gobarau is said to be the first multi-storey building in West Africa, with its construction believed to have been completed during the reign of Sarkin Katsina (King) Muhammadu Korau (1398-1408 AD) -- the first Muslim King of Katsina. Originally built as the central Mosque of Katsina town, it was later used also as a school. By the beginning of the 16th century, Katsina had become a very important commercial and academic center in Hausaland, and Gobarau mosque had grown into a famed institution of higher Islamic education.