Jalingo is too dark as the State capital— many laments

By Femi Bolaji, Jalingo

THE hope of a boisterous nightlife has since faded. It does not really exist, as it was not there before. As a result, residents of the agricultural state simply conduct all their activities during the day and disappear as the dust begins to gather each day.


There is no hope for a night full of social parties, eating out, and sitting out with friends and associates in top nightclubs and event centers, as is the routine in other Nigerian cities. In short, nightlife does not exist in Taraba, and the hope of doing so merely exists in their imagination.

But make no mistake to think that the residents do not have an idea of what to do and how to do it. The missing point really is that the Taraba State capital is too risky to conduct night outings. The state capital has no soul of its own, largely because, unlike most Nigerian cities that are deliberately lit by all means by the state, the city is inexplicably thrown into darkness. In fact, darkness has come to define Jalingo at night more than any other thing. It has been in this darkness for decades before it became a state capital and has continued in that undignified fashion many years after becoming a state capital, receiving allocations from the Federation Account, and generating its own revenue as a state in Nigeria.

The seeming neglect and insensitivity of successive governments in the state towards lighting up the capital has become a source of serious concern to the residents of Jalingo. And they confessed to Arewa Voice that they are really worried about the level of darkness that envelopes the capital city at night. For this category of Nigerians living and working in Jalingo, it is worrisome that after several years of successive administrations, the evolving city is nowhere closer to its contemporaries in the North-East subregion. This dereliction in status and upgrade has even led many to describe Jalingo as the darkest state capital in the country.

This prevailing situation has also contributed to the disappearance of nightlife for fun-seekers who seem to be scared of the dark. Those who dare to engage in brisk night businesses do so with a sense of fear and trepidation, as those before them have since packed up due to low patronage. A first-time visitor to Jalingo, Precious Andrew, who spent four weeks before returning to her preferred base in Yola, said she never believed that Jalingo metropolis lacks proper illumination at night. She said: “This is my first time staying in Jalingo because most times I only transit through this town to Yola, the Adamawa State capital. The state needs to do something urgent about the installation of street lights to brighten up this town.”

 Checks by Arewa Voice show that although the last administration erected some street lights after the dualisation of the stretch of the Jalingo-Yola Road from the airport to the outskirts of the town, the lights have not been switched on since the inauguration of the project till date. A resident of Mile Six Bypass, Elizabeth Chindo, said the restriction on movement of tricycles beyond 8 p.m. is also another factor that has discouraged people from exploring the town at night. “When it is 9.00 p.m., you can’t even get commercial motorcycles, popularly known as ‘Keke’, to your house if you even manage to hang out at night. This has discouraged me from staying out late and even turning down some invites from friends. Look at this area, and you will be scared walking alone at night because it is always very dark and quiet once it is 9.00 p.m.”

Mary James, who resides in Angwan Kassa, also said she has now restricted her movement to her locality to avoid being stranded due to the unavailability of a tricycle if it’s too late or exposing herself to men of the underworld who might be lurking in the dark. However, the state governor, Dr. Agbu Kefas, recently acknowledged that the state capital is indeed too dark, and disclosed that plans are on to install streetlights.

Residents of the state capital, who heard his assurance and are anticipating the fulfillment of the promise, have urged the governor to expedite action on the installation of streetlights across the metropolis for proper illumination as well as to rekindle the present nonexistent nightlife.