State: Plateau

Plateau State sits on Nigeria’s central highlands, with Jos as its capital, a city long known for its cool climate compared to the rest of the country. It was created on 3 February 1976, carved from the larger Benue-Plateau State.

The state borders Bauchi to the northeast, Kaduna to the northwest, Nasarawa to the southwest, and Taraba to the southeast.

More than forty ethno-linguistic groups call Plateau home, among them the Berom, Afizere, Anaguta, and Tarok peoples, alongside settler communities of Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba who arrived during the tin mining boom of the last century.

Tin mining, which began in 1902, once drove the state’s economy and still continues on a smaller scale today, alongside deposits of columbite, bauxite, granite, and emeralds. Farming fills in much of the rest of the local economy.

Assop Falls has drawn filmmakers for decades thanks to its dramatic backdrop, and Wase Rock, a 450 meter dome, hosts one of the few known breeding sites for white pelicans in the region. The Shere Hills nearby attract climbers looking for Nigeria’s more demanding terrain.

Former Head of State Yakubu Gowon comes from Plateau, along with rappers M.I Abaga and Ice Prince, and current governor Caleb Mutfwang.