Once a Jewel, Now in Ruins
In this piece, Seriki Adinoyi chronicles how the Jos main market was built, its destruction by fire, and the efforts by succeeding governments to rebuild it
Once upon a time, the Jos Main Market was a behemoth of sorts. It was a precious jewelfar more than just a trading centre; it was also a tourist attraction. Visitors to the state and going through Jos town stopped by to take advantage of its beauty, its massive size, and its ubiquitous architecture.
The market was one among other reasons people visited Jos, the Plateau State capital. The other reasons were the unique cool weather, the beautiful hills and mountains that naturally created waterfalls; the Assop and Kura, among others. The beautiful vegetation and the wildlife parks and zoological gardens set Jos ahead of other cities in tourism. The market and the weather combined to make Jos arguably the most beautiful city in the country, if not in the West Africa.
The beautiful, ultra-modern Jos Market was located at the city centre.
The famous market was constructed by the first military administrator of the state following its creation in 1975, Police Commissioner Joseph Deshi Gomwalk. An indigenous Plateau leader, Gomwalk thought of some projects that will stand the test of time as well as stand the state out. Jos Main Market was one of them. The others were the massive state secretariat named after him, and the JD Gomwalk Building that houses the Nigerian Standard newspaper (a stateowned newspaper), and many Law offices and companies headquarters in Jos.
Gomwalk started constructing the market with conviction and maximum attention. The project however spanned beyond his fouryear administration due to the complexity and vastness of the market. He handed the project over to the first civilian governor of the state, Chief Solomon Lar in 1979.
A huge sum of taxpayers’ funds and loans running into billions of naira went into the market project before its completion.
When the market was finally constructed even up till 2001, one could not find its type in any state of the federation. The market had a unique design that made it the most attractive tourist site in the state. People travelled from all over the country and beyond to catch a glimpse of it. The tourism impact of the market was such that the federal government counted it as one of its topmost tourism destinations.
The huge edifice had shop accommodation for at least 3,500 traders. The open space at the base of the market was meant to accommodate at least 2,000 shops. It was constructed with provision for banks, restaurants, police station, fire service station, post office, warehouses, car parks as well as office accommodation for market staff, among others.
There was never any commodity that could not be found in the market; whatever could be sold in a market was found in the Jos Main Market.
But alas! One day, the beautiful structure and all it played host to were reduced to mere rubble in February 2002. No thanks to a mysterious fire outbreak. The market that served as a pride of Plateau and the nation went up in flames.
It happened all of a sudden; no one was prepared for it, government and private organisations including banks that were accommodated in the structure were caught unawares. It took the state fire service two days of hectic battle to put off the fire.
When the fire finally retreated, the market became a history; the pride of the nation had fizzled into the thin air; the nation’s most beautiful market was gone. The edifice that the state laboured for many years to put together had become ashes.
The market, which served for about 16 years plus became ruined when it had not given back to the state the cost of its construction. The state was still indebted to the banks it obtained loans from to acquire the structure.
The cause of the fire disaster remains a mystery till date; while some blamed it on the aftermath of the crisis that wreaked the city the previous year in which hundreds of lives and some millions of naira worth of properties were lost, others saw it as mere accident. Nigerians who either knew or have heard about the market mourned its demise.
Traders were sent out of business, thousands of staff were out of work, and the state economy and tourism were brought down to their knees. The total loss recorded in the disaster could not be quantified. A commission of inquiry was set up by the then Joshua Dariye administration to unravel the causes of the inferno. The report of the commission was never to be seen.
Knowing how the market had given the state national and global prominence, it was expected that the state government will move quickly to reconstruct the market considering its huge economic potential to the state. Succeeding state administrations made promises of reconstructing the market, but 15 years after, no stone has been laid upon another; mere promises.
Traders have lamented endlessly. They had to resort to trading around the burnt structure undermining the risk, and as trading activities increased the people uncontrollably took over the roads. Efforts by government to control the traders failed because there
The beautiful structure and all it played host to were reduced to mere rubble in February 2002. No thanks to a mysterious fire outbreak. The market that served as a pride of Plateau and the nation went up in flames...When the fire finally retreated, the market became a history; the pride of the nation had fizzled into the thin air; the nation’s most beautiful market was gone. The edifice that the state laboured for many years to put together had become ashes