Jos, fondly called the ‘Tin City,’ as a result of its mining history, which over the years bestowed on it a uniqueness that you find in no other city in Nigeria, is the capital of Plateau State, known as the ‘Home of Peace and Tourism.’
The city was the host of the recently held National Festival of Arts and Culture (Plateau NAFEST 2020), a yearly cultural – tourism feast organised by the National Council of Arts and Culture (NCAC) in collaboration with the Plateau State government. Attended by a number of states across the country and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, it is a platform for showcasing the vast and diverse arts and cultural beauty of the country.
In recent years, Plateau State, particularly, Jos city, has been in the news for the wrong reasons, with its touted as unsafe and a war zone, due to the number of security breaches and killings that it has witnessed.
A fallout of this is that it peace has been shattered and its tourism economy destroyed as it has been one of the most peaceful states in Nigeria with a thriving tourism economy occasioned by its natural appeal as typified by it weather, which is its most precious gift to humanity and then its various tourist attractions.
There was palpable fear in the air as a result of the near state of anarchy, which many believed that the state has descended into. This narration was further exacerbated by the challenge of COVID-19 pandemic, which has come with a ‘new normal,’ making it impossible for tourism to thrive.
Despite these, NCAC and the state government decided to go ahead with the festival. As a travel journalist, you are always driven by the desire to explore regardless of what people say about the destination. Therefore, one was quick to latch on the invitation from NCAC to be part of the media team for the festival.
Perhaps one should put on record here that Jos was one of the earliest destinations explored by me as a cub travel reporter way back in the early 1990’s. It was an era when the Tin City was still a treasure base and indeed home of peace and tourism. Subsequently, one has visited the city and the state for tourism and other reportorial duties and have always left delighted and fulfilled having basked in the tourism offerings that the state offered visitors who dared to explore its innards.
The flight from Lagos to Abuja on this Friday morning (November 20) on Air Peace was a comfortable one. With a restful night spent in Abuja, the next morning, Saturday, the media team in the company of NCAC team, led by its Director General, Segun Runsewe, headed for Jos on road, travelling through the Abuja – Keffi – Akwanga route.
The journey was devoid of any untoward incident, with two stops on the way; first at the outskirts of Akwanga and second at the outskirts of Riyom, a shouting distance to Jos, to attend to one of the buses on the convoy.
It was indeed a delightsome trip, with the spirit of camaraderie and of course, expectation of what Jos city holds in stock for us in the air. The only sour point was indeed the bad road, as the long stretched of road from a section of Keffi to Jos is one – carriage way, making the about five hours drive almost an endless and uncomfortable one.
It was great relief when we finally drove into Jos, with the environment pleasant to behold, savouring the fresh and cold air. The drive was nothing but comfortable as what first hit you is the well paved and tarred roads, with sidewalks and gutters.
No sight of either dreaded police or army road block neither any scar that suggest the city is a war zone and not at peace with itself and the inhabitants as portrayed in most of the narratives that you hear about the city and the state itself.
You are taken aback by the rhythm of calmness and serenity that is unfolding before you as everywhere you look the people are busy with their different businesses; not in harried steps or chaotic rhythm that you witness in such cities as Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano and Kaduna.
By this time you could tell the inner thought of many people in the convoy with eyes darting here and there to be sure that we are driving through Jos streets with no molestation or untoward incident of any kind.
For many, it was a moment of suspended disbelief as we made a detour to Langfield Leisure Park on Little Rayfield, where you have the new Government House few distance away. This was the main venue of the festival’s events besides the Rwang Pam Township Stadium, Mines, which hosted both the opening and closing ceremonies.
It was also our home for the one – week the festival lasted as we were quartered in some of the chalets within the expansive park. I was not the only one lost in thought, many people were, trying to reconcile the reality on the ground with the various bizarre narratives of terror and war zone that the Tin City was said to become.
I recalled that days to our departure from Lagos, one of my colleagues on the team had called to express his fears over the safety of our lives and almost opting out of the trip but I had to assure him that all is well and safe.
That as a journalist this may well be a life – time opportunity for him to ‘verify’ how true some of the negative stories in the public domain are and who knows he could even harp on a ‘front cover story’ because as journalists all we live for is breaking the news.
But as the clock ticks, you could feel and see that people were relieved as the negative images and bias long held began to rescind as we all settled into our new environment to experience its savoury serenity and clement weather, with many struggling to stave off the cold at night and early hours of the day.
Left with no time really to romance truly the inner recess of the city, we, were, however, contended with a drive through the city. Some of the parts drove through include: Rayfield and Bukuru, with their adjoining environs, gauging the mood of the people through interactions and listening to the many testimonies of the people, including the governor of the state, Simon Bako Lalong and the Gwong Gwon Jos, Da Jacob Buba Gyang, you could tell that Jos has since settled into its natural elements as Nigeria’s legendary ‘home of peace and tourism.’
Night life here was also delightsome to explore, with John Likita Best, one of the tourism experts and government officials in Jos, taking us on a drive through the city at night. By the way, he was one of the tourism officials then with the Plateau State Tourism Corporation (PSTC) that interacted with me on my first trip to Jos and ever since then we have kept in touch and continued with our advocacy for the enhancement of Nigerian tourism.
He regaled us with the back stories of Jos and the Plateau, he is an encyclopedia and certainly knows his trade as a tour guide. Everyone was impressed with his in-depth knowledge, analytical and oratorical prowess as well as power of delivery.
The streets of Jos are well lit making the street lightening project of states like Lagos pale into insignificant. However, the night life here is not as vibrant, nervy, colourful, boisterous and exciting as that of Lagos or Port Harcourt.
On this night, we made a stopover at West of Mind, which our guide described as the ‘red district’ of Jos. Here, almost all of the buildings are drinking and ‘flexing’ spots where you could get anything at your beck, including scarlet ladies, who flooded everywhere, like free birds.
A visit to enchanting Assop Falls
We could only visit Assop Falls in Riyom Local Government Area of the state, which is about one – hour drive from Jos. Riyom is home to some of the unique rock formations and outcrops that you would find in the Plateau. Among it naturally awe – inspiring rock formations are the magical Riyom rock that is the symbol of Plateau State that you see almost everywhere and the one that looks like the map of Nigeria.
Significant discovery
Returning to Jos after the exploration of Assop Waterfalls, some of us decided to go for lunch before heading to the stadium for the closing ceremony. Our guide, Best, had spoken glowingly about one of the ‘amala’ joints near the stadium, where the closing ceremony was holding and straight away, himself, myself and another colleague made for this restaurant only to discovered that it was closed for the day.
Disappointed, and feeling bad, Best suggested another joint for ‘pounded yam’ by a Tiv woman, known as ‘Madam Kido’ around the corner. We opted for it and behold it turned out to be a good choice. I settled for a plate of pounded yam with egusi and dried fish. It was delicious, with the dry fish quite a mouthful.
One was actually taken aback by the seemingly pleasant and clean looking joint, which was inside an old building, with a forecourt shaded by a tree planted at its centre. Curiousity got the better part of me as I decided to probe further.
It was in the process that Best revealed this significant piece of historical information, which I have never been privy to in my many trips to Jos. This old weather beaten building, located on Zik Avenue, off Tafawa Balewa Road, which has lost its appeal and majestic elements to years of abandonment, before being turned into a resident for multi – use, was the once famous Varsity Hotel.
It was here that the late Lieutenant Colonel Buka Suka Dimka, who was one of the arrowheads of the botched military coup of 1976, which resulted in the death of the former military Head of State, Muritala Mohammed, once lodged while on the run until he was captured.
Dimka is from Plateau State. One would have expected the state government to had preserved this building, brand and list it among its tourist assets, but not the case presently. Well, that is a story for another day.
The one – week trip to Jos was certainly a rediscovery of some sorts, and even though it was quite hectic and packed full of activities, with no time to explore, it no doubt proved refreshing, and opened the mindset of the visitors to the real narrative about Jos and the Plateau.
Picture Credit: Guardian
