OPINION:

Recurring Jos Crisis Rooted in Colonial Policies, Political Disputes

September 9, 2025

By Shelong Gabriel

The recurring violence in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State has been traced to colonial-era policies and subsequent political disputes that pitted indigenous groups against Hausa-Fulani settlers.

When the British first developed the tin mines in Jos in the early 1900s, colonial authorities asked the Emir of Bauchi to appoint headmen over Hausa migrant workers. These positions, originally created to control labor, were never intended as rulership over the native Berom, Afizere, and Anaguta communities.

Over time, however, Hausa settlers began to interpret the headships as symbols of political authority and ownership of Jos. This misunderstanding laid the groundwork for decades of tension.

The situation intensified in 1987 when Alhaji Saleh Hassan, a prominent Hausa politician, urged Hausa and Fulani youths, known as Jasawa, to “recover” the Jos chieftaincy. The controversy deepened in 1991 after then-military president General Ibrahim Babangida created Jos North Local Government, carving boundaries that appeared to favor Hausa settlements.

Indigenous groups perceived the move as an attempt to hand over political control of Jos. Tensions boiled over in April 1994 when Plateau State’s military administrator, Col. Mohammed Mana, appointed Alhaji Aminu Mato, a Hausa, as caretaker chairman of Jos North. Protests forced a suspension of the appointment, but Jasawa youths later launched violent riots, leaving deaths, injuries, and destruction in their wake.

Further clashes followed in 1996 after the killing of Azi Chai, a young Afizere man, during an election dispute near Jos Central Mosque. In 1998, violence erupted again when Mukhtar Muhammad, identified as Hausa but admitted to be Kanuri during a commission of inquiry, was installed as chairman of Jos North amid allegations of falsified credentials.

Despite being forced out, Muhammad resurfaced in August 2001 as Poverty Eradication Coordinator, sparking outrage among indigenes who saw the appointment as provocative. His reemergence became the flashpoint for the September 7, 2001 Jos riots, one of the deadliest in the city’s history.

Observers note that while Hausa-Fulani settlers have consistently demanded recognition of their political authority in Jos, indigenous groups remain firm that the city’s chieftaincy and leadership structures belong to the Berom, Afizere, and Anaguta.

Jos North has since remained the epicenter of recurring clashes, with deep mistrust and competing claims over land, leadership, and political representation continuing to fuel unrest.