Holiday: Why tourists visit Jos

Jos is a city in Nigeria; the administrative capital of Plateau State. The city is located on high above sea level. Years ago, Jos was an important centre for tin mining. One beautiful thing about Jos is the wildlife foreigners enjoy, coupled with the cold and serene environment. OIBOH PETER reports

Today, tourists like visiting Jos for its many attractions and natural endowment. Look­ing at the Jos zoo, it was established in 1957 and is a home of wildlife in Jos. There are variety of animals including Chimpanzees, lion, birds, donkeys, porcu­pine, ostriches and reptiles amongst others when you visit the zoo. One of the main reasons why tourists travel to Jos zoo is to get educated, entertain and en­lighten.

The zoo serves as a cool­ing centre for families es­pecially on weekends. Ac­cording to history, Plateau state has been adjusted to its present borders many times. Colonial manipula­tion was from a desire to protect the railway con­struction and guarantee a safe passage of mined tin to the coast. The British began to exert colonial control of Nigeria in the early 20th century. In 1926, Plateau Province made up of Jos and Pankshin divisions.

The border changed sev­eral times in subsequent years as the government sought not to split ethnic groups. In May 1967, Benue and Plateau Provinces were merged to form the large Benue-Plateau State. At this time Nigeria had twelve states. Following the civil war, Benue-Plateau State was one of several large states which were further split up following pressure on the Federal Govern­ment.

Meanwhile, under the military administration of General Yakubu Gowon, the country was further di­vided into nineteen states in 1976 and Plateau State was created from Benue-Pla­teau covering the area of the original Plateau province.

In 1996, Plateau State was further subdivided to create Nasarawa State which was carved out of the western half of Plateau State by Sani Abacha’s military regime. Tin mining activities began in 1902 under the British and continue to the contem­porary era. THE AUTHORITY