I entered Jos with some trepidation, but with an open mind, and a five year nostalgia waiting to be assuaged. I also went with an exhilaration reserved for a beautiful place that has gone with me everywhere I went since we first met. When I left the town a few hours later in the evening of Tuesday, I left with some sadness, and a mild confusion as to where the State is headed, and where the crises will lead. On the one hand are ubiquitous police patrols at every hundred metres from Ta Hoss to Makira to Riyom, and on the other hand is a town that still moves as it always does, cheerful, without any hint of danger. Well, welcome to Jos.

Picture #3 is the sign at Kuru which reads: “Nigerian Railway Corporation: The Highest Point in Nigerian Railway. 1318.20 metres or 4324 ft above sea level.

Picture #8 is the famous Riyom rocks that have stood in that delicate design since centuries.

Picture #9 is a carver I saw in Jos, making mortar and pestles with his hand, a chisel and a wooden mallet.