A 26-year-old
mother of four, Anya Ashom has emerged winner in the female category
of the maiden Jos Mountaineering Competition.
Kaze Samuel, a 35-year-old security
guard, who was the oldest participant, won the male category held on
Saturday in Jos as part of the ongoing Jos Carnival.
Mr Peter Mwankon, the Plateau
Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, said mountaineering was
featuring as competition for the first time in any carnival in
Nigeria.
Mwankon implored people of the state to
guard their heritage, stressing that such competition would attract
development.
Mr John Kaze, a community leader that
host the Shere Mountains, lauded the government for initiating the
carnival.
Kaze said game would expose its youths
to economic opportunities.
NAN reports that Shere Hills, located
in Jos East Local Governmet, is about 1000 feet above sea level and
has served as training ground for military and paramilitary agencies
over the years.
The mountaineering recorded five
casualties out of the 48 persons that registered for the competition.
Two had bruises while three had cases
of respiratory distress but were quickly resuscitated.
The Jos carnival continues with a
musical festival on Easter Sunday and a carnival procession on Easter
Monday.
Speaking to NAN, Samuel, winner of the
male category, said he had never participated in any mountaineering
competition before.
He said he decided to try his luck at
the maiden edition of the Jos Carnival.
“I am a security personnel with three
children, I have never competed on a big platform like this but
decided to try my luck and I am grateful for emerging winner in this
category.
“I urge the government to sustain
this competition to give us platform to compete even on bigger levels
both locally and internationally,’’ he said.
On her part, Ashom told NAN that she
had grown up climbing hills to gather firewood to cook for her
family.
She added that she enrolled for the
competition since the feature and terrain of a hill was similar to a
mountain.
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