''Gombe'' (Fula: Gelle/Wuro Gombe 𞤺𞤫𞥅𞤤𞥆𞤫/𞤱𞤵𞥅𞤪𞤮 𞤺𞤮𞤥𞤥𞤦𞤫) is the capital

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Gombe State Gombe State ( ff, Leyddi Gommbe 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤺𞤮𞤥𞥆𞤦𞤫) is a state in northeastern Nigeria, bordered to the north and northeast by the state of Borno and Yobe, to the south by Taraba State, to the southeast by Adamawa State ...

, north-eastern

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, with an estimated population of 261,536. The city is the headquarters of

, a traditional city that covers most of

. The major spoken languages in Gombe are Hausa and Fulfulɗe, Tera and Tangale. Recent development in the state includes the establishment of new International Conference Center, Gombe under the administration of the former Governor of the state, Ibrahim Hassan Dan-kwambo and inaugurated by the president of Nigeria, ably represented by his vice, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo on 27th of may 2019, opening of the new Gombe Lawanti International Airport in 2008 and state-wide street solar installation. Gombe Central Mosque 02

Population

is populated by the

Fulani people The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...

, constituting more than half of the state's population. Other ethnic groups include the

Bolewa Bole (''bòo pikkà'', also known as Bolanchi, Ampika, Borpika, Bolewa, Bolawa) is a West Chadic language spoken in Nigeria. Dialects include Bara and Fika, spoken in the Fika Emirate The Fika Emirate is a traditional state with headquarte ...

Tera TERA is a shielded twisted pair connector for use with Category 7 twisted-pair data cables, developed by The Siemon Company and standardised in 2003 by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) with the reference IEC 61076-3-104. The ...

Waja Waja (also known as Waja Temuga) is a town in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Debubawi Zone of the Tigray Region, south of the city of Alamata, Waja has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 1471 meters above sea level. It is one of ...

, and

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also * ...

people. The LGA has an area of 52 km² and a population of 480,000 at the 2006 census. The

postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...

of the area is 760.

Politics

The current Local Government Chairman is Alh Ali Ashaka.

Transport

Gombe is served by Gombe Lawanti International Airport, and by a station on the eastern mainline of the national railway network and Gombe Line Terminal in mid-city. On 1 Feb., President

Goodluck Jonathan Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957)Lawson Heyford, ''The Source'' (Lagos), 11 December 2006. is a Nigerian politician who served as the President of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to fo ...

announced that the Gombe-Kafancha-Kaduna intercity train services had been "rehabilitated", saying "the inauguration of the train services was crucial to the growth and development of the Gombe and other adjoining states." "Minister of Transport, Idris Umar ... flagged off the Gombe-Kafanchan-Port Harcourt and Gombe-Kafanchan-Kaduna intercity train services."

Culture and education

Gombe, as

capital, is the home of the notable Gombe State University (GSU) located at Shamaki ward, Tudun Wada, Gombe. The University was established during the then government of Governor

Danjuma Goje Mohammed Danjuma Goje (born 10 October 1952) was a former Governor of Gombe State, Nigeria under the platform of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), taking office on 29 May 2003 during the 2003 Gombe State gubernatorial election. He is now a me ...

in 2004. Making it the first University in the State. Also, in Gombe is Federal College of Education (Technical), Gombe. Also, in Gombe, is the College of Nursing and midwifery Gombe state, also, another State managed tertiary institution and is located at JEKADAFARI. Also, in Gombe is th
College of Medical Sciences
There are also several State and private-owned primary and Secondary schools within Gombe, among are MATRIX International Academy, Gombe Central, Government Science Secondary School, Government Day Secondary School (Pilot), Pen resource Academy, to mention but few.

Economy

Farming is the main source of income for the inhabitants of

. Maize, millet, Guinea corn, rice, cotton, groundnut, beans, Beni seed, and other food and cash crops are farmed in the state. Livestock rearing is also common in the state. Tudun Hatsi is a notable market where grain business thrives in Gombe local government. The market generates huge revenue to the local government and the state in general. The Gombe Urban Market, also known as (Babbar kasuwa) in Hausa, is located in the HERWAGANA region of Gombe. The state's geographical location and friendly economy make it a commercial area where entrepreneurs, even neighboring states, have their SMEs established. These SMEs have been the source of employment and income generation to many individuals Gombe town's unusual location in the heart of the North-East has made it a popular resting and gathering spot for travelers and traders from all over the geopolitical zone and beyond. In 2008 an agreement was reached "to set up anti-venom manufacturing plant in Kaltungo General Hospital in Gombe," and provide medical training for snakebite patients. The

government ordered an additional N4 million in anti-venom for the hospital in 2009, due to a local increase in snakebites.

Sports

Gombe is also home to the new

Pantami Stadium The Pantami Stadium is a 12,000 capacity multi-purpose stadium at the Pantami district of Gombe, Gombe State, Nigeria. It is used mostly for the training of Gombe United F.C and football matches but it is also employed for state and national cer ...

, a 12000-capacity sporting complex erected in 2010 by the then-Governor

's administration to help the state's sports growth. It replaced the earlier Abubakar Umar Memorial Stadium and is home to Gombe United F.C. and

Gombe Bulls Gombe Bulls is a Nigerian professional basketball team located in Gombe State. The team competes in the Nigerian Premier League. History The team participated in the 2017 FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup, which was the first time the team played i ...

, the 2017

Nigerian Premier League The Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) is the highest level of the Nigerian football league system, for the Nigerian club-football championships. The Nigerian league has suffered, like many others, from the financial impact and dwind ...

runners-up (basketball).

Boko Haram

Gombe has been impacted by

jihadist Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...

group

Boko Haram Boko Haram, officially known as ''Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād'' ( ar, جماعة أهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد, lit=Group of the People of Sunnah for Dawah and Jihad), is an Islamic terrorist organization ...

insurgency An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irregu ...

, having been attacked several times in the mid-2010s. On 22 December 2014, a

suicide bombing A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...

at a bus station killed over 20 people. On 1 January 2015, a suicide bomber attacked a

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

service at a church, injuring several people. On 14 January 2015, a suicide bomber killed two people and left 14 wounded at a Gombe mosque. On 2 February 2015, just minutes after a

campaign rally A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referend ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Goodluck Johnathan, an attack by a

female suicide bomber Female suicide bombers are women who carry out a suicide attack, wherein the bomber kills herself while simultaneously killing targeted people. Suicide bombers are normally viewed as male political radicals but since the 1960s female suicide attac ...

left one person dead and eighteen injured. Two blasts had occurred in the city the previous day, leaving five people dead. Local residents "have set up checkpoints to defend Gombe" according to the BBC. Boko Haram attacked Gombe on 14 February 2015, as well as on 16 and 22 July 2015.

References

{{Authority control Local Government Areas in Gombe State State capitals in Nigeria