OURS TO USE NOT TO WASTE.

A library is one of the necessary requirements of a school, especially a higher institution of learning. The word ‘Library’ comes from the latin word ‘Liber’ meaning book. A library is an integral and useful part of a school that determines the capacity and capabilities of both its lecturers and students. It also shows how competent and seriously committed the school administration is towards academic excellence. Halsey, Richard S., et al defines a library as, ‘collections of books and other information materials made available for reading, study or reference’. It creates the avenue for students and lecturers to research investigate and update previous knowledge in a serene atmosphere, devoid of anything antithetical to silence. Accordingly, the Oxford English Minidictionary defines it as, ‘a building or room containing a collection of books for consulting or borrowing etc’. Printed and electronic media are all found in it like tapes, disc, books, journals and magazines. A good school library makes a lecturer’s work easier; they can get more information, new facts and arguments for and against a particular topic in order to possess a good mastery of it. It also succors and serves as a perfect companion of a diligent student who wishes to outdo the common crowd and be shoulders high above his peers. They read study and learn from books and other relevant materials about topics, places, people and concepts. But a school library will be a big waste of resources if lecturers and students don’t utilize it.
Gombe State University, the famous primus inter-pares has as one of its most cherished possessions a massive and elegant structure housing a large volume of books of different disciplines, journals of outstanding repute, world renowned Encyclopedias, dictionaries of contemporary usage, past and current magazines, newspapers and a fast and reliable internet connection. The library’s beauteous facade is magnificent and a symbol of goodness, while its breathtaking serenity, spotlessness, chilled ambiance and sophisticated armory of printed and electronic materials strategically orchestrated in the well planned, nicely designed and fabulously executed architectural piece is a conspicuous symbolization of the good leadership qualities of both the government of the day and the school authorities. Its capacity and capability of a capacious volume of valuable material resources stands dilly with pride complementing the prestige, integrity and uncompromising qualities of the school, it can not but be the brilliance and intellectual foresight of the honorable responsible.
However, as great and laudable as this momentous project is, it is still under-utilized by the fortunate students of this school. It is therefore with pain and utter rejection of the status quo of lack of patronage of the library by the students of Gombe State University that I write to get these students back on track. Either as a result of indolence or poor self-discipline or the lack of enthusiasm for excellent performance or all of them agglutinated engendered this useless and senseless waste of a well stocked library fully air conditioned with a mesmerizing comfort second to none among peers- is this a joke or a lack of comprehension of the rare privilege to be among the best students in the world? I mean, this is something others are hungrily looking for, but we are here judiciously wasting it with reckless abandonment! It is axiomatically apodictic after an analytical observation that students only throng the library and make it a beehive of activity during examination period and this has over the years shrinks their productivity and ability to deliver the expected result. It is amazing to behold this library being deserted and reduced to examination reading centre or examination information centre. This is outrageous, improper and preposterous. A library should be a place of research and learning, discovery and enlightenment as well as development of the human psyche.
It is of no beneficial outcome to subject ourselves to this senseless waste of our limited time; steadily impoverishing our intellectual and mental development. This is counter-productive which at the end of our stay in the university will declare us nothing but sons and daughters of ‘intellectual poverty’ to borrow the words of Dr.T.Neureus. This zeal less and lackadaisical demeanors to strive for academic excellence keep one a reasonable distance from the library and amount to factors why each year dozens of half-baked graduate are unleashed into the labor market thereby perpetuating the horrible cycle of incompetence, law productivity and unemployment which negatively affects the polity, economy and social order. If the truth be told and fairness be pursuit, students too are responsible for the unsatisfactory educational performances of the country. We bury our faces in the sand if we put all blames on the government.
As students we are not living up to our responsibilities with such a wrong comportment. It is a betrayal of the major essence of being in the university. Wherever such afflatus might have emanated from, it has to be liquidated in order to be the best we can be. Sometimes the reality of the neglect of the library gives a manifestation of a school on break when actually session is at its peak. This is an academic aberration with a consequence of academic mediocrity and mental scarcity and all these are a defeat of the intents and purposes of the university’s founding fathers. It is therefore pertinent and sagacious that we examine our studentship, purposes, goals and aspirations in Gombe State University. This will help a great deal in redirecting our steps toward consummating the totality of why we left our various homes to be in the university, thereby transforming and generating us to responsible and discipline students.
Finally, it’s hard if not totally impossible for any student to give his best performance and get better grade without being a constant companion of the library. Our academic success so much depends on it and as students of this great institution; it is our responsibility to uphold her dignity, integrity and honor. The obvious goodness and greatness of this school will be undermined if it is not seen in her students and no student has any reason reasonable enough not to be good and great in Gombe State University.

THE CHAM PEOPLE OF NIGERIA.

         ‘Cham’ originally known as ‘Chum’ meaning brother (a mutation due to bad pronunciation by traders and neighboring tribes) is a Lilliputian minority ethnic group found in the southern part of Gombe in Balanga local government area along Yola road. According to Hassan Tom Firi quoted by Albashi in The Socio-cultural Impart of the missionary Activities in Cham District of Balanga Local Government of Bauchi State.(1990). The people of cham migrated from Yamel in the Far East with some tribes like Lunguda, Tula and Dadiya at about 1777. They came to Africa through Egypt and made their way to Nigeria through southern Borno and settled at Kindiyo and Mwona (pronounce as mona) present day cham district in 1880.

     Cham language appertains to the numerous Chadic languages(a member of languages of the Afroasiatic Phylum, together with Semitic, Ancient Egyptian, Berber and Cushitic spoken mostly in the Chad republic, Cameroon and northern Nigeria) found across Africa. The people of Cham are found in two states: Gombe state and Adamawa state. But they are found in substantial number at Gombe in Balanga local government area with a district and an independent chief. The current ‘Nidu’ that is ‘king’ is James D. Chachi.

    Aside from being one of the beautiful and enthralling languages that the world is blessed with, Cham is also one of the names of the towns of the tribe and the headquarter of the cham district.

    The industrious, hospitable, peaceful and united people of cham are majorly farmers producing both cash and food crops like cotten, groundnut and rice; Guinea-corn, maize, millet and beans respectively. However, today they are found in virtually every sphere of both public and private businesses. Traditionally they are animists and ancestrologists, but in recent times many of them have embraced Christianity and Islam. Despite this, the Cham people still holds on to some of their traditions and cultural heritage with pride like the 'Chigote' festival which is famous among the people and  which is celebrated every April of each year as an annual festival in Cham. 'Chigote' means  friends. importantly also , 'the  people of Cham refer to themselves  as 'Dijim' a plural form of 'Nidiji' which  connotes something that  appeared  from the  earth and having deep root'(Albashi).