Visiting a slum called ‘Hill of the Poor’

Here, there are no motorable roads, no hospital, and no market and for a first-time visitor, the ramshackle houses that dot the area are enough to tell the visitor that this is a home for the poor. Apart from these characteristics, the geographical location of the area is also another unique feature. The entire community […]

Here, there are no motorable roads, no hospital, and no market and for a first-time visitor, the ramshackle houses that dot the area are enough to tell the visitor that this is a home for the poor. Apart from these characteristics, the geographical location of the area is also another unique feature. The entire community is located in a very large gully about 70 feet deep and surrounded by an abandoned mining site.  Many could mistake the settlement as an extension of the densely populated Gangare area but a trip down would reveal River Dilimi conspicuously snaking its way on, thereby serving as a natural border for the two settlements.

Like every other settlement in Jos, life in Tudun Talakawa is full of verve with people engaging in minor trading activities, children playing on the little spaces available, women busy shuttling between  the upper and lower parts of the area with buckets of water. While the women spend substantial parts of the day fetching water, the menfolk could not be seen. Apparently, they have gone out early in the day to attend to their respective occupations.

Although no one could tell how the area came about the name ‘Tudun Talakawa’, some residents say it was founded about 15 years ago. Seventy-three-year-old Saleh Damboa, the District Head of Rikkos, which includes of Tudun Talakawa, said: “You can’t really pinpoint who named the area or how the area came about it. It could be due to the composition of the people in the area.”

James (not real name), a carpenter who craved for anonymity, said he came to the area after the last Jos crisis, saying: “That is how I heard people calling the area and I don’t see anything in it since it’s just a name.”

But 25-year-old Rabi’u Abdullahi, another resident,  believes that the area got its name from when people began to reside there in the early 90’s. “Then, when you are asked to come and buy a plot of land at the rate of N500, you will not even think of it, because the area was entirely marshy and prone to flooding because of its proximity to the River Dilimi. Therefore, only those who had no option at that time, came here to start this area, because it was very cheap then.”

Most residential areas in Jos have the names of their streets written on houses, but in Tudun Talakawa our reporter came across only two houses bearing the name of the area, lightly but boldly written with red paint. “It is not like that, people don’t bother to put the name of their street on their houses these days. It is not as if we are ashamed of the name. In fact, wherever I go, I introduce myself as a resident of Tudun Talakawa,” said 21-year-old Shamsiyya Umar.

But population growth as well as the recurrent crisis in Jos has inevitably created the need for more settlements and a place where you could sleep with both eyes closed in case of eruption of any crisis, Rabi’u further explained.

As usual, population growth comes along with its attendant problems and many times with dire consequences. In 2000, the residents of Tudun Talakawa witnessed one of the most devastating floods in the history of Jos. One Saleh Damboa, a resident, said: “When the area was created in 1994, considering our proximity with the river, we decided to design every street and every waterway in such a way that problems of flood will not be experienced”. But according to him, that plan was thrown to the dogs as people build houses on waterways which always results in constant flooding.

Damboa added: “When a person buys a plot land and when he comes to build his house, he will increase the length of the plot, thereby intercepting the designed drainages. That is how the plan was distorted, which is the reason why we are facing this problem now”.

Such distortion has also resulted to building of houses in a scattered manner giving the area a ramshackle outlook. The bad drainage system in the area could pose a serious health hazards to people in the area there by leading to outbreak diseases. Malam Damboa also lamented that simply by looking at the nature of the area, it will be very difficult to intervene whenever an emergency occurs.  

Tudun Talakawa might continue to remain one of the uncelebrated areas in the city of Jos for now, but as the population continues to grow, coupled with glaring segregation due to incessant crisis, perhaps one day it might become the ‘Island of the Rich,’ considering the little space that exists between the area and the famous Millionaires’ Quarters. Surely then even the porr would laugh.