By Ben Osawe
Background
Cities like nations are not abstract entities, or random spaces consisting of disparate settlements. Every city like every nation does not only have a personality or character of its own but also has unique customs, attitudes, and histories. (Scott Allen, 2002).
In other words, every city has a ‘spirit’, energy and character which shapes the perception of visitors and tourists making the city a destination. On 4th January 1913 through God’s divine orchestration, the idea to establish Jos Township was mooted by Mr F.B Gall, the Resident of Central Province at Naraguta with advertisements for auctioning of plots for the new township put up for the public on 11th February, 1915. (Plateau Indigenous Development Association, 2010).
Although the legal backing for the establishment of Jos township was signed by Sir Hugh Clifford the then Governor-General of Nigeria on 26th June 1920 and gazetted on 1st July 1920, the official date for the establishment of the city of Jos is 1915 (www.plateaustategov.org). This in essence means that the city of Jos joined the League of Centennial Cities in Nigeria in 2015 as it became 100 years old (1915-2015).
As of December 4th 2024, the city of Jos is 109 years old. Historically the city of Jos has several brand assets, these brand assets enable a four-stage characterization of the city’s brand image over the years. These brand images are:
(a) Jos as a colonial tin mining and administrative city (2015-1966)
(b) Jos as an Entertainment, Sports, etc hub (1966-1979)
(c) Jos as a Civil service city (1979-2000)
(d) Jos as a ‘crisis-prone City (2001-2023)
Urgent need to reimagine and rebrand the city of Jos as a tourist destination
The ambience and atmosphere created by the government of Plateau State in the effort to make Jos a Family Christmas destination is commendable however, there is a critical need to undertake a ‘root and branch’ reimagining and rebranding of the city of Jos such that the idea of the family Christmas with Jos as a destination is a subset of a grand brand strategy that communicates and showcases the multiplicity of brand assets in the city such that visitors and tourists are attracted to it to spend their money.
Tourism is big business! However, to tap into the massive opportunities requires a level of imaginativeness that articulates a coherent brand strategy for the city of Jos repositioning it as Nigeria’s tourist destination of choice. Several global cities and towns adopt branding as a strategy for reimagining, repositioning and marketing them to draw in massive tourists annually.
How can the city of Jos be rebranded to be the tourist destination of choice?
Branding requires specialized skills unfortunately in our clime various towns, cities, states and even our nation have not realized that the path to branding is a strategic path to economic growth and shared prosperity. So, in concrete terms how can this be delivered? This can be done through (a) constituting a task team in the state to come up with coherent and reasoned Terms of Reference for the recruitment of a sound, competent brand artist/consultant. The process of getting a consultant to deliver a brand strategy for Plateau State should not be a process tainted with sentiments but rather about the competency of the brand team and the content of their bid. (b)Putting the RFQ (Request for Quotation for branding of the city of Jos in the best national and global platforms). (c) Shortlist, interview, recruitment, signing of contracts and commissioning.
Our future isn’t something that happens to us but rather something we have the power to shape and mould. The best way to predict the future is to create it.”- Abraham Lincoln.
The city of Jos can be recreated to be that destination that citizens nationally and globally will want to visit. There is no historical point than at this auspicious time to rebrand the city. Will this be a missed opportunity?
Osawe wrote this piece from Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria.