Make the most of this
Yuletide: Visit a museum
By MAURICE ARCHIBONG
Thursday,
December 6, 2007
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Oron museum
Photos: MAURICE ARCHIBONG
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On November 8, "Travels" turned its searchlight
on the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) and
the National Gallery of Art (NGA), two of the many institutions
that are vital to the growth of the tourism and culture sectors
of our nation, and every country for that matter.
Today, we are featuring two other bodies, the National Commission
for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) and another agency more popularly
known by the acronym SAHCOL. With Christmas less than three
weeks away, we want to draw attention to Nigeria ’s
museums as well as encourage readers to make the most of this
Yuletide by visiting a repository or two.
At great personal financial cost, not to talk of the countless
dangers of travelling the Nigerian road, "Travels"
went to the trouble of touring virtually every museum in the
land. Although "Travels" is not a stranger to any
museum in Nigeria, our latest sacrifices were necessary to
put us in a better stead to correctly inform the reader as
to recent developments in the NCMM, generally, as well as
at the museum near you, specifically. Welcome to the NCMM,
one of the nation’s goldmine waiting to be tapped! Take
Le Louvre in the French capital Paris, for example: This museum
draws an average of 8 million viewers each year. It is noteworthy
that day-time admission to the Parisian museum, which is an
average of 8 million viewers each year, attracts a fee of
9 Euro, the equivalent of roughly N1, 500 per person. As could
be seen, Le Louvre alone grosses some N12 billion from viewers
per annum.
Another example is the Egyptian Museum in Cairo . One of the
oldest museums in the African continent, Egyptian Museum attracts
roughly 2 million viewers each year. Half a million of these
visitors are locals, while foreigners account for 75 per cent
or 1. 5 million of the yearly average number of guests.
Aside the stupendous wealth a museum could yield, each repository
holds much in store in terms of education. But possibly more
important for an evolving nation like Nigeria , a museum could
be exploited to foster unity. During an encounter at the Abuja
headquarters of the NCMM, the Director General, Dr. Joseph
Eboreime, had remarked: “The museum is the Central Bank
of any nation.” His hypothesis would be hard to debunk.
If the Museum is truly a nation’s apex bank, then there
is a lot to worry about, for the NCMM has not lived up to
expectations.
To be candid, this commission has achieved very little in
recent years. If anything, the NCMM has, worse than simply
being static, spiraled down the path to degeneration. The
NCMM has suffered in many ways over the years. A concert of
problems bedevils the NCMM. This might well explain the decision
of the federal authorities last November to send Dr. Eboreime
on indefinite suspension. Aside the erstwhile helmsman, at
least three of the institution’s directors were also
sent on compulsory leave for unspecified duration.
While a few respondents, who spoke under the condition of
anonymity, expressed optimism that everyone would be reinstated,
diehard critics voiced their wish that this suspension would
eventually metamorphose into a “nunc dimitis”
for some. Within local and international museum circles, there
is talk of misappropriation or misapplication of funds, and
one cannot but wonder how an institution as pauperized as
the NCMM came by any funds to misuse in the first place. Some
rumour mongers even added that, if some of those sent on leave
were not reinstated, they could squeal and end up implicating
supposed highly placed members of a certain ministry. On the
other hand, there was also talk that the return of all those
sent to rest could spark a furor, likely to embarrass the
presidency. In fact, a new word, “over-bribe,”
has been introduced into the vocabulary of this house of culture.
“Over-bribe” re-echoes in many stories being bandied
in connection with the current situation at the NCMM.
But the authorities do not want to appear to be taking things
lying low. Reliable sources hinted at the possibility that
the Honourable Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation,
Prince Adetokunbo Kayode (SAN), has set up a Committee to
look into the issue of vanishing antiquities. But museum watchers
remain implacable. Their grouse: “How many of those,
whose names are being bandied as members of this committee,
know anything about illegal trafficking?”
Apart from being a major money-spinner, a museum is an extricable
part of the national heritage. Unfortunately, the NCMM has
been groaning under uncertainties for too long. Under the
suspended management of the NCMM, various icons of our national
heritage, enviable milestones on Nigeria’s cultural
landscape were not only condemned to crass neglect: Alok,
Nok, Suranme and most other prospective money-spinning stations
lay fallow across the land. At these and many other sites,
priceless items of Nigerian heritage were treated with apparent
contempt.
Museum insiders recall the NCMM got a paltry N8 million to
cover overheads at its 33 stations in 2005. If that seemed
ridiculous, the figure dropped almost 60 per cent to N3 million
for the 2006 fiscal year. If the slump by over 50 per cent
appears shocking, how about the allocation of N60 million
for capital projects in 2006, whereas N480 million was approved
for the preceding year! Annual national membership due to
the International Council of Museums (ICOM) is $12, 000 (at
least N1.5 million), not to talk of subscription fees to Africom,
ICOMUS, ICROM and other professional bodies.
Given its perennial lean budgets, the NCMM would soon be indebted
to its international affiliates, if this was not already the
situation. A pauperized NCMM means Nigerian museum specialists
sometimes miss international workshops and seminars. The NCMM
is often so broke there’s no money to procure antiquities.
This situation could be exploited by unpatriotic elements
that could then claim they were given no option but to fall
back on traffickers to dispose of invaluable pieces of ancient
artefacts.
Curiously, impecuniosities at the NCMM do not seem to discourage
alleged frivolous foreign trips on the part of its leaders.
Dependable sources submitted that part of Eboreime’s
undoing was the composition of the Board of the NCMM. In apparent
contempt of the so-called Federal Character posture of successive
Nigerian governments, the five-man NCMM Board comprised four
Northerners and a solitary Igbo: No Yoruba, and no representative
of the Niger-Delta. But that is not all. While the NCMM groaned
under crippling paucity of funds, members of the NCMM Board
cost the nation tens of thousands of dollars on oversea trips.
Another crisis at the NCMM is the body’s staff strength,
which has dropped more than 33 per cent from 3, 200 to 1,
200 over the last two years. Critics of the Eboreime administration
allege that some good hands were lost in the process, and
that there were even plans to ship out more reliable hands
that were not in the DG’s so-called good books.
Once upon an era, Nigeria ’s Department of Antiquities,
forerunner of today’s NCMM, was akin to a beacon for
sub-Saharan Africa . It was to Nigeria that the then Osagyefo
Kwame Nkruma-led government of Republic of Ghana looked for
the training of those that would later man the Museums Board
of the former Gold Coast. One of the Ghanaian scholars that
came to Nigeria to hone his museum skills is Professor Joe
Nkrumah. The Ghanaian don, no relation of Ghana ’s first
post-independent head of state, had studied at Lagos Museum
, Onikan. Nkrumah, who found a good finishing school in the
Nigerian Museum , had earlier studied and taught in one of
the Nordic nations before he was invited to join his country’s
museum service.
The man would later rise to become Director of Ghana Museum
Board (GMB), and held fort there until his retirement in 2000.
Such was the man’s reputation as a master museums manager
that after his tenure he was retained as Emeritus Professor
by GMB. In 2000, during one of my many visits to Ghana Museums,
along Barnes Road , Accra , I had asked Prof. Nkrumah for
a reminiscence of his days as student at the Onikan-based
Lagos Museum . The recall from the heavily bearded man almost
brought tears to our eyes. Hear him: “Oh, oh, those
were the days…. Unfortunately, when I visited Lagos
Museum a few years ago, I almost cried.” Such is the
state of affairs at the NCMM.
Today, the NCMM boasts some 37 stations, including its Abuja-based
headquarters, pointing to the fact that the commission has
come a long way from 1943, when its fore-runner, Nigeria Antiquities
Service (NAS) was established. Nonetheless, there is no doubt
much more ground ought to have been covered by now. Unfortunately,
bogged by uninspiring leadership in recent years, the NCMM
simply could not fly. Morale is very low, funding inadequate
and mistrust is rife.
Those who should know put the dwindling fortunes of the NCMM
down to the fractious manner in which the Commission was being
run. Visits to several museums across the country reveal that
though funding remains a big obstacle, the NCMM is also plagued
by acute manpower shortage and in-fighting. Unfortunately,
top functionaries of the NCMM would not comment on challenges
they face or invoked.
Not long after Dr. Eboreime assumed office as NCMM DG, “Travels”
had gone round many museums and spoke with Mr. Sonny Adaka,
Mr. Theophilus Umogbai, Dr. Abu Edet, Gang Chai Mang, curators
of the Old Residency, National Museum Owo, Museum of National
Unity, Enugu; and head of Nok station respectively, among
others. At that time, the popular view was that with Dr. Eboreime
at the helm of affairs, positive developments would follow.
The view of Umogbai and others was: “The DG is doing
very well.” However, last month’s compulsory rest
for Eboreime does not reflect the earlier view expressed by
these heads of stations. In deed, some critics had told us
during that survey that Dr Eboreime was frequently inaccessible.
Some even alleged the man was playing an ethnic card. We found
it all hard to understand, even after going through unsolicited
junk mails floating around the Internet.
A former curator of National Museum Benin , Eboreime is an
alumnus of University of Nigeria (UNN), Nsukka and the elite
British University Cambridge, where he bagged a Doctor of
Philosophy (Ph. D).
Eboreime launched into national and international fame when
he succeeded in getting Nigeria her first world Heritage Site
in 1999, followed by the 2005 registration of Osun Osogbo
Grove as the nation’s second WHS. Despite his sparkling
academic laurels, Eboreime like other ordinary mortals could
not be perfect, which is why the many unsolicited stories
surrounding developments at the NCMM sound incredible.
A trip to a museum is good for you
Although Nigeria ’s house of culture has been haunted
by some scandals over the years, this is not to say that museums
in the country would not be active this Yuletide. Expectedly,
activities are scaled down at some stations. For example,
a hall built at the Ile-Ife station would not be commissioned
until a new management has been appointed for the NCMM. On
the other hand, at the Old Residency inside the National Museum
, Calabar, a Christmas workshop/party for children would open
on December 22. Mr. Sonny Adaka, Curator of Old Residency,
said the event would close on December 26. Whether in Abeokuta,
Akure, Alok, Asaba, Badagry, Bauchi, Benin, Calabar, Esie,
Igbo Ukwu, Ile-Ife, Ilorin, Jos, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Koko,
Lagos, Maidugri, Makurdi, Nok, Oron, Sokoto or Uyo, in deed,
wherever you live, there is a museum around you or somewhere
nearby.
And we want to suggest that parents take their children and
ward to a museum this season. If you’re single, then
take a friend or two.
A museum is many things rolled into one: A museum is a pointer
to civilizations, and not surprisingly, civilized minds gravitate
toward museums. A friend of the museum is a lover of culture
and a friend of humanity. A museum plays invaluable roles:
It could be exploited to enhance patriotism, the economy and
even helps in reducing crime by engaging youths that would
otherwise have been idle. Little wonder then that the Museum
is big business in the civilized world.
As earlier stated, there are countless benefits for touring
a museum. Take the case of Mr. Osita Ogbuefi for example.
Mr. Ogbuefi, who spoke to “Travels” on Friday
January 5, 2007, recalled he was about eight years old, when
he first entered a museum. This was in 1978. Now 35, Ogbuefi
said he was then in primary school, the Police Children School
, and that his school frequently brought its pupils on excursion
to the museum.
After his first encounter in 1978, Osita again visited the
museum, this time on his own, in 1985. He was then a secondary
school student, and came on his own to the same repository,
Lagos Station of the National Museum , as part of his Easter
celebration. While he was a student of Federal Government
College (FGC), Enugu , Ogbuefi also visited the local National
Museum along Abakaliki Road . “I was always interested
in knowing my history, knowing where I’m coming from;
that was Ogbuefi’s response to our query on his interest
in museums.”
The man said had earlier visited Accra Museum during his honeymoon,
which he spent in Ghana , years before his January 2007 visit
to Onikan, when we met him. However, that tour of Accra Museum
was his first to a museum in more than 10 years. Ogbuefi wished
he had more time to visit museums regularly because “Apart
from helping me connect with my past, the museum makes me
feel close to nature,” he remarked.
In spite of the 10-year interval between his visit to a museum,
Ogbuefi reckons he is even luckier than most. “There
are millions of people that have never set foot inside a museum
in Nigeria ,” he mused. And why does he think so?
“The authorities ought to be more interested in publicity
to generate awareness. The public should be educated on the
many benefits of visiting a museum. The authorities should
let countless Nigerians dying of boredom; know they can find
relaxation or recreation in a museum tour.
The authorities should put Museum studies in the curriculum:
It would be a great way to educate kids,” Ogbuefi observed.
Ogbuefi said when he visited British Museum in 2002 or 2003;
he was disappointed to find out that Nigerian antiquities
were glibly labeled primitive. “African art museum is
big industry. I know this, from my visit to British Museum
. The human traffic at British Museum was staggering, but
our folks don’t seem to know how to bring Nigerian Museums
alive. May be, they should bring the private industry into
it as well. It is a two-arm thing,” he concluded.
Harvests from SAHCOL
Although SAHCOL is not part of the Tourism, Culture and National
Orientation Ministry, this agency is nonetheless important
to the travel and tourism industry. Due to lack of attention
paid to collection of tourists’ statistics over the
years, it is difficult to identify the mode of local transportation
preferred by visitors during their stay in Nigeria .
However, there is no doubt that a staggering number of such
wayfarers travel by air. Most of those that fly domestic routes
in Nigeria rely on voice announcements of departure, arrival
and other information at various airports. But as we all know,
spoken announcements are not very helpful to people that are
hard-of-hearing. Fortunately, this category of travellers
is, however, compensated by the presence of revolving neon
signs, which convey relevant notification. However, little
concern appeared to have been shown to the plight of people
with perambulatory difficulties at our airports, until recently.
Apparently, the average commuter expects the authorities to
put all necessary facilities in place at relevant arrival
and departure points across the land. Unfortunately, this
is not always the norm, for various reasons. But we also sometimes
take some amenities for granted and end up not paying tribute
to those, whose initiative facilitated the installation of
certain structures. This is one of the reasons "Travels"
decided to report on the achievements of SAHCOL with a view
to encouraging other bodies to look into ways of improving
their services and consequently contribute more to the growth
of the Nigerian travels and tourism sectors.
Any Lagos resident that has cause to travel between Ikeja
and the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway via Agege Motor Road and Murtala
Mohammed Airport cannot be a stranger to the National Aviation
Handling Company (NAHCO). This is because of a very busy bus
stop standing near NAHCO complex, from which the bus station
got its name. Moreover, NAHCO bus stop is located close to
the Hajj Camp, where Moslems bound for pilgrimage wait for
take-off. As a result of these, countless Nigerians are apparently
familiar with NAHCO. Contrarily, relatively fewer Nigerians
seemed familiar with SAHCOL. By way of further comparison,
SAHCOL is also still a baby in terms of age and income. For
example, older NAHCO handles roughly 80 per cent of the foreign
airlines accounts, whereas SAHCOL boasts barely 20 per cent.
So, what is SAHCOL? Mr. Chike Ogeah, Managing Director and
Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of SAHCOL, explained that
SAHCOL is an acronym from Skypower Aviation Handling Company
Limited and that this handling outfit evolved as a department
of the now defunct Nigeria Airways.
Until December 2006, Sahcol was like an appendage of NAHCO.
Today, however, many a hitherto dysfunctional equipment is
revving back to life. "Travels" however gathered
that some facility, such as a departure-control system, though
since paid for, has not been extended to SAHCOL. But back
to Mr. Ogeah, who added: "The concept of ‘self-handling’
on the part of the then Nigeria Airways management, led to
birth of Sahcol."
Ogeah, who worked at the Presidency, Abuja from 1999 until
his appointment as SAHCOL MD, further explained: "In
a nutshell, Sahcol complements airlines services to customers.
Sahcol’s job starts from the conveyor belt: Flight safety
is also determined by expert loading, and we rely on specialized
equipment for this. Sahcol is also involved in aircraft services.
For example, Sahcol ground power units, powers the aircraft,
while it is on ground. Sahcol is also into warehousing, cargo
and passenger handling, bonded warehouse services, ramp handling,
and so on." Moreover, Sahcol is responsible for VIP Lounge
services as well as buses/coach services and also in charge
of those motorized steps with umbrellas, which passengers
stand on to board or alight from an aircraft. According to
the SAHCOL boss, 10 conveyor belts were shared to major airports,
a few months ago, aside two tugs that are soon to arrive.
Another reason we wanted to speak with the SAHCOL chief is
that Mr. Chike Ogeah clocks a year in office as SAHCOL CEO
this month. Truly, SAHCOL has come a long way over the last
one year. Despite daunting challenges, Sahcol has also made
certain strides, earning well-deserved accolades for its efforts.
For example, Sahcol was given "The Innovation Award in
Airport Service Delivery" for "The Introduction
of Airport Lift Chair for Handicapped Travellers," as
part of recognition for its efforts.
Akwaaba Travel Market, an annual expo organized by the African
Travel Quarterly (ATQ), the premier Travel Magazine in West
Africa, made the award to SAHCOL at a well-attended event,
which took place at the prestigious Eko Hotel and Suites in
Victoria Island, Lagos . But, as could be seen, SAHCOL has
done a lot more than just the provision of wheel chairs for
paraplegics or passengers unable to walk unaided.
We had been discussing changes in the tourism sector, and
how the aviation end seemed poised to not be left behind.
This came from our observations of how certain corporate bodies,
notably Zenith Bank, had literally stepped in to stake out
their territory. Motorized steps, walls and virtually every
available space are now branded. From the way Zenith and others
have taken to branding strategic spots around some airports,
one would think they actually owned these places. As some
Nigerians are wont to say, “Nothing spoil,” after
all Zenith has brought colour to hitherto lack-lustre walls,
fingers and what have you.
While waiting for boarding announcement for our flight to
Abuja , I was engaged in a conversation with a co-traveller
about what role SAHCOL played in all these changes, when the
fellow passenger, who happened to know the helmsman of the
air cargo handling agency, pointed out Mr. Ogeah to us. Since
departure was still some 15 minutes away, we had approached
the man, who was kind enough to talk to us.
Those who should know, say privatization would facilitate
the growth and profitability of Sahcol. There is at least
one score, on which this argument could hardly be faulted:
Reliable sources had confided in "Travels" thus,
"When Ogeah assumed office in December 2006; he inherited
some round pegs in square holes." However, since the
chief executive of SAHCOL does not enjoy the luxury to hire
and fire, Ogeah found a way to reinvigorate the body through
injection of fresh blood into the system as well as reorientation.
The result was that dampened morale gave way to renewed optimism
and enhanced efficiency. Sahcol workers now spot spick and
span attire, and there’s noticeable improvement in IT
application across the agency’s operations. Workers
now send e-mails to their boss, who told "Travels,"
“I reply immediately.”
But it has not been smooth sailing through and through. Mr.
Ogeah admitted that Sahcol management has its headaches, too.
For example, though the company realizes an average monthly
income of N160 million, its account is virtually always in
red because of huge operational costs. To worsen matters,
Sahcol is owed tens of millions of naira by various airlines.
But Ogeah was keen to stress: "MEA (Middle East Airlines),
Virgin Nigeria, Egypt Air are very good clients."
The indebtedness of some airlines to SAHCOL and the fact that
a lot of money was invested in staff training as well as an
aggressive and massive fleet renewal programme means that
SAHCOL is more often than not walking a financial tightrope.
Albeit, Ogeah is not downbeat; he sees brighter days ahead,
now that a new foundation has been laid. Fortunately, there’s
good news for Sahcol and numerous industry creditors: The
new Minister of Air Transportation, Felix Hassan Hyet, has
directed that all debt obligations to Sahcol and relevant
agencies must be paid.
One could therefore understand Mr. Ogeah’s enthusiasm,
when he declared that he and his team would on top of the
situation. Having decided to take this job, he had since rolled
up his sleeves and remains bent to succeed, the SAHCOL chief
concluded.
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