How much of Plateau State do you think you really know? Chances are, you’ve carried its pride in your pocket, walked past it in gardens, and even seen it in the making of leaders without realizing it came from here. Here are three everyday facts you probably never noticed:
Did You Know the ₦100 Note Features an Afizere Dancer from Plateau State?
Next time you pull out a ₦100 note, flip it over. Behind Awolowo’s famous glasses and cap, you’ll see cowries, a Fulani woman balancing her calabash… and a figure with flute in hand, seemingly lost in a charming dance. That dancer is Afizere, a son of Plateau, immortalized in ink on the nation’s currency.
For the Afizere (Izere or Jarawa) people, dance is history in motion: songs of harvest, weddings, rites of passage. To place their dancer on Nigeria’s currency is to say this culture is not only Plateau’s but Nigeria’s, valued enough to be etched into the very symbol of our economy.
Think about it: you may have spent that note a thousand times, never knowing you were holding Afizere pride in your hands. And now, beyond the note, a 6.5-foot statue of the same dancer rises in Jos; proof in stone of what was stamped long ago on paper.
Did You Know Plateau State Was Once Nigeria’s Only Flower Exporter?
The Jos climate is so kind to blooms that in the 60s and 70s, Plateau was exporting beauty. Flowers which wither elsewhere flourish here. Roses especially: from the deep-red Chrysler Imperial (Rosa hybrida) to the snow-white Snow White (Rosa hybrida) and climbers like Excelsa (Rosa hybrid) that spill over fences with ease.
While the exports have wanted, the eulogy remains. Roses sing of love in ballads, flavor northern stews, soothe fevers in local remedies, and brighten bridal baskets across the state. Although they once flew out of Plateau as exports, the trade could bloom again. Because here’s the secret: on this Plateau, the weather does half the work. Plant a rose, and it doesn’t just bloom with petals, it blooms with promise.
Did You Know the Mountain School in Plateau Is Nigeria’s First Leadership School?
At the foot of Shere Hills sits the Mountain School Nigeria’s very first school of citizenship and leadership, older than independence itself. It began in 1951 as a British Man O’ War camp and grew into a training ground where discipline is sharpened, teamwork is forged, and leaders are born.
From “Catch Them Young” courses for children to endurance training for corps members and civil servants, the Plateau cold, the climbs, the campfires, all became classrooms. Plateau didn’t just host a school; it gave Nigeria the cradle of its leadership ideals.
So, the next time you hold a ₦100 note, walk past a rose in bloom, or hear of leaders molded at the Mountain School, remember: these aren’t just Plateau stories. They are Nigerian stories, hidden in plain sight, waiting for you to say, “Did you know…?”