Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Senator Jubril Bello Gada recently urged museums in the country to live up to expectation by presenting and propagating the nation’s heritage. Speaking recently at an event organized by the National Commission for Museums and Movement (NCMM) to mark the international Museum Day, Gada recalled that the world Museums Day was to highlight the roles played by museums in using the universal language of their collections to create and develop international understanding across the world.

He reminded government and the general public of the special roles, which museums must play in preserving and propagating the cultural heritage of member states.

“Considering global trends in growing international appreciation of museum activities and the ever increasing need for recreation and entertainment, the diverse artifacts and objects speak volumes of our heritage as the epicenter of the black race, explained the minister who described the museum a cornerstone of heritage development which ‘is pivotal to tourism promotion as well as job creation in the areas of eco-museums, cultural parks and integrated community-driven cultural industries, in accordance with NEPAD recommendation for tourism development’.

The Minister who was represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr. Adegoke Adegoroye noted that Museums and Tourism have a strong symbiotic but delicate relationship which must be carefully managed for sustainable development.

“ Museums the world over, influence the flow of tourists who go in search of knowledge, adventure and relaxation, and this is evident in the number of tourists who go in search of historic ruins, museum, cultural sites and landscapes, as well as their associated myriad of intangible cultural values such as songs, myths, folklores, dances, language and drama. This realization has continued to turn the world attention to issues of conservation of culture, giving rise to the increasing emphases on preservation and rehabilitation of monuments, archaeological sites and museums. This is the basis for the global Best Practice maxim of ‘conservation first; tourism next.” explained the minister.

Incidentally, the World Museum Day coincided with Nigeria’s culture week, during which a day was set aside for creating awareness of humanity on the need to celebrate Nigeria’s political and cultural past.
Dignitaries delivered many speeches on the theme, even as pupils of Baby Bond Nursery and Primary schools thrilled the gathering with cultural displays of dance, music and poetry. They entertained guests with Swange and Atilogwu dance steps. There was also a goodwill message from Chief Frank Okonta while Professor Ekanem Ikpi-Braide of the University of Calabar delivered an extensive lecture on the theme of the occasion. Cultural Ambassador Ajimili also did a song entitled, Nigeria; the Land of Culture and Tourism.

It was gathered that the NCMM has as its pilot project, Eco-Museum, which in other word centers on heritage conservation and community driven. Eco Museum is akin to museum beyond borders.
The concept aims at ensuring that the creative talents of youths are channeled towards productive ventures, since culture and nature are predicated by man to produce cultural products with conservation as the defining principle, and Eco-tourism as product.

With Koko Town as a pilot project, these Eco-museums are being developed to promote cottage industries, crafts and cultural activities, within the context of integrated conservation and sustainable practices that exploit the natural resources in a wise way.

Gada further hinted that“ Tourism today is a global economic goldmine and the world’s number one employer of labour. It is acknowledged as a foreign exchange earner, income distributor and a catalyst for rural development and the fostering of peace, among visitors and communities. With the economic depression knocking on our doors, we need to focus on cultural tourism, which has the potential to attract unpredicted foreign exchange from the surge of travelers that would prefer the third world where they can spend less. Our duty therefore is to jointly work towards making Nigeria the preferred destination.”

For the Director General, National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Dr. Joseph Eboreime, the term ‘Cultural Tourism’ takes cognizance of conservation as the modulator and mediator between culture and tourism to ensure sustainability of cultural and natural assets, which must be captured in a well-articulated management system.

The Nigerian Museums are known for ancient artworks that span a period of over 8000 years. The artworks are naturalistic, semi naturalistic and stylized. These and other peculiar attributes attract tourists to the Museums on a yearly basis. The Dufuna Canoe, the third world’s oldest water craft found in archaeological context has stretched Nigeria’s prehistory to as far back as 6,000 years BC.