28/08/2026
Taraba at 35: Evolving or stagnating?
28 August, 2026. Jalingo
MediaPulse Editorial
Three and a half decades after it's creation on August 27, 1991, Taraba State was born out of the old Gongola state with enormous promises. 35 years later, the state has every reason to celebrate its journey.
The 15 years, Taraba should focus relently on:
Agriculture and agro-processing
Tourism and hospitality
Mining and responsible mineral development
Renewal energy and electricity
Industrialization
Housing and modern urban development
Education and technical skills
Health care
Roads and transport development
Security and peace building
The state is not where it was in 1991 but it is also nowhere near its resources suggest it should be.
We grow, others process. Taraba produces maize, rice, cassava, yam, beans, sesame seed, vegetables, fruits and livestock. But the state lacks the scale of Agro-industrial processing needed to capture the full value of this commodities.
The Jalingo Problem
Jalingo has expanded dramatically since 1991. But the growing population requires modern urban planning. The capital needs sustainable attention to drainage, roads, waste management, water supply, housing, electricity, public transport and land use planning.
And development cannot stop at Jalingo.
MediaPulse Scorecard
1. Education (Significant expansion)
2. Health care (progress, but major gaps)
3. Roads (Improvement, but maintenance and connectivity challenges)
4. Agriculture (Strong production base)
5. Agro-processing (major gap)
6. Tourism (vastly underdeveloped)
7. Electricity (major constraints)
8. Industrialization (weak)
9. Youth employment (major challenge)
10. Urban development (uneven)
11. IGR (low)
12. Natural resources (exceptional potential)
