Dr Christiana Fwenji Zumyil Re-Appointed Acting Provost College of Education Pankshin

RENEWAL OF APPOINTMENT . The College community is hereby notified that the Federal Government through the office of the Hon. Minister of Education has approved the reapportionment of  Dr Mrs Christiana Fwenji Zumyil as Acting Provost Federal College of Education Pankshin, for another period of six(6) months. Her reapportionment takes effect from 8th December, 2023 pending the conclusion of the process for the appointment of a substantive Provost when a Council is in place. A letter to that effect signed by the Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Education Mr Andrew, David Adejo wishes the Acting Provost well in the discharge of her duties. By this development, Staff and Students are to note and as always continue to pray for the success of our dear Acting Provost in office. Signed: Istifanus Kyakmut, Mnipr For: Registrar.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE NEW YEAR

(Modest Thoughts with Ayuba, Yilgak'ha, January 4, 2024; 08116181263)
As individuals, organizations, or nations, we are cumulative products of the past we cannot excuse ourselves from today. We came into this new year, 2024 with what, in accounting, is called "balance brought forward" from the year ended, 2023. Balance brought forward in any accounting balance sheet has two sides. One is assets and, the other is liabilities. In any functional system, assets are to be improved upon while liabilities are to be minimised by all legitimate means. Relating this analogy to humans, assets are cherishable virtues and liabilities are demeaning vices that define a person's personality.
This prose was prompted by a WhatsApp post that I saw on the second day of January this new year which reads: "2025 is just 11 months and 29 days away. What have you achieved so far this year?" The author of the post is conscious of the need for achievements right from the beginning of the new year and, was not just ready to wait for the second day or first week, first month, first quarter, second or half of the year to pass before demanding for a review of the year from his expected readers. What an ambitious way and manner to start a new year. If we can track how much we have achieved with our lives daily this year and always, then, there can be no limit to what we will achieve with our personal, corporate, or national lives.
Ideally,  life on earth is meant to be eventful. Rachael Cusk in her novel, "Transit" which was published in 2016 wrote that "what the planets offer is nothing less than the chance to regain faith in the grandeur of humans: how much more dignity and honor, how much kindness and responsibility and respect, would we bring to our dealings with one another if we believed that every one of us has a cosmic importance? ... I of all people could see the implications for improvements in world peace and prosperity, not to mention the revolution in the enhanced concept of fate could bring about in the personal side of things." This is a profound seminal text that could stimulate any potentially progressive and productive person into wholesome thinking, especially, at the beginning of a year like this one!
It is unfortunate that, against the lofty demand for purposeful and productive living, many people organizations, or nations have lost bearing in life and are battling and, are battling to regain their steps and to find hope in what lies ahead - the big picture. But let's name it in specific terms, what actually, is the big picture? The big picture in every given circumstance is a sense of developing a life of higher productivity and positive impact in society through learning and collaboration with quality people who are capable of enhancing our productivity net worth. In other words, it is about standing out or making a clear and significant difference in your life and the lives of people around you. 
The focus is on practical achievements. Becoming a great achiever, in every given circumstance, has a lot to do with our personality quotient which encompasses our purposes, values (motivations), and mannerisms. On issues of individual or corporate personality, the statement was attributed to American activist, Eleanor Roosevelt, who said: "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." In other words, human beings can be grouped into three categories of personalities: Great minds, average minds, and small minds. This exposition is a discussion that primarily revolves around these three vibe categories towards setting a new agenda for those who are desirous and committed to making a difference in the year 2024. Call it the 2024 declaration, if you like. For the sake of emphasis, the 2024 declaration is an agenda for teachable people who desire to achieve great feats in the new year that has just begun!
*Great Minds Described*
Great minds are people who painstakingly understudy systems and make something phenomenal out of them. They are great innovators and inventors like Thomas Edison, Isaac Newton, Aristotle, Karl Mark, Adam Smith, John Maynard Keynes, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, etc. What comes to your mind when these names are mentioned? Through the power of creative thinking, these people initiate great ideas that continually transform the world in the most spectacular ways, especially, in their respective fields of endeavor.
Ideas, they say, rule the world. They are unlimited products of imagination that can be processed to facilitate innovations that are capable of expanding the frontiers of human progress or civilization. Civilization has to do with values and systems that measure human success or attainments in science, technology, and, the art of survival in any given society. Ideas are intangible virtues that bring about value addition or value creation processes. These generating processes are the anchors of the production of every product or service that society consumes. It takes critical thinkers to challenge any existing status quo with the view to improving or changing it - add what needs to be added or subtract what needs to be subtracted toward producing the best of systems, methods, or processes of doing things. In other words, through critical thinking skills, the world can be transformed for the better!
It is important to note that the task of transforming the world is not child's play but the product of deep and coherent thinking that is sustained by due diligence and determination. Nicholi Michaville wrote that 'there is nothing as difficult as the task of introducing a new order of things'. This implies that having a lofty idea is not enough but how to translate it into a functional reality. Indeed, it is always a difficult process to create something unique or new but, the fact a process is difficult does not mean it is impossible to be consummated. No, there are no impossibilities with sustained effort in learning through time. With time, chance, and conscious endeavor, a seemingly impossible task could become, not only possible but very easy to be executed by determined people. Difficult tasks are possible tasks, a great thinker will tell you. Nelson Mandela of blessed memory puts it this way: "It always seems impossible until it's done"!
Great minds (thinkers) are adventurous people who dare to try great things. Robert Kennedy tries to make a clear distinction between them and average minds (mediocres) when he says, "Some men see things as they are, and say why. I dream of things that never were, and say why not." The former are mediocre; the latter which, in this case, is himself, is a great mind or great achiever. Great thinkers, therefore, are not average minds (mediocre) but doers of great things we crave to become in the new year or sustain, going forward!
*Average Minds x-rayed*
Average minds were said to be people who discuss events. They are spectators and free riders in the world of inventions. This means that average minds are fans, not inventors. They know what they want but cannot make it for themselves - they are merely conspicuous consumers.
Average minds marvel at the attainments of great minds. They are captivated by the innovations and inventions of others but do not attempt to invent anything on their own. Average minds lazily waste their time in cinema houses watching movies or are always rushing to stadiums to watch sports. They are comedy mania, not an attempt to initiate and develop something that others can patronize at a price. The good news, however, is that average minds can be reachable, and resetting their minds to try inventing things they love patronizing or discussing could make a difference over time.
*Small Minds analysed*
Small minds are those whose vibe is to lazily criticize others. The difference between average minds and small minds is that while the former know what they want; the latter are not even sure what they want in life. They invent nothing but criticize everything just for the sake of it.
Small minds are hardly teachable. They follow their instincts and, will not mind rocking the board when things do not go their way. They can easily be recruited to do anything with a plate of stew (food). Small minds make moves but do not know if their actions have consequences or not. They are given to mood swings and can fall for anything. Small minds are busy bodies, gossip, and recruiters of haters of other people who do not care if the world should progress or go up in flames. They are the illiterates and semi-illiterates who can easily be manipulated, brainwashed, and/or indoctrinated with toxic ideologies or mentalities. They have no mind of their own but willing tools for carrying out dishonorable roles.
Small minds are people who are at cross-purpose with progressive ideas that could liberate them. These are caught in the web of "Stockholm syndrome". That is, they can fight dirty in defense of their oppressors. They are like a chained dog who does not believe it can be free again. Therefore, small minds are fated savages and destitute who perceive poverty as a virtue or act of God. To them, all wealth is a crime and, therefore, they are comfortable living in what is called a "dynasty of poverty". Dynasty of poverty means the vicious cycle of poverty or transgenerational poverty which stubbornly has been sustained amongst and across generations of people!
*Driving the Message Home*
Nigeria is extravagantly rich both in human and material resources. However, the country's human resources are its greatest resource or asset because it is the human beings that can mobilize and manipulate material resources to generate goods and services for any country. Given Nigeria's abundant blessing in natural resources, therefore, the problem of the country cannot be situated within the context of a deficit in material resources but the quality of the human capital to optimally (effectively and efficiently) harness these resources towards the welfare benefit of the people. Low quality of human development in the lives of the country's over 200 million people has continued to manifest in the areas of escalating abject and multidimensional poverty amongst over 63% of the citizens; jobless working age bracket of the population; docile followership that hardly checkmates the excesses of the ruling class amongst others.
Because the leadership of the country is generated from the poorly underdeveloped human population, it is equally deficient in the quality of thinking and service required to make the nation great. This is, perhaps, the best explanation that can be given for the 'fantastically corrupt' status the country has assumed. Corruption was said to be plundering Nigeria to around 60% of Nigeria's national wealth based on the submission of the late Chinua Achebe in his book "The Problem with Nigeria" which was published in 1983. Institutional corruption is so bizarre in this country that even a toddler can feel that something is, fundamentally, wrong with our governance and administrative systems. There is hardly any day passing without corruption making news headlines in the country. There are so many state-managerial leakages and, worst still, insecurity tends to overwhelm the country against the constitutional/primary responsibility of government which is to guarantee the welfare and safeguard the lives and properties of the citizenry!
Part of the hypothesis of this discourse is that no nation can excel or develop beyond the level of mental and moral development of its leaders. The seemingly glaring correlation between leadership failure and underdevelopment in Nigeria has continued to confirm and validate this hypothesis. No wonder, Achebe of Blessed again asserted that "the trouble with Nigeria is simply a failure of leadership …The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal examples which are the hallmarks of true leadership." Since this assertion was made in 1983, nothing whatsoever has proven it wrong. This means that the Nigerian leadership problem is a protracted one that needs concentrated attention to reverse.
*Conclusion*
This is just the beginning of a new year that has come on a clean slate, an open cheque for the living to plan and make a difference. The year promises to be eventful. Therefore, we are expected to fill in the details responsibly. Through conscious endeavor, every person can make a difference and, together we can create the future the future we want to see. However, there is nothing fruitful that can be achieved with the mentality of average or small minds. Be a great mind and doer of things; not a fan or 'professional' critic.
Theodore Roosevelt has these words to say about critics: "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither knows victory nor defeat." Be positive. Do not make a profession out of criticism and be constructive if you must criticize. Constructive criticism is when observed acts of wrongdoing are backed by practical solutions to remedy the situation!
Though not easy, it is important to know that anybody can decamp from the camp of average minds and small minds to the camp of great minds but this cannot happen by wishful thinking but deliberate effort. If you are a great mind, stay there but do not live under the illusion that you cannot drift. Change is a constant, says Greek philosopher, Heraclitus. However, if you must change, change in the direction of improvement; not drift into infamy. Happy New Year and best wishes to all determined people who aspire to make a difference this year and always!

VICTORY BY GRACE

Compliment of the season. Christmas has come and gone but the new year is around the corner. I wish you well, as you round-off the old year and wish you well as you start the new one. 

Many had what our life's dreams are but, today, they have gone six feet down the ground or battling terminal illnesses. Many, also, wish to be like us but are, sadly, gone too or innocently confined to bondages imposed on upon them by their fellow men. Yet, despite all the travails of life, we made it. We are alive!, glory be to God.

Because God lives, we can face tomorrow with hope of victory and, the promise of success in all that we do, going forward. This is the confidence I am starting the new one with when we crossover; what about you? 

Let us step into the new year with faith and confidence to conquer our worst/greatest fears. Let us go there and win; not because we are strong or swift or smart or better than anyone but because the grace of God almighty is richly dwelling upon us and those we always share our lives with. 

There is power in collaboration. If our graces will not take us through, that of our genuine collaborators will make it up for us because we draw from the same source - God who is our sufficiency!

Congratulations in advance for all the victories that await us. Whatever we could not win in the year ended could not have been of praise to God, otherwise, we could have won all (Modest Thoughts with Ayuba, Yilgak'ha, December 31, 2023)

Nigeria, blood and crucifixion on the Plateau

By Mathew Hassan Kukah

By the banks of the Niger river, on the hills of the Plateau, across the lush savannahs of the Middle Belt, we have sat down and wept. We have questions crying for answers: Who are these killers? Where are they coming from? Who is sponsoring them? What are their grouses and against whom? What do they want? Whom do they want? Who are they working for? When will it all end? Why are they invincible and invisible? Who is offering them cover?

Those invisible men came to the Plateau again, bearing their gifts of death and destruction. They came from the deepest pit of hell, the habitat of the devils that they are. They are children of darkness, sons of Satan. They opted to extinguish and snatch the light of the joy of Christmas from thousands of people on the Plateau. They imagined they would ignite an orgy of blood, seduce the ordinary peace-loving people of the Plateau and set them on a mission of mindless murder of fellow citizens in the name of retaliation. The world would then say that this is was a war of religion – Christians killing Muslims – to ignite a larger war. So far, over two hundred lives are gone and we are still counting, but what next, where next, and who next?

Over the years, these murderers have left their footprints of blood and tears across the length and breadth of the entire northern states, indiscriminately wrecking destruction across large swathes of land and communities. In all this, the Nigerian state and its security agencies are blind-sided, seemingly incapable of cleaning up this augean stable of sorrow and pain in our land. These killers have turned the Nigerian state and its security agencies into objects of cynicism, mockery and mere lachrymal spectators daily accompanying funeral processions. Across the country, these funerals and the coffins are now part of our landscape.

We are gradually taking eerie solace in the fact that these killers do not respect the boundaries of religion, region or ethnicity. We seem to be consoled that they are destroying churches, as well as mosques, killing Christians, as well as Muslims. We seem to be lulled into a feeling of collective consolation and we all believe that we are all victims of an endless orgy of violence that has taken over our land. There is a method to this madness. The choice of location, communities, timings, the seeming hooded identities of the killers, all mask a fact: We may not know who they are, but someone wants something from the Middle Belt. Stretch your imagination from the emergence of the modern Nigerian state and connect the dots.

Sadly, with time, Nigerians are gradually losing hope in the ability of their government to protect and secure them. While we religious leaders have continued to use our moral authority to encourage our people not to take the laws into their hands, we risk being swept away by the anger and frustration of our people. We even risk being seen as accomplices to an erring state. The Nigerian state itself risks becoming an undertaker in the eyes of its citizens. Our cups of sorrow are overflowing. We have cried enough tears. We may pretend that we are not at war, but truly a war is being waged against the Nigerian state and its people. God forbid, but we could snap anytime, anywhere and for any reason.

We are tired of the confusing, inexcusable, monosyllabic excuses saying: this is an asymmetrical war, we are on top of the situation, you cannot kill an idea, it is not about religion or ethnicity, we will bring them to justice. We, citizens of Nigeria, feel collectively humiliated and betrayed by those who are collaborating with these murderers and a government that seems helpless. Can we continue to believe that there is no long-term plan to take over the reins of power of the Nigerian state?

By the banks of the Niger river, on the hills of the Plateau, across the lush savannahs of the Middle Belt, we have sat down and wept. We have questions crying for answers: Who are these killers? Where are they coming from? Who is sponsoring them? What are their grouses and against whom? What do they want? Whom do they want? Who are they working for? When will it all end? Why are they invincible and invisible? Who is offering them cover? Are we condemned to live with this and hand this broken nation to our children? Should we all just become inoculated and sedated to make all this bearable? Who will supply the opium to dull our pain? Are we sleep walking to self-destruction?

Why has the North become the birthplace of so much bloodletting? Why are these killings seen as tools of negotiation with the Nigerian state by the protectors of the North? Why has our North become the incubator of all that is destructive? Boko Haram, banditry and shades of terrorism all live in our region. Why is this so? These killers are not ordinary murderers. They are killers for a purpose. It is the task of the Intelligence community to tell us who they are, where they live and what their goals are. These killers are professionals and are they Nigerians or they just have Nigerian sponsors? Their sponsors are among us. They must be in high places. They are now embedded in the architecture of the state. President Tinubu must know that the legitimacy of his government hangs on resolving this and giving us our country back.

We are tired of the confusing, inexcusable, monosyllabic excuses saying: this is an asymmetrical war, we are on top of the situation, you cannot kill an idea, it is not about religion or ethnicity, we will bring them to justice. We, citizens of Nigeria, feel collectively humiliated and betrayed by those who are collaborating with these murderers and a government that seems helpless. Can we continue to believe that there is no long-term plan to take over the reins of power of the Nigerian state? These people want power. They want it on their own terms. They want their own kind of Nigeria, according to their ideology. These killings are just a preface. These killings are no longer acts by herders and farmers over grazing fields. No, there is more and we as a nation will do well to face this threat before it is sunset. No evil lasts forever. The world defeated slavery, Apartheid, Nazism, racism, and other forms of extremism.

So far, I commend the government in its responses to these tragedies. Unlike before when no one bothered to visit the scenes, we are seeing very rapid responses from the top. This is necessary but not sufficient as a strategy. Rebuilding these communities requires more than mere physical infrastructure. There is need for clearer, more imagined strategies for rebuilding community cohesion and resilience. Rebuilding hearts is more urgent than rebuilding houses. Merely awarding contracts for the building of houses is not as important as building markets, rebuilding roads, providing agricultural inputs for farmers and so on.

This culture of investigation as excuses must end. The media and we the people must continue to remind the government of its obligations to be accountable. If investigations are made public and rewards or punishment are carried out, then it builds confidence. It will enable people to become involved in their own security. Only by pursuing, apprehending and bringing these evil men to justice can we begin to speak of a genuine reconciliation among our people.

There are growing concerns as to the sophistication, professionalism and capacity of the security agencies. Years of military involvement has led to the mistaken notion that issues of security are military. This guns and bullets approach has seen the growth of corruption, lack of cohesion, collaboration and co-ordination, alongside infighting within the security agencies. We civilians hear stories of orders from the top at the last minute, about credible intelligence provided but not used by those at the top. People are dying and no one’s job is threatened. There is an urgent need to re-set the national security architecture. Enough is enough.

This culture of investigation as excuses must end. The media and we the people must continue to remind the government of its obligations to be accountable. If investigations are made public and rewards or punishment are carried out, then it builds confidence. It will enable people to become involved in their own security. Only by pursuing, apprehending and bringing these evil men to justice can we begin to speak of a genuine reconciliation among our people. Bringing criminals to justice is justice to the criminal and justice to the victim too. Fixing our economy is desirable, but it must hang on a rigid security scaffolding to protect citizens and nation. The youth are fleeing their own country. The elites are fleeing their own communities. The poor are becoming refugees outside their own communities. Mr President, give us back our communities. Give us back our country.

Finally, national security is a function of robust, deep intellectual analysis and mapping of the goals and even ambitions of country, its local, regional or global place in the world. It thrives on creating scenarios based on a proper understanding and reading of geo-politics and locating where a country wants to be. So far, we have thrived on ad hoc and arbitrary options.

On the Plateau and elsewhere, so much academic research has been done. All the President needs to do is to order a review of all the options and find the political will to get our nation back on track. The current crucifixion of the Middle Belt is merely a metaphor. However, for us as Christians, in the cross, there is salvation. May this new year begin the healing of our dear nation. Happy new year and God bless our dear country.

Matthew Hassan Kukah is Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto and founder of the Kukah Centre, Abuja, Nigeria.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PHILANTHROPIST,DAYYABU GARGA.@57.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PHILANTHROPIST,DAYYABU GARGA.@57.

The Board of Directors,Management,Staff and numerous associates of the Dayyabu Garga Foundation wish to felicitate with its Chairman and Founder,Hon.Dr.Dayyabu Yusuf Garga,the Walin Garga and Galadiman Jhar on the occasion of his birthday,31st December,2023.

Sir your birthday coming on the last day of every year is never a mere coincidence but one that was divinely planned by the Almighty God.

No wonder your whole life has been one that is first for the people before yourself.The countless number of lives you have continued to touch in very unique ways are today standing to pray for you on this day that God should increase you in strength and wisdom.

Working with you has put in us all a spirit to show love and affection to the needy going by your firm believe in the upliftment of those who are down.

Your philanthropic gestures in so many areas of life through the DAYYABU GARGA FOUNDATION has endeared you to so many as such we assure you the prayers said for you daily shall not go in vain.

On this occasion of your 57th birthday sir,we wish you more of uncommon favor from the Almighty Allah.We pray for more open doors so you affect more lives positively in this new year and age that you have been blessed with.

May everything you touch for the purpose of help to people manifest in folds and may the goodness of these times and beyond follow you now and always.

Happy birthday to you Hon.Dr.Dayyabu Yusuf Garga.

Announcer.

Management

Dayyabu Garga Dayyabu Garga Foundation.

GOCHOM: A COMMUNITY TO BE HEARD IN THE ERA OF LEARNING (KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY) by Ayuba, Yilgak'ha.

GOCHOM: A COMMUNITY TO BE HEARD IN THE ERA OF LEARNING (KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY) 

by Ayuba, Yilgak'ha.

Protocol...

*INTRODUCTION*

Throughout history, the factors that drive human progress have continue to vary with time (era, age, epoch or generation). In the feudal age, land owners were respected as the richest; then, came the era where farmers were richest. This was followed by the industrial revolution where those who have or work in industries became richer. Those who were into merchandise and trade later took the lead. Today, attention is shifted towards knowledge economy as source of wealth and greatness. In other words, it takes knowledge asset or capital to be great in today's world. Therefore, this presentation is simply an attempt to appreciate how an individual, community or nation can be heard in the era knowledge economy.

This presentation will be guided by three (3) critical questions:

1. What does it mean to be heard?

2. How can a small community like Gochom be heard?

3. How important is learning in today's world?

*UNDERSTANDING THE ERA OF LEARNING*

Learning is as old as the history of man. However, the deepening of the process of learning (that is, education) through breakthroughs in Information Communication Technology (ICT) has become the defining features of the current era code named the 21st century. This era is knowledge based or knowledge driven. Therefore, education is regarded as the new currency of the 21st century. By implication, every individual, community or nation required to tap into boundless opportunities offered by the new information age to make progress or, at least, minimising social inequality!

*WHAT DOES IT MEAN 'TO BE HEARD?*

In a complex and dynamic world that is full of cacaphony of noise, it takes a someone's or nation's or community's capacity to curve a nitche for itself to to be heard or make a visible difference. To be heard means to distinguish or make a clear difference in an ecosystem (community). It is about creating great impact. There are two binary ways through which a community or people or a person can be heard. One can be heard through positive action(s) or negative action(s).

Positive actions manifest in the creation of or addition of value. It is about being, practically, useful to a community, nation or world). When someone becomes useful, his or her presence is positively felt and celebrated and, when absent, the absence immediately felt or noticed. On the other hand, negative actions are those actions that bring a system to disrepute or disadvantage. It is one that amounts to being a liability. The absence of a negative actionist brings relief but the presence of him or her raises concern or even worry.

Generating positive actions that makes our community members famous is the focus of our discussion today. The process of being positively famous, in any given circumstance, begins by curving a big dream (idea), nurturing the dream (developing it); pursuing the dream (executing it) as using feedback mechanisms to guage progress or failure (monitoring and evaluation). These are the processes! 

A dream is a mental picture of something great someone wants to achieve. It is a statement of hope or vision of things to be accomplished in ones life or community or nation. This implies that dreams can be personal or corporate. They are motivations for human action(s) which may be economic, political, social, etc. In other words, human passion in anything is generated by the value they attached to their dreams and the possibility of bringing them to reality. 

A typical example of political dream is the 'not too young to run' movement which was initiated in 2016 for Nigeria and Gambia, and championed by the coordinator, Youth Advocacy Initiative for Growth and Advancement (YAIGA) Africa, Samson Itodo, sponsored as legislative bill in House of representatives and Senate chambers of the National Assembly by Hon. Tony Nwulu and Sen. AbdulAziz respectively, pass into law and assented to by former Nigeria's president Buhari in 2019. This dream is work in progress vision and mission of ensuring that young people in their twenties could actively participate in the democratic process in Nigeria. Another example of economic dream was the historic "Chor manbi" initiative of our parents whose sole aim was to improve the economic base of its members to reduce poverty. It is unfortunate that the lofty initiative was not fully incubated and executed). The "Pusdung", festival of art and culture is an example of a socio-cultural dream which was initiated in 1989 and have grown into one of the biggest events in Plateau state. 

The dreams (ideas) of 'not too young to run' have become law but having many young people in position of power is yet another journey ahead that needs to be taken seriously and pursued with the energy it deserves. Pusdung has lasted decades but value can be added to it to make it even better. 'Chor manbi' has gone moribund but it can be reactivated to realise it goals since poverty is still a challenge. What this means that for a dream to be realised, it must run its full cause through diligent execution. In other words, a dream is just mere dream until it is fine tuned and, consciously, executed.

*OUR COMMUNITY*

Gochom community is located in Kabwir District of Kanke Local government. The community is neither rich human resources (population) nor abundant material resources. It has limited land mass featured by rocky terrain which makes commercial agriculture difficult. Plus or minus, our population is estimated to be a thousand people. In addition, the generational growth curve of the community, in terms of educational enrolment or attainment, has continued to rise and fall, that is, following andulating pattern. This is a situation where one generation has more people enrolling in school beyond primary school while others have more of their peers going beyond secondary school. However, from the lesson of history, the community has unique potential and opportunity for rapid and growth.

Currently, the community has produced one academic professor, doctors, an dean, heads of department in schools and government establishments. It has, also, produced two counselors, secretary of local government; a director and a deputy director in federal establishments, certified chattered accountants, barristers. In short, we have tried having representation in all fields of human endeavour, be it academic, health, sports, business security, engineering, etc (Science, technology and art)!

This is where we are but big is our dream for the community, going fowards? Where do we see GOCHOM in the next 10, 20 or 25 years? The community is one community that is targetted at hitting "the bull". The focus is on the big picture: How to optimise - geometrically increase our current gains and, drastically, reduce any disadvantege that constitutes 'clear and present danger' for us!

*HOW A COMMUNITY CAN BE HEARD

Communities are endowed differently. The potentials of every community or nation are three fold - it material resources, it's human capital and contacts. While some communities or nations are highly endowed with material resources (non-human factors of production) like land (forest, rivers, rocks and their associated blessing); capital equipments like machines, they are lacking in population (human resources) - labour and entrepreneurs and public administrators). Some are rich in population but lacking in material resources. Nations or communities hardly have both!

Nations that are rich in both human and material resources like Nigeria are rare - very few. It is important to note that human resources is the most important resources of every nation. However, having plenty human beings alone is not enough but improving the quality of the human being to produce using the material resources that are available is even more important.

Countries like Isreal and Taiwan are good examples of countries that are lacking in material resources but becomes great. Isreal with an estimatedly population of 7 million (far less populated than Lagos State) and surrounded by seven (7) nations that are hostile to it but, yet, has the gut and temerity (chutzpah) to break-through. The nation possibly has more companies than industrialised countries like Japan, India, Korea and Canada. And country that can be referenced is Taiwan. Taiwan is so poor in natural resources that they have to be importing sand from neighbouring countries if they want to use it. However, these two countries managed to excel in all ramifications.

William Shakespeare, one of the world's renowned literary icons, once said, "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them." This profound statement talks about three ways of becoming great: The first is individuals, communities and nations can be great by birth; the second is to be great by personal achievements and, the third, through accident or imposition. Which of these ways is the surest and sustainable way of becoming great for you?

The main thesis of this presentation is that it will take educationally empowered human resource to drive the process of holistic, sustainable and inclusive development in any community or nation. In my estimation, the most reliable way of attaining greatness is to climb the ladder of greatness through personal achievement sustained learning through the art and virtues of hardwork, smart work (skill work) and networking (consultancy, partnership and/or teamwork). To make this submission explicit, the following are critical enablers for great development in the world, generally, and Gochom community in particular:

1. Education: Maximising the limited human resource through education and training towards the acquisition of requisite cognitive (not general) knowledge or technical skills in relevant areas of human endeavour which can be bought a good price. Education is the process of learning which means to acquiring new knowledge and understanding in important ventures (things) in life. It is one of the most effective Channels through which the gap between the rich and the poor can be bridged. In other words, education is a universal leveller. Even democracy numbers (population) rules, education matters even more. With education, least, populated communities like ours could measure up with bigger ones. With education, gender inequality will be bridged in the community but without it, the community will be completely finished or continue to battle these contradiction.

2. Personal discipline: Discipline is the quality of being lawful, ethical, moral and self-controlled. The disciple to wait when the returns on investments are not immediate matters. Lasting success in great processes does not come immediately. In other words, attaining great success is a relay not a hundred metres race. If your dream is big enough, the maturity period might delay.

It is important to not that in the journey of life, delay is not necessarily a denial. It could just be an incubation period. Hence, the submission that: "Everything comes in time to those who can wait" (Francois Rabelais). To wait doesn't mean doing nothing but, instead, doing something worthwhile with your time.

3. Cultivating positive mindset: Nothing good, they say, comes easy. A person who lives with a defeatist mindset will hardly achieve anything. It takes a positive mindset to dare great things.  In other words, a positive mindset is one that dares to try great things. The account of Caleb & Joshua who brought encouraging report to isreal in Numbers 13:26; 14:1-12, especially, 6-12, is a classical example of positive mindset.

There is no winning way than having the courage to try something great even when the atmosphere looks gloomy. No wonder, stoic philosophers held that 'courage is the virtue that can champion the cause of right'!

4. Persistency: Persistency is another enabler. It is a virtue or frequency that enables a person or persons to pursue a dream to a logical conclusion. A persistent person or community goes the extra. He leverages the power of 'extra' to make a huge difference in the world of the living.

5. Networking: Networking means to relate or build productive relationship with others, especially, those who share your vision or could add value to it. To achieve greatness requires functional network with destiny helpers. Nobody has it all and nobody does it all alone. You are better off when you tap from the expertise and contact of others. "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together?"!

6. Think global and acting local. You cannot live with local mentality and expect to make global impact. In order to make global impact as a community and, as individuals, we must think and behave like global citizens not local champions.

*CONCLUSION*

We have seen that ducation is the lunch path to greatness in the 21st century. Cognitive knowledge helps a person or community to have a niche in specific areas of speciality. As a corollary, note that, no individual, community or nation can breakthrough without cultivation strategic value systems that are in tandem with the kind of dream the want to achieve.

Please, allow me to, brieftly, share with you the story of a dog and an elephant which I got on a social media platform. The dog and elephant became pregnant at the same. However, the dog gave birth to puppies; took in again, the second time, and deliver while the elephant was still carrying its old pregnancy. Concerned by the condition of the elephant, the dog approached it with a question. You and I got pregnant together at the same time, I gave birth  to my puppies and, I have given birth to the second set but you are still pregnant, are you sure you are, actually, pregnancy? The elephant responded: You gave birth to puppies but the pregnancy I am carrying is of an elephants. I  give birth once in two years and, when the baby elephant is born, people will rally round to watch with great admiration!

The moral of this story is that achieving a great feat might take time but not impossible. In other words, achieving greatness is nota 100 meters race but a relay which requires persistency and endurance. For a community to be great, also, all hands must be on deck because every micro-action has macro-implication. It takes consistent, collective and cumulative actions of past, present and future generations make great things happen. In the words of Frank Fanon, 'every generation must out of relative obscurity discover its mission and fulfill it or betray it.' The effort and contributions of succeeding generation is expected to add value to the one handed to her by preceding ones. This means that the failure of any generation in the value chain will spell doom for the growth progression of the whole. This implies that, for a community to grow into global reckoning, it must be consciously transgenerational and inclusive in it strategic development planning. 

We can make our 'Nhicnyi' (the elephant rock) that we have a symbolic hall of fame where the names of past, present and future legends who have achieved or will be achieving great things for the community could be written as a mark of honour or encouragement for present and future generations to strive to do more for us. From this initiative, we can even make that rock a tourist site visitors who might want to know how far we have gone in time. 

The challenged is for us to learn to be part of something bigger than us. Nick Vujicic, author of the book, "Life without limit" puts it this wasy: "The greatest rewards come when you give of yourself. It is about bettering the lives of others, being part of something bigger than yourself, and making a positive difference." With education and learning, no one is too small to contribute to the vision of making the world and, particularly, Gochom community great!

Have a dream as big as the elephant, nurture and, diligently, pursue it. There could be difficulties on the way but, if we courageously persist, we shall succeed in making great things happen and the world will have no option but to hear us!

Gochom ching!

God bless Gochom community!

God bless Ngas nation!

God bless Plateau State!

God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

God bless humanity!

Thank you all for listening.

*Being text of the paper presented at Gochom Youth Connect Event Held at the Community's Primary School on December 26, 2023)*

SURV. DR. FITKA STEVE BILSHAKKA CONDEMNS ATTACKS ON PLATEAU COMMUNITIES AND SYMPATHIZES WITH THE PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT

It is indeed tragic to experience this inhumane act on the peace loving people of Plateau Communities. So sad that the people were set for Christmas celebrations only for the enemy to unleashed such greusome terror

Our hearts are heavy and grieved over this unprovoked attacks on our communities, it's barbaric that some group of persons will take lives of innocent people who are also created by God for no justifiable reasons

In a statement Dr. Fitka admonished all to know and understand that no one has the right to truncate the life of another because only God is the giver of life.

Sympathizing with the affected communities and victims in B-Ladi, Bokkos and Mangu Dr. Fitka a MINISTERIAL hopeful in Plateau State prayed for comfort to those who lost their beloved and expeditious recovery to the injured.

Dr. Fitka also called on the security operatives to do the needful on the perpetrators of this dastardly act and be proactive in other to avert future occurrence.

    *@Fitka Media Team*