Jos’ market dries, hotels starve for guests
Business is now bad for hotels in the Plateau State capital Jos, as guests have suddenly dried up in their usually expensive rooms and lounges, forcing some of them into cutting down on the number of staffs working there, Daily Trust inquiries in the city have shown.
Jos, which appellation is “Tin City” because of the large deposit of Tin Ore, which attracted foreign corporations into licensed mining as early as 1904, is also a major political destination. The city has remained an attraction of big personalities for both business and big politics over the decades.
The rise in the number of hotels, especially at the seat of government, Rayfield, within the same period Plateau’s tourism potentials have dwindled drastically, has compelled analysts to conclude that the owners targeted politicians and their supporters to break even.
In one of the hotels and suites in Rayfield, a manager who pleaded for anonymity told this reporter that the last time they checked guests into their rooms was about two weeks ago, when some foreigners on transit to a neighbouring state stopped over in Jos.
“We don’t have guests now, but we are not the only hotel experiencing this. Go round the big hotels around Rayfield; you won’t find guests” .
With the Jos town Daniel Ibrahim who sells suya (dry meat) around Liberty Boulevard says he has been operating his business at a loss in the last two months.
Daniel who has a wife and five children said he migrated from Adamawa State following the activities of Boko Haram but says if things don’t improve, he may likely go out of business. The over 50 years old man told Daily Trust that he hardly makes sale of N600 in a day adding that “a few days ago, the man who supplies me meat had to involve the police because i couldn’t pay him but we eventually settle the matter.”
Pricilla Garba a cleaner in Jos says she now eats twice a day as compared to the past where she ate more than three square meals.
“The only good thing about this recession is that some of us will lose weight,” she said, adding that “but honestly things are now difficult, I eat only breakfast and dinner. I stopped eating lunch even before the recession.”