IHS Nigeria, part of the IHS Holding Limited, one of the largest independent owners, operators and developers of shared communications infrastructure in the world by tower count, and the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) have collaborated to birth the country’s first digital museum of antiquities, marking an important step towards digitising Nigeria’s cultural heritage.

The unveiling, which was held on Thursday, August 14, 2025, attracted stakeholders from the arts and communication sector. The digital museum, the first significant such project under the NCMM’s Digital Culture Initiative, is designed to provide a platform for the exploration and appreciation of Nigeria’s diverse cultural heritage. It also demonstrates the power of public-private sector partnerships and underscores IHS Nigeria’s commitment to sustainability and its role in helping foster cultural preservation and digital education.

The Director General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Olugbile Holloway, said this landmark initiative represents a significant milestone in modernising the preservation and promotion of Nigeria’s cultural assets and making them more accessible to a global audience.

Holloway said, “The launch of this digital museum represents a groundbreaking idea finally brought to fruition. The vision behind this museum is to make Nigeria’s heritage more accessible to a wider, younger, tech-savvy audience. It is our hope that this first iteration of the digital museum will serve as a starting point for building a digital repository of real-life Nigerian antiquities that we will continue to expand over time. In creating this digital museum, over 200 actual antiquities from our collection at the National Museum of Lagos have been 3D scanned and placed in an immersive environment. Each object is also tagged with the relevant educational material to provide viewers with more information on the object being displayed. I would like to take this opportunity to thank IHS Nigeria for their invaluable partnership and support in bringing this vision to life, and look forward to future collaborations to further display Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage to an even broader audience.”

The digital museum is free to all visitors and can be experienced through the National Commission for Museums and Monuments’ website at www.museum.ng.

Also speaking, the CEO, IHS Nigeria, Mohamad Darwish, commented, “Today is a proud moment for us as we see the digital museum come alive. As a company deeply rooted in Nigeria, we are excited to have played a key part in this groundbreaking effort to preserve and promote Nigeria’s cultural heritage, while also making it accessible to people around the world.”

He said: “The success of this partnership with the National Commission for Museums and Monuments and the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, reinforces our commitment to the innovative use of technology to promote education, transform communities and drive economic growth.

I look forward to seeing how this will help evolve the museum culture in Nigeria, as well as appreciation for Nigeria’s rich history globally.”

The Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, said, “this historic event marks a transformative milestone in the preservation, promotion, and accessibility of Nigeria’s vast cultural heritage.”

For the first time, authentic Nigerian antiquities will be showcased in an innovative digital space, making our rich history and artistic expression accessible to audiences both within and beyond our borders. This initiative not only preserves our heritage, but also projects Nigeria’s cultural legacy onto the global stage.”

She said, “this remarkable achievement would not have been possible without the valuable partnership between the NCMM and IHS Nigeria. Their collaborative vision and commitment to cultural advancement have set a new benchmark for public-private partnerships. This partnership exemplifies the power of collective effort in driving innovation, fostering national pride, and enhancing the creative economy. I urge all Nigerians and the international community to embrace this new era of digital cultural engagement, as we continue to celebrate and safeguard our national treasures for generations to come.”