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JosFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jos is a city in Nigeria's middle belt and is the administrative capital of Plateau State. It is located at 9°56′N 8°53′E / 9.933°N 8.883°E, high on the Jos Plateau. During British colonial rule it was an important centre for tin mining. In recent years it has suffered violent religious clashes between its Muslim and Christian populations in 2001, 2008 and 2010.
Administrative divisions..The city is divided into 3 local government areas of Jos north, Jos south and Jos east.The city proper lies between Jos north and Jos south.Jos east houses the prestigious National Center For Remote Sensing. Jos north is the area where most commercial activities of the state takes place although due to the recent communal clashes a lot of commercial activities are shifting to Jos south. Jos south is the seat of the state Government i.e the Government House in Rayfield, this therefore makes Jos south the defacto capital of plateau state. Jos south also houses prestigious institutions like the National Institute, the highest academic awarding institution in Nigeria, the National Vertenary Research Institute, the Police Staff College, the NTA television college and the Nigerian Film Corporation. Jos north is the location of the University of Jos and its teaching hospital.The city has formed an agglomeration with the town of Bukuru to form the Jos-Bukuru metropolis. GeographyWith an altitude of 4,062 feet (1,217 m) above sea level, it enjoys a more temperate climate than much of the rest of Nigeria (average monthly temperatures range from 70° to 77°F or 21° to 25°C).According to tutiempo.net[1], from mid November to late January, night time temperatures drop as low as 11 degrees centigrade resulting in chilly nights.There is presence of hail stones during the rainy season due to the cool high altitude weather.[citation needed] These cooler temperatures have meant that from colonial times until present day, Jos is a favourite holiday location for both tourists and expatriates based in Nigeria.[citation needed] Situated almost at the geographical centre of Nigeria and about 179 km (109 miles) from Abuja, the nation's capital, Jos is linked by road, rail and air to the rest of the country. HistoryThe earliest known Nigerians were the Nok people (around 3000 BC), skilled artisans from around the Jos area who mysteriously vanished in the late first millennium. According to the historian, Sen Luka Gwom Zangabadt[2], the area known as Jos today was inhabited by indigenous tribes who were mostly farmers and the initial fulani founders of the town, during the islamic reformist jihad led by sheik uthman dan fodio in northern Nigeria, there was no need to reach this region, since the hill tribes were predominantly pagans, that is why it is the only major city in northern nigeria without an establish emirate council. It is the discovery of tin by the British that led to the influx of other tribes such as the igbo, urhobo and yorubas thus making it a cosmopolitan city. According to the white paper of the commission of inquiry into the 1994 crisis,Ames the british administrator during the colonial period said that the original name for Jos was Gwosh which was a village situated at the current site of the city, according to Ames the hausa wrongly pronounced Gwosh as Jos and it stuck [3],Another version was that "Jos" was an acronym of the word "Jasad" meaning Body to distinguish it from the hill tops, it was called "Jas" which was mis pronounced by the british as "Jos", note that, the village of Gwash still exist 22KM east of present Jos. [4] (An alternative etymology is that "Jos" is an acronym for Jesus Our Savior, established by missionaries.)[5][6] It grew rapidly after the British discovered vast tin deposits in the vicinity. Both tin and columbite were extensively mined in the area up until the 1960s. They were transported by railway to both Port Harcourt and Lagos on the coast, then exported from those ports. Jos is still often referred to as "Tin City". In 1967 it was made capital of Benue-Plateau State, becoming the capital of the new Plateau State in 1975. Jos has become an important national administrative centre, commercial centre and a major tourist centre. Tin mining has led to the influx of migrants, mostly Igbos, Yorubas and Europeans who constitute more than half of the population of Jos. This "melting pot" of race, ethnicity and religion makes Jos one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Nigeria. For this reason, Plateau State is known in Nigeria as the "home of peace and tourism". Despite this, in 2001, the city witnessed violent riots between the divided Muslim and Christian populations in which several thousand people died. In 2004, the former governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye, was suspended for six months for failing to control the violence. In November 2008, clashes between Christians and Muslims killed almost 400 and wounded many. In spite of the communal clashes, visitors are surprised at the amount of activities still going on in the city, there is still influx of people into the city, the cost of accommodation and land is still going up by the day, this shows that the city is still one of the most desirable cities in Nigeria with or without the communal clashes. FeaturesVisitors to the city will find the massive road projects embarked on by the state government.The city boundaries has extended into the town of Bukuru to form the JOS-BUKURU METROPOLIS.The city is home to the University of Jos (founded in 1975), St Luke's cathedral, an airport and railway station. Jos is served by several teaching hospitals including ECWA Evangel Hospital and Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), a Federal Government-funded referral hospital. The National Museum in Jos was founded in 1952 by Bernard Fagg,[7] and was recognized as one of the best in the country. It has unfortunately been left to fall to ruin as is the case with most of the cultural establishments in Nigeria. The Pottery Hall has an exceptional collection of finely crafted pottery from all over Nigeria. The museum boasts some fine specimens of Nok terracotta heads and artifacts dating from between 500 BC to AD 200. It also incorporates the Museum of Traditional Nigerian Architecture with life-size replicas of a variety of buildings, from the walls of Kano and the Mosque at Zaria to a Tiv village. Articles of interest from colonial times relating to the railway and tin mining can also be found on display. A School for Museum Technicians is attached to the museum, established with the help of UNESCO. The Jos Museum is also located beside the zoo. Jos has two golf courses, Rayfield and Plateau, plus a polo club, a stadium and other sports/entertainment offerings. Hillcrest School, an international missionary school, is also located in Jos. The school has been running for more than fifty years (since 1942) and contains a large international student population. The Jos Wildlife Park is another attraction. It covers roughly 3 square miles (8 km²) of savannah bush. Visitors are able to see animals ranging from lions to pythons to pygmy hippopotami. Other local enterprises include food processing, beer brewing, and the manufacture of cosmetics, soap, rope, jute bags, and furniture. Heavy industry produces cement and asbestos cement, crushed stone, rolled steel, and tire retreads. Jos also is a centre for the construction industry and has several printing and publishing firms. The Jos-Bukuru dam and reservoir on the Shen River provide water for the city's industries. The Jos Airport situated at Heipang has one of the most modern buildings in the country with a long enough runway for the jet airlines.[citation needed] The airport is served at the moment[when?] by a private airline—Arik Air—which operates one flight daily between Lagos and Jos. Jos is a great base for exploring the beauty of Plateau State. The Shere Hills, seen to the east of Jos, offer a prime view of the city below. Assop Falls is a small waterfall which makes a pleasant picnic spot on a drive from Jos to Abuja. Riyom Rock is a dramatic and photogenic pile of rocks balanced precariously on top of one another, with one resembling a clown's hat, observable from the main Jos-Akwanga road.[citation needed] Civilian Governors of Plateau State1979 to 1984 - Chief Solomon Daushep Lar (NPP)[citation needed] 1990 to 1995 - Mr Fidelis Tapgun (SDP)[citation needed] 1999 to 2006 - Chief Joshua Chibi Dariye (PDP)Impeached[citation needed] 2006 to 2007 - Chief Michael Botmang (PDP)[citation needed] April 2007 - Chief Joshua Chibi Dariye (PDP)Reinstated[citation needed] 2007 to date - Rtd Air Commodore Jonah David Jang[citation needed] Chiefs of JosThe area known today as Jos is a city of commerce and a cluster of villages with indigenous peoples. Before it became a traditional settler town by the township, it was convenient for the British to administer colonial rule over unexplored native lands through the Hausa—who had some resemblance of political control through their Islamic religion. The Hausa population in Jos had a Hausa Chief in the native town and all other Tin Mine settlements, which they answered to. The indigenous tribe primarily the Berom felt the need to also organize themselves politically, especially after converting to Christianity. Under the influence of British Missionaries the British Administration felt the need to administer indirect rule through a Native Chief rather than a Hausa Chief because of their religious and ethnic peculiarities. This occurred in the late 1940s, when the title of any Chief of Jos became Gbong Gwom Jos and the Hausa chief Titles becomes "Mai - Dakalin Jos".[citation needed] See alsoReferences
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