Nigerian Museums: What They Offer for the Present Generation
Museums are spots where historical past is built tangible. This indicates that they (museums) comprise relics of cultural supplies which have helped students in tracing the cultural roots of individual groups in just a nation or area. The historic stories remaining go through in publications, make employed of this kind of relics to improve knowledge (or learnership) of the current technology on the earlier issues or societies that have existed just before it. Nigerian museums have a extensive record and it is intently joined to the helpless nature of factors with regards to the accidental discovery of selected cultural materials of fantastic price to guy. Looking at the reality that they (accidentally discovered cultural materials) were being disappearing unlawfully against the inherent growth and growth of the cultural sector, the require to develop a risk-free spot was paramount.
From 1950s to day, in excess of twenty museums have been designed to enable in the handling of cultural supplies which are largely artifacts and ethnographic elements located inside Nigeria. There is virtually no museum in Nigeria that demonstrate to be distinctive from other types in phrases of their activities base on the function they have been proven. By definition, the museums in Nigeria are generally considered as cultural source centres charged with accountability to acquire, retail outlet and showcase to the public the cultural supplies of the historical times. In look at of this, the museums are mostly inventory with antiquities most of which their images are seen in guides and other community historical documents. This will make an indigenous visitor who visits 5 Nigeria museums to predict the contents of the other museums with out automatically checking out them. Thinking about this, the patronage of Nigeria museums is on the downward curve.
The most crucial detail on the other hand, is that, Nigerians are no extended curious about there earlier rather, they are far more anxious about their long run. That does not imply that the cultural elements housed in museums positioned in different states in the state are not applicable. The Nigeria individuals want to have renewed techniques of approaching cultural concerns. For instance, throughout my study in 2005, I achieved an artist who have practiced in Jos for above five years and only visited Jos Museum only at the time. His argument was that there no new points in Nigeria museums because all the museums he has frequented in other states have the same cultural content with just a small modification in the arrangement/set-up. The only exception having said that, is the War museum in Umuaifa and the Armed forces museum in Zaria.
At the instant, it appears that Nigerian museums ought to diversify in their cultural programmes in serving the public. This is due to the fact the common function of collection, housing and showcasing to the community is speedy getting to be un-motivating to the typical community. National Fee for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) as an umbrella body of community museums in Nigeria really should glance toward creating polices that will rejuvenate museums. New cultural programmes involving youths need to be carried out to increase public patronage.