The Usmanu Danfodiyo University Library Building: problems and prospects
| Pages | 29-36 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01435129810198576 |
| Date | 01 February 1998 |
| Published date | 01 February 1998 |
| Author | Ahmed Abdu Balarabe |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
Introduction
In 1975, the Federal Military Government
decided to establish seven additional Univer-
sity institutions as an important part of the
Third National Development Plan. To plan
and build a university in Nigeria, or in any
developing country for that matter, is to plan
and build a municipality. The Universities are
expected to provide not only all the academic
and related facilities but also the whole spec-
trum of services, infrastructure, etc. It is with
this in view and partly to avoid the mistakes of
the past that the seven newly created Univer-
sities (popularly referred to as the second
generation universities) in the country are
being planned.
The Usmanu Danfodiyo University is
among the second generation universities
established under Decree number 85 of 28
September 1979. The site chosen for the
university campus is 5,630 hectares in area,
and lies on high ground to the north-west of
Sokoto town separated from it by the broad
flood plain of the Rima and Sokoto rivers.
Sokoto experiences a complex climatic
regime. Generally, the winter months are
relatively cool but very dry and subject to the
dust-laden harmattan winds blowing from the
Sahara. This dry season is followed by a
traumatic period which becomes progressive-
ly more hot and humid until the arrival of the
rains (the major part falling in July and
August) after which there is cyclical transition
back to the dry months (University of Sokoto,
n.d.).
The overall projection for the University’s
population had been made by the Academic
Planning Group of the National Universities
Commission in conjunction with the Vice-
Chancellor. It was envisaged that the institu-
tion would grow rapidly, from a modest start
of about 245 to 1,600 students by 1979,
6,000 by 1983, and towards a target of 11,000
by 1989. Senior staff (academic, administra-
tive, and technical) would reach 250 by 1979,
950 by 1983 and 1.900 by 1989 (University of
Sokoto, n.d.).
Tremendous changes in the university
from 1989 to date are clearly evident, for the
staff and student population has currently
doubled the initial projected figures. Further-
more, educational, social and economic
pressures in the country that are unforeseen
today might further accelerate rapid develop-
ment that could result in a very dramatic rise
29
Library Management
Volume 19 · Number 1 · 1998 · pp. 29–36
© MCB University Press · ISSN 0143-5124
The Usmanu Danfodiyo
University Library
Building: problems and
prospects
Ahmed Abdu Balarabe
The author
Ahmed Abdu Balarabe is Principal Librarian at the
Usmanu Danfodiyo University Library, Sokoto, Nigeria.
Abstract
Perhaps one of the most important considerations in
library management the world over is the suitability and
conduciveness of the library environment. Absence of
these will curtail, to a certain extent, the efficiency of the
services and operations, as well as a comfortable reading
atmosphere. Undoubtedly, it is against these odds that
some university libraries operate in Nigeria. It is in this
context that the article reviews the library building situa-
tion of Nigerian universities with particular reference to
the experience of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University
Library, Sokoto.
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