You could get lost in Plateau the Beautiful

A tourist destination and travelers delight, with picturesque landscapes and a fantastic weather, the city of Jos in Plateau State, Nigeria is a beautiful place to visit. The rock formations, the many waterfalls, the welcoming people, the availability of all kinds of fruits and vegetables, the kind that grows in many parts of the world, it makes the city a unique spot on the map in the tourism industry of Nigeria.

I moved into the city of Jos in July 2017 with my wife and daughter due to work. As a child I had visited the city when we would have long holidays. But in 2008, there was a sectarian crisis that rocked the city and changed the dynamics of the place. Many businesses and locations had to realign according to the religious fault lines that had been created in the city to stay safe.

As a “new comer” in the city, I needed to find my way around, to do this I began actively using the Google maps app on my phone. I would take the direction from my location to destinations on the map, but on many occasions I got lost. I got lost because many of the pins on the map were in the wrong location. On the other hand many locations were not added at all.

I took a long walk, one day around my neighborhood and as I went, I was adding places. It was interesting because there were places that I didn’t know existed just in my backyard. There were churches, neighborhood pharmacies, pet veterinary shops, bakery, restaurants and the list goes on. I normally had to go close to 18km away to access some of the services these locations provided. Only if they were there on the map, all I would have needed to do was to explore around my location to find them, but they weren’t, so I added them and that was the beginning of the journey in being a Google local guide.

One important incident that made me take the Google local guide program seriously was this: I was surfing the map one day, I found a hotel’s pin that was in the wrong location, in fact it was about 6 km away from the actual location where the hotel was, being curious I checked the reviews of the hotel and I found a disheartened review at the top of the list. Someone from out of town had made a reservation online to this hotel and had spent quite a long time trying to find the hotel when he arrived in the city, using the information on the map. It occurred to me, this is a real person that has wasted time and resources, and somebody has to do something about this, hell! I have to do something about it.

It is amazing how much impact, getting the right information can do to visitors and residents alike. Now I go out of my way to check the data on the map in my city, I do my best to make sure it is accurate. So that no one has to experience the same things I have experienced. My goal is to make sure that as much as possible; anyone who comes to the Plateau should enjoy its beauty with the Google maps as his or her guide, without any hassles and misinformation. Come enjoy the serenity and tranquility of the city of Jos, come to the Plateau, Plateau the beautiful.

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Thank you for sharing your story @SamuelIdakwo . I believe we have two different stories about our local guides journey: (1) Our reason for joining (2) When we realized our purpose and became more engaged. I’m glad to see your moment was realizing the importance of accurate information.

I enjoyed the read and hope you share more!

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