Urban Development Profile of Jos Tin City, Nigeria

Abstract

Jos is a renowned cosmopolitan city owning to its origin as a Tin mining settlement that magnetized people from diverse background across Nigeria, other African countries, and beyond. The precise origin, original founder and ownership of the city has unresolvedly involved a lot of intricacies and remains a subject of controversies as it is exclusively claimed by the Afizere, Hausa, Anaguta and Berom ethnic progenies. It is however a near consensus that Naraguta and Gwash villages initially existed at the current site of the city and its foundation as a modern town in 1915 was at the instance of the colonial officials who came to the area on a mission of tin mining exploration. The combination of its locational centrality within the northern states, unique climatic characteristics, rich history of tin deposit, diverse sources of tourist attractions, wide area of influence of its international ultra-modern market and outstanding fame as a consistent administrative centre, were highly instrumental to its rapid population growth, area expansion, urbanization and infrastructural development. The city was however plagued into series of massive urban violence in the first decade of the 21st century leading to its polarization along ethno-religious divides that currently influences its urban structural arrangement and residential configurations.