Plateau Set for Mega Cultural Festival, Tourism Revival 

Yemi Kosoko in Jos

Plateau State is preparing to stage what officials describe as its first mega cultural festival in October, a flagship event expected to showcase the state’s vast cultural wealth and reinforce its position as Nigeria’s emerging hub for tourism and the creative economy.

Commissioner for Tourism, Culture and Hospitality, Hon. Cornelius Dongnaan Doeyok, who disclosed this in an interview with THISDAY, said the festival formally known as the Plateau State Festival of Arts and Culture will feature all ethnic nationalities on the Plateau and serve as a unifying celebration ahead of the harvest season. 

“We should be looking forward to October,” he said, adding, “The preparation is on ground and we are trusting God that the security challenges must have stabilised to the barest minimum.”

Doeyok emphasised that the festival was designed to become one of the state’s biggest tourism assets, capable of drawing thousands of visitors and stimulating the local economy through hospitality, transportation, crafts, entertainment and other value‑chain activities. 

He noted that “one of the greatest assets that Plateau State has is its cultural potential if the state can harness and aggregate our cultural potential, it has the capacity to be a single largest revenue earner for the state.” 

According to the commissioner, Governor Caleb Mutfwang’s administration has placed tourism at the heart of its economic agenda, recognising the global rise of the “orange economy,” the cultural, creative and tourism sectors as a major driver of jobs and revenue.

He explained that the state government has doubled the Tourism Ministry’s budget, initiated extensive stakeholder engagements, and is developing a comprehensive tourism policy and roadmap in partnership with the UNDP. 

Doeyok revealed that Plateau State has entered public‑private partnerships to revive iconic hospitality landmarks such as the Hill Station Hotel and Plateau Hotel once the pride of Jos in the 1970s and 80s.

He added that the government has ordered an integrity test on the long‑abandoned Rock International Hotel at Lamingo to determine its suitability for redevelopment into a five‑star facility.

In addition, discussions with Afro‑Caribbean investors to take over and modernise the Jos Amusement Park have reached “about 90 percent,” while the Jos Wildlife Park has completed a 12‑kilometre perimeter fence and is in talks with the Namibian government to restock animals. 

“The government is very, very serious about reviving the Hill Station Hotel, the amusement park and other tourism sites,” he said. 

With over 56 ethnic nationalities, Plateau State’s cultural diversity is one of its strongest assets, the commissioner said. Properly organised festivals, he argued, can strengthen peaceful coexistence and reshape the state’s image.

“There’s nothing as strong as identity,” he noted. “If you see your culture in parade, you will be happy about it.” 

He stressed that the ministry was working to standardise festivals, improve data collection, and encourage private‑sector participation to elevate them to international standards.

The commissioner acknowledged that recent security incidents have disrupted plans for several community‑based festivals, many of which are time‑bound and tied to farming cycles. 

However, he insisted that the state must not allow negative narratives to overshadow ongoing progress.

“If we keep dwelling on our shortcomings in terms of the security gap, we will not make progress in trying to let people know the real Plateau State we’re trying to sell,” he added. 

He said further that the creative sector has the potential to reduce unemployment, one of the underlying drivers of insecurity by engaging young people productively.

Despite uncertainties around some postponed festivals, the commissioner reaffirmed that the October mega festival remains a priority and a symbol of Plateau’s resilience and cultural pride.

“We want to have a system where all festivals hold normal and the state will have a mega festival in October,” he noted.