Museum, simply put, is a place where art objects and artifacts are kept. These objects are those that have historical and cultural value. Museum is the reservoir of the people’s heritage. The objects represent the people’s belief and value systems. These are kept in the museum for preservation, for study and education as well for entertainment. Our culture is our pride and some need to be preserved. Effort must be consciously made to continue to make our culture relevant and alive. If and when this is done, it will reflect on the life and wellbeing of the people.
Over the years many aspects of our cherished rich cultural heritage have been facing serious threat especially from negative foreign influences, namely, music, dance, dresses films and cinemas. Many youths today see our festivals as outdated and old school. Many do not even know much about their history because history as a subject is no longer taught in most schools today. There is hardly any private school today where history is taught. Many do not even know their tribe and where they originated from.
After the scramble for and partition of Africa by the Europeans, they came and super-imposed their own culture on us. They came with their religion and made us believe that ours is nothing but fetish and barbaric. They made us hate our culture and religion. Our sad story is best summed up in the words of Obierika in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart: “The white … has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.”
Another negative effect of the European invasion and intrusion on our personality as Africans is the growing wave of hatred and insecurity. We have become so much divided and far from one another. Individualism has wasted away our spirit of communalism. We are no longer one another’s keeper. We have built walls and fenced off one another.
The quest for money and materialism has also dealt a big blow on preserving our cultural heritage. Every day youths flock to the urban areas from the rural areas. How then can we sustain our culture and enhance our well-being?
First, there is the urgent need for national re-orientation. We need to individually and collectively work on our mindset in order to correct so many wrong impressions we have been fed with and have cultivated or inculcated. The wrong impression that black is bad, barbaric, unproductive and backward. Let us reflect on the fact that for centuries Africans have been at the forefront of several inventions in many fields of human endeavour. Blacks carried away as slaves were used to develop the economies of Britain, Europe and America. Our cultural artifacts, especially those stolen and looted from the great Benin Kingdom in 1897, today adorn private and public museums in Europe and America. These people visit their museums to have fun and cool off. Our artifacts amaze them, they get relieved of their stress, thereby enhancing their emotional, psychological and mental well-being.
Secondly, the teaching of history and culture should be made compulsory at all levels of education in Nigeria. Government should ensure that all private primary, secondary and tertiary institutions comply with this directive. Students who choose to study History/Culture in our Colleges of Education and in other tertiary institutions should be encouraged by government through scholarship and other forms of grant.
Also, radio and television stations should be made to play or air more local or indigenous music, films, drama and cinemas. There should be proper monitoring of foreign films and songs or musicals aired in our airspace to check their contents as many do convey very negative messages inimical to the sense and sensibilities of our people especially the youths. From some of these musicals and films so many of our youths have copied very bad habits and some have become deviants and threats to the peace and progress of our societies.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Information, Culture and Orientation should embark on aggressive sensitization of the citizens to reawaken in them the sense of self-consciousness as many of us have lost our sense of self-esteem. The National Orientation Agency (NOA) should be awake to its statutory responsibility of orientating and re-orientating the people. They should collaborate with the Nigerian Film Corporation/Commission, Nollywood, other theatre groups and art producers to produce films, drama and cinemas with local content that are out to project and preserve our culture.
Government and corporate bodies should help sponsor research works on different aspects of our culture as many cultural practices today are gradually drifting to extinction. Our core values of love and brotherliness should be revived and strengthened as individualism has greatly taken a toll on our sense of love and unity. Africans were known before now for their spirit of communalism. Our love and taste for foreign goods and services have really torn us apart. It has created in us low self-esteem such that many people, especially the youths, no longer like to associate with anything local or indigenous. Our fashion (decent) and designs no longer attract most of our people but these are usually a delight to most foreign visitors when they go to our hotels and eateries. Our museums need to be well funded and upgraded to meet global practices. Existing facilities need to be maintained and current state of our museums need to be sustained and improved upon. This will attract more people to the museums to get educated, informed and entertained. A relaxed museum environment will greatly enhance the peace and well-being of the people or visitors. Tensed nerves will be taken off some stress. The people will be happy, new friends can be made, love, unity, cooperation and understanding will be fostered. Hatred and suspicion among classes of people will be greatly minimized if not completely eroded. Let’s sustain our museum and the wellbeing of our people will be greatly enhanced.
