From: Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
A museum and monuments expert, Dr. Edet Abu Solomon, has called for the establishment of a National War Museum in Nigeria to enable young generation understand the horrors of the Nigerian civil war, fought between 1967 and 1970.
If this is done, he believed, would go a long way in preventing another Biafra situation.
Dr. Solomon, who is a senior lecturer at the History and International Studies department. University of Calabar, also called for the re-introduction of History as a subject into the school curriculum from the primary to the university level,
Dr. Solomon made these calls in his keynote address at a forum organised by the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, to commemorate 2017 International Museum Day.
The programme, which was attended by selected primary and secondary school students from various parts of Ogun State, also saw the students watched a video clip of the Nigerian civil war.
Other speakers at the forum were Dr. Philip Akpen, Mr. Martins Oloja of The Guardian newspaper and Mr. Ayodele Aderinwale, Mr. Chijioke Iwuamadi, the lead speaker, Mrs. Constance Omawunmi Kola, Mr. Hamzart Lawal and Comrade Daminabo Alali Daniel.
According to the university don, “it was regrettable that due to the neglect of History in the school curriculum, the young generation have very little knowledge of the civil war”, maintaining museum studies must form part of the school curricula at all levels of the country’s education system.
He said: “The role of the museum to develop news or disseminate information via exhibition and public awareness campaign on national pressing issues such as corruption, religious extremism and against the recreation of new Biafra will have great impact in the country’s sustainable growth.
“While the battle against corruption, terrorism, kidnappings, theft and vandalism to Nigeria’s cultural property rages, there is need to revive the museum system. I am a strong proponent against the menace of destroying our cultural resources, but at the same time I insist we should direct attention towards creating jobs, increasing revenue for the country and building our economic capacity as a whole using cultural resources.
“By mediating and expressing multiple points of view, museums play a role in peacefully addressing traumatic histories – while still sharing knowledge of the past and giving it meaning to help us understand the world today. Museums therefore become tools for teaching universal values and help create a common destiny among different, peaceful geopolitical spaces”.
He, however, commended former President Olusegun Obasanjo for establishing the Presidential Library and urged the Federal government to ensure that security agents are subjected to periodic refresher courses on the illegal trafficking and preservation of antiquities.