Mr. Olugbile Holloway, the Director-General, National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), has identified poor funding and lack of participation as the major challenges facing museum development.
Holloway made the statement at a museum conversation held at the Slave History Museum in Calabar on Tuesday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the program, “Connecting the Dots,” was organized in partnership with the Goethe Institute and Ford Foundation.
The D-G said that the conversation, aimed at enhancing enlightenment about museums, was done in six museums nationwide.
“There is a need for mass enlightenment towards making the museums more interesting for people to visit.
“We need to look at user experience and ask ourselves what value we are adding to people’s lives before asking them to come to the museum.
“Most of our museums are dilapidated and not up to global standards; they can become better with the right technology and innovation,” he said.
Holloway said that museums in the country would not be viable if the wider community did not key in to drive the idea.
Mr. Abubakar Ewa, the Cross River Commissioner for Tourism, Arts, and Culture, said the state government was doing a lot to enhance tourism activities through community involvement.
Represented by Mr Dan Akeke, a Director in the ministry, Ewa said that celebrating the Golden Seat, an artifact returned from Liverpool after several years, had rekindled interest in ancestral crafts.
“The return of such precious artifact will help the youths and future generations to understand more about the crafts of their ancestors,” he said.
Eyo Ndem, a traditional ruler, said it was important for the community and government to play roles in the preservation of the people’s cultural heritage.
Ndem urged the government to make visits to museums a compulsory part of the school curriculum.
“It will enable the younger generation to see and understand the various aspects of their culture; this is important to their growth,” he said.
Prof. Adisa Ogunfolakan, a Former director of the AG Leventis Museum of Natural History, said the programme emphasised the need to preserve Nigeria’s cultural heritage.
“We need to use our museums to show the world that our ancestors were great and that their legacies should be preserved,” he said.
NAN reports that the programme also featured a panel discussion on the topic: “Enhancing Cultural Stewardship through Inclusive Community Engagement in Nigerian Museums” (NAN)
