Members of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) and IHS (Nigeria) Limited have stressed the need to leverage digitisation in preserving the nation’s cultural monuments and antiquities.
   
They spoke at the unveiling of the National Museum of Lagos restoration, which was facilitated by the generous support of IHS (Nigeria) Limited.
   
Fielding questions from journalists, Senior Vice President and Chief Corporate Services Officer of IHS (Nigeria) Limited, Dapo Otunla, said: “Some of the artefacts here are reflected in the digital museum. We started digitising about 200 artefacts. We intend to continue growing that number. If you visit the archive of the national museum, you will find treasures of artefacts.
  
“Technology itself is the driver; when you visit the digital museum, you can turn the artefacts around with your cursor and look at all sides of them virtually. Technology continues to evolve, so we keep looking at how we can give people the best experience.’
   
He also said IHS (Nigeria) Limited celebrates the culture of sustainability in the country.
   
Themed: ‘Echoes of the past: A timeline of antiquity in Nigeria,’ Director-General of NCMM, Olugbile Holloway, noted the renovation would reposition the museum in such a way that the value proposition is more solid.  To him, ‘the gallery takes you on a timeline of antiquities in Nigeria. It’s a national museum, so it must unite Nigeria. I believe the partnership between IHS and NCMM is providence. It’s all about collaboration! This is the first, but there is still a lot of work to be done.’
   
According to him, the gallery houses rare antiquities, including Nok artefacts dating back many centuries and historic bronze works, carefully curated to reflect the depth of the nation’s history and artistic creativity.
  
He added, “We’ve done what we’ve done to honour our ancestors, not just for ourselves but for our children and generations coming after us.”
   
On her part, Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, who opened the facility, stated, ‘what has been done here, it is almost a revolution.’
   
She added that the vision was in line with President Bola Tinubu’s agenda to promote and encourage the nation’s cultural antiquities.