From Lawrence Njoku, Enugu
The National Commission for Museums and Monuments has raised an alarm over the increasing threat to the common heritage, stressing that the challenges of climate change and environmental degradation have, in no small measure, made the task of preserving heritages more cumbersome.

The Director General of the Commission, Olugbile Holloway, stated at the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) held in Enugu yesterday that incidents of disasters and conflicts that occur spontaneously are seriously threatening common heritage and their preservation.

He added that the rising frequency of natural disasters such as flooding, wind storms and droughts that precipitates wild bush fires as well as spontaneous eruptions of social disturbances, such as kidnappings, banditry, armed robbery and political uncertainties, breed an atmosphere of insecurity that endanger the collective heritage as well the managers of these properties.

Olugbile further stressed that Nigeria’s 65 national declared monuments and 112 national proposed monuments and, by extension, cultural heritage, are challenged in various ways, stressing that efforts should be made to tackle them.

“For instance, many of the national monuments are situated in rural areas. However, the craving for the proverbial greener pastures in the cities and even outside the shores of our country by the younger generation reflects their declining interest in these historic resources. Therefore, the Commission, via this forum, seeks to address this anomaly by rekindling the interests of the younger generation in those cherished values that earned the historic properties their national recognition by involving them as critical stakeholders in the conservation process,” he stated.