High Cost of Land: Jos Residents Seek Refuge on Mountain
Following an increase in population, the high cost of land and the determination to own homes, residents of Jos, the Plateau State capital, are seeking refuge on mountains. On the rocky hills that adorn the ancient Tin City, clustered houses with white roofs depict a scramble for space. These houses, which are in their hundreds, now replace the once green vegetation that covered the mountains during the rainy season.
Along Farin Gada road, opposite the permanent site of the University of Jos, is the Zinariya Rock. Ten years ago, the rock, which measured about 350 meters above sea level and welcomed visitors to the city centre, was a natural habitat for snakes, monkeys and rodents. But the human population drove the animals away and took over the mountain. There are now over 200 on the mountain from all angles, some inhabited while some are uncompleted.
Historically, some ethnic groups in Plateau State, such as the Afizere, had lived on mountainous terrains because of the belief that it made them unconquerable by the enemy, but urbanisation has forced different tribes and groups atop the mountains.
Habib Idris, one of the residents on one of the mountains, said he was forced to build his house there because he couldn’t afford a plot of land on a lowland. “Although a plot is now expensive on the mountain, it is still cheaper than those on the lowland. To get a plot here, one must pay at least N300, 000 for 50 by 50. Nine years ago, it was sold at N20, 000,” he said.
The Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), North Central zone, said the hills belonged to a group of rocks called ‘Younger Granites,’ which occur in ring forms. According to Anthony Augustine Dung, Geologist 1 of the agency, the history of the mountains dates back to what he called the Jurassic Age (about 230 million years ago). He said the rocks around the mountain ranged from fine to medium and coarse grain size, with alternating mineral components that give it light and dark colours.
A few kilometres from the Zinariya mountain is another settlement popularly called Jos Dole (it is by force to live in Jos), indicating the ardent need to live and own a property within the Jos city centre. Others are found around the Lamingo area, Anguwan Rukuba and Tudun Wada, all in Jos North Local Government Area.
Our correspondents had difficulty climbing the Zinariya mountain as it was sloppy. The short staircases, obviously built by residents to aid movement up the mountain, did little to assist visitors. The task of climbing the mountain was energy-sapping and required painstaking skills.
Taking a short break halfway to the top of the mountain, our correspondents came in contact with a group of friendly housewives who couldn’t hold their amusement at our action. There was laughter, an air of contentment and excitement as they narrated their first encounter with the settlement.
“The first time I came here, I couldn’t believe I would live up here, but now I am used to it. My only problem is that many of my friends and relatives do not like to visit because of the stress involved,” Zainab Bashir, one of the housewives who relocated to the mountain two years ago said, adding that climbing the mountain has become a routine day-to-day exercise for her and her children; hence they have gotten used to it.
“Another challenge is that every woman going for wedding or social gathering would have to wash her legs when she goes down. This is because most of the safe parts of the area are dusty,” she said
Aisha Baba Sale, mother of eight, who has spent nine years on the mountain, explained how she and her family became the first people to settle on the mountain. She said they faced a lot of hardship and isolation before they gradually began to have neighbours.
“We lived alone. There were grasses and rocks everywhere, and there was no accessible road to the mountain. When my husband finished building this house and we were ready to move in, my relatives said they would not climb the mountain. But I was not bothered. I was happy that we built a house of our own. So despite being eight months pregnant, I made the first move. I began to climb. When my relatives saw my determination, they were all surprised, so they joined me,” Aisha recounted.
When she married off her daughter, the ceremony was held at the foot of the mountain because the guests could not climb up.
Our correspondents also gathered that residents have difficulty getting health care services for the sick and pregnant ones as they have to be carried down the sloppy mountain because there are neither schools nor hospitals there. Also, there are no boreholes or wells on the mountain because geologists said it would be impossible to get water there, given the nature of the area.
During the dry season, residents have no option than to go down in search of water vendors, who insist on stopping at the foot of the mountain. Lubabatu Isa, a 32-yearold mother of three, said buying water from vendors or fetching at a tap on the lowland was very expensive and stressful.
“We have to carry 25 litres of jerry cans of water one after another to the top of the mountain because the vendors say it is too stressful for them to climb. I think it is the most difficult thing for us here. But we usually have abundance of water during the rainy season,” she said.
Ahmad Isah, 45, said their biggest challenge during the rainy season, especially when the wind is strong, is that residents are always at alert for fear that their roofs might pull off. “You have to be awake. Even if you want to sleep, the sound of the wind won’t allow you. There is the fear that at any moment, the roof could come off.”
Contrary to the narrative that people who live on mountains do not usually construct toilets, Ibrahim Wakili, 25, said that each house had a pit toilet in the form of an elevated soak-away. “We don’t dig the soak-away in the ground because of the rocky nature of the area. We build it on top and make some holes for air, and when it is filled up, we get people to evacuate it,” he said.
Although the price of a plot on the hill is not as expensive as what obtains on the lowland, the cost of building is higher because of the stress of climbing the mountain and the general topography of the area.
“Everything you want to do here doubles. The cost of building on the mountain is high because to bring a tipper of sand, a driver charges extra amount to come up. The same thing applies to blocks, water and other construction materials,” he said.
On top of Zinariya mountain, one can view the beauty of the Tin City. The whole of Anguwan Rogo/Anguwan Rimi; Febuna; Farin Gada; Kwanan Shagari; Bauchi Road; the two campuses of University of Jos; Bauchi ring road and the Masalachin Jumaá axis of Jos North can be viewed without much difficulty from the top of the mountain.
Daily Trust on Sunday observed a mosque under construction with an elevated angle and a vast land of scattered rocks beside it. Residents said the empty land may belong to somebody.
“Every land you see here belongs to someone. The owner may decide to sell it. The person building the mosque bought the land a few years back. The mosque has been under construction since last year. By God’s grace it will be completed this year,” said Abdullahi, one of the people building the mosque.
Speaking further, Dung, the geologist cautioned that people who build houses on top of hills face the risk of building collapse due to the “fault lines, joints and fractures on the rock.
“On any rock, there must be fractures, fault lines and other elements of weakness. Therefore, you can’t rule out landslide and collapse of buildings. Rocks are always subjected to geological activities like upliftment, erosion and subduction. All these factors affect the rock and may lead to collapse of a building on it,” he explained.