The historic Hill Station Hotel, built in 1938, was used by the late Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to Nigeria. ISAAC SHOBAYO visited the once famous hotel in Plateau State and chronicled its downturn which reportedly began at the start of the current democratic dispensation.
The Hill Station Hotel in Jos, Plateau State, was one of the most famous hotels in the northern part of Nigeria in the early 1950s due to its magnificent architectural design. Established in 1938, the hotel has hosted personalities across the globe who had, at one time or another, visited the ancient city of Jos, either as tourists or for political reasons.
It was gathered that the first meeting on Nigeria’s independence by the Queen of England was held there. The hotel has been used for several other political and mainstream events over the years. However, like a flower that has fallen prey to insidious insects, the once-vibrant and unique hostel has since become a shadow of itself due to sheer neglect. The facilities therein have become obsolete, moribund, and an eyesore.
If any person acquainted with the hotel in its days of glory should visit the hotel today, they would either be in sorrow or declare, like the biblical David, ‘How are the mighty fallen!’ At the moment, the hotel is lying prostrate; the staff have since deserted the place, while various species of birds are seen nestling and hovering over the building.
When Nigerian Tribune visited the hotel, the once vibrant environment was as quiet as a graveyard. Apart from a few securitymen at the gate, there was no one else on site. The buildings looked like abandoned, dilapidated farm houses; the facilities within were completely rundown. The poorly maintained buildings have lost every form of appeal to anyone with an eye for beauty and a taste for antiquity. The hotel has long lost its glamour and splendour in the hospitality industry.
The interior of the 170-room hotel has been taken over by rodents, and trees have sprung up and outgrown the buildings. In a sense, it could be likened to a game reserve for hunting in its current state. Checks further revealed that facilities like mattresses and curtains, among others, have been pilfered long ago.
A source at the hotel who volunteered information to the Nigerian Tribune on condition of anonymity stated that the problems of the hotel started years ago but became more visible during the present political dispensation.
He added that there was no serious commitment on the part of the owners to rejuvenate and reposition the hotel to compete in the hospitality industry.
The source, who claimed to have been working in the hotel for the past 25 years, said the non-payment of salaries and other entitlements has worsened the plight of the hotel.
“There are quite a number of staff who have died of various ailments such as heart attack, cardiac arrest, and depression due to a lack of salary to take care of themselves and their families,” he stated.
Nigerian Tribune’s findings revealed that the fortunes of the hotel began to nosedive from the inception of the democratic dispensation in 1999 as successive governments in the state did not give the hotel the required attention. At that point in time, the hotel was run by the New Nigeria Development Company (NNDC).
But in 2007, when Senator Jonah Jang became the governor of Plateau State, the state government acquired the largest shares of 76.5 percent, leaving the NNDC with 22 percent. Nasarawa and Benue states had one percent each.
When the immediate past governor, Senator Simon Lalong, became governor in 2015, he attempted to inject life into the hotel. The administration attempted to lease it out to serious investors but could not achieve this, thereby leaving the Plateau State Investment and Property Company (PIPC) to run the establishment.
Checks further revealed that the management of the hotel also had to grapple with a plethora of litigations by staff and pensioners of the organisation due to nonpayment of salary arrears running into 58 months and several months of pensions. Workers lamented that since the return to democratic era, the activities of the hotel have been paralysed several times until it went under completely four years ago.
In 2018, the staff of the hotel, in a Save Our Souls letter written to the former Governor Simon Lalong, itemised a series of problems besetting the establishment. Some of these included several months of salary arrears, non-payment of contributory insurance to pension administrators, medical allowances and the parlous state of the hotel, among other challenges.
Again in 2021, the state chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress picketed the Hill Station Hotel. The state chairman of the NLC, Eugene Manji, said the picketing of the hotel was because of the total neglect by the Plateau State government which owned 75 percent of the shares in the business.
“We have lost so many of the workers, and their children have gone wayward as a result of the lack of payment of their salaries for them to provide for their children’s needs,” the NLC chairman stated during the picketing.
He said the existing lacuna over the ownership of the famous Hill Station Hotel must be addressed by the Plateau State government, and all those affected staff of the hotel must be paid.
“There is a lacuna on the issues of this Hill Station Hotel. We are asking the government to come out and spell out clearly who owns the place; the government is claiming that it owns 75 percent and the rest is owned by NDDC. So, if you own the highest percentage, what else are you supposed to do?” he questioned.
Manji suggested that the Plateau State government should either concession the hotel in the event it cannot manage it any longer with its 75 percent shares in the venture or lease it out.
“If you cannot hold the place, concession it, or lease it out. So many authorities have suggested this to them, but they are not ready. Why?”
Over the years, several other hotels with modern facilities have emerged as the Hill Station Hotel, which was one of the sources of pride in Plateau State, remains comatose.
Governor Muftwang’s intervention
Worried over the dire state of the hotel, Governor Caleb Muftwang, through the Plateau Investment and Property Development Company (PIPC), recently entered into a head-of-term agreement with Strom Infrastructure Investment and Management Limited to refurbish the Hill Station Hotel Jos to a standard establishment with world-class management.
The Managing Director of the PIPC, Danlamj Jelka, who signed on behalf of the state government, emphasised the importance of creating a conducive environment for private investors to rejuvenate inactive businesses for the benefit of the state’s populace. He added that the agreement entailed the leasing, rehabilitation, and operation of Hill Station Hotel by the investor for an initial 20-year period, renewable by mutual consent.
According to him, the rehabilitation cost is estimated at N8.5 billion, as assessed by consultants engaged by PIPC. Jelka added that the project is expected to have a significant economic impact, including the direct employment of approximately 160 citizens, the engagement of unskilled workers during the hotel’s refurbishment, and an estimated boost of N8.6 billion to the state’s income through the investment’s multiplier effect.
Responding, Kolapo Joseph, CEO of Strom Infrastructure Investment and Management Limited, thanked the Plateau State government for the opportunity to contribute and pledged the company’s commitment to fulfilling its obligations with integrity.
In an interview, Jelka, who assured that the moribund hotel will be revamped through the head-of-term agreement entered into, added that the administration, led by Muftwang, is committed to its turnaround to the level of at least a three-star hotel.
“The state government is aware of the bottlenecks like the outstanding salary arrears, pensions, and litigations on the ground. All these will definitely be addressed soon; the government is looking into them. We are looking at one and a half years to complete the turnaround,” he assured.
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