Pneumonia, rheumatism worry Jos residents living on rocks

From time immemorial, many residents of Plateau State have made the rocks their abode and have found comfort in living up there. As the state with the most prevalent rocks in the country, the people have come to see the rocks as part of the land formation, thereby relating with it in all manners as they do with the land.

But Plateau State is known to be the coolest state in the country as well, while the rocks are believed to be even cooler than the ordinary land. In effect, all the ailments associated with cold are experienced by those living on the rocks. Pneumonia, rheumatism, catarrh, fever, typhoid, chest pain, among other sicknesses are being contracted by those living on the rocks.

Our correspondent who visited some of the rocks observed that the ground and walls of houses are moist and actually cooler. In addition to the coolness and its associated health risks, the residents also suffer other challenges like water problem, poor toilets/ lack of toilets, snakes, scorpion threats.

A 67-year-old woman, Joy Istifanus, who resides in Daku, Abattoir area of Jos, said she started living on the rock since 1999 and that she was the first to live on the rock in that area.

“When I first came here there was no single house here. Snakes, scorpions and other creatures were disturbing us then. They will hide under a stone and before you know it you are bitten or stung. But now all that has reduced since a lot of people are now living here. With respect to health challenge, we experience excess cold and it causes catarrh, rheumatism and pneumonia. Rheumatism is often suffered by the aged while pneumonia is suffered by younger ones.

“There are also mosquitoes up here and sometimes there are cases of malaria here and there. The cause of the mosquitoes is because there are no drainages on the rock as such and whenever it rains there would be stagnant water at several places and that attracts mosquitoes. The government however, recently distributed mosquito nets for us and that has been helping,” she said.

Another resident living on the rock and a teacher at COCCIN Mount Zion Primary School, Alpha Ibrahim, said the problem they are facing is that there are no trees on the rock to block the cold and wind, so they come directly at the people, thereby causing havoc to both the body and the building.

“My daughter had pneumonia recently due to the cold in the room and we are still treating her. She was seriously coughing and her body was very hot. She also said her chest was aching. Many people in my area are always having similar problem and other cold related ailments.

“Typhoid too is a major problem here because since pumping of pipe-borne water to the taps here on the rock is often problematic, many people drink water from wells and other sources that are not hygienic. I was affected too, and I just finished treating typhoid,” he said.

In his own account, another resident, Jan Dakik, a retired civil servant, said the cold on the rocks is such that it affects the walls, the ground as well as the props and other items in the room and so there is no effective way of avoiding the cold.

He said the way to prevent the house being cold and the walls being soaked with water is to put leather proof at the foundation stage when building a house.

“Besides the cold, toilet related diseases are a problem because many houses don’t have toilets, as digging it is always a problem. Those who don’t have toilets defecate anywhere they find comfortable and when it rains, the excreta is flushed into the houses and wells of people down. It is the same well water that many people on the rocks go and fetch to drink. This causes many diseases,” he said.

Bitin Ibrahim, who is also a teacher, at Divine Academy Bukuru, said the problem with living on the rock is climbing up and down it.

She said while some say climbing up and down is a kind of exercise for them, for her it causes her joint pains.

“Whenever I climb up I usually feel pressure and pains on my chest and legs. I was climbing up with a bucket of water recently and I almost tumbled backwards. It was my sister who was behind me that blocked me. However, I felt back ache for several days,” she said.

Reacting, to the residents’ challenges, a medical officer with the Center for Infectious Diseases, Dr Olutunde Adegbite, said all that they are experiencing is true because when people live higher above the sea level, the condensation of the air and the colder weather above makes them to be vulnerable to such sicknesses compared to those living on the lower land.

He said those people are predisposed to having chest infections generally because of higher humidity

The medical expert advised the residents to do routine checkups and follow the instructions and guidelines of doctors and medical personnel.