The Federal Government has begun the process of designating 111 historical locations in the nation as National Monuments, according to Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture, who made the announcement on Tuesday.
At the 26th episode of the President Muhammadu Buhari Administration Scorecard Series in Abuja, Mohammed made this disclosure (2015-2023). According to him, the process of designating the locations as national monuments has proceeded and is pending presidential approval.
The 111 new national monuments will be added to the 65 already in existence, the minister said. Mohammed also revealed that Nigeria’s National Festival Calendar has been released for the first time under the Buhari administration.
In an effort to include them on the national cultural calendar, he said that the ministry financed and participated in a number of cultural events around the nation. The minister listed the events as the Ijakadi in Offa, Kwara, the Durbar in Dutse, Jigawa, the Calabar Carnival in Cross River, and the Argungu International Fishing and Cultural Festival in Argungu, Kebbi.
Speaking especially about the celebrated Argungu Fishing and Cultural Festival, the minister said that the Buhari administration brought it back in 2020 following a 10-year break.
He said: “Of course, you are aware that this festival is one of the most widely attended events in Nigeria and the oldest festival of its kind, dating back many generations.
“We also ensured that the festival was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2016.
“The list was created to ensure better protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide and the awareness of their significance.” Also listed as parts of his ministry’s achievements, he said they visited tourist sites across the country, with a view to encouraging domestic tourism.
Mohammed claims that among other places, they went to the Owu waterfalls in Kwara and the rock paintings in Birnin Kudu, Jigawa. He claimed that the National Museum of Colonial History and the Exhibition Galleries at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Mausoleum in Bauchi had been refurbished by the government.
The Old Residency Museum in Calabar as well as the National Museums at Lagos, Ibadan, Esie, Yola, Abeokuta, Maiduguri, Oyo, Minna, Damaturu, Asaba, Koko, and Jalingo all received upgrades. According to him, they have restored and conserved the National Museums in Kaduna, Enugu, and Ile-Ife.
