Museums in Nigeria

Let’s talk about Museums in Nigeria. Museums in Nigeria are managed by the National Commission of Museums and Monuments. Personally, I like visiting museum when I am in a new place because it gives me insight into the people, their history, their culture and to some degree insight into their current affairs.

The NCMM (National Commission of Museums and Monuments) manages over 50 outlets across Nigeria according to their website (http://ncmm.gov.ng/about-us/) . You can find all the museums listed on the website unfortunately not all of them can be found via google maps. Alongside the national museums the NCMM also cares for 65 recognized monuments and two UNESCO world heritage sites – Osun Osogbo Grove and Sukur Landscape Adamawa

On my trip through Nigeria I visited about 14 institutions, some of them are privately owned. My review of each museum is linked to the listings. Museums listed in order of personal preference

•  Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library Abeokuta
• Kaduna National Museum
•  National War Museum Umuahia
• Jos Museum and Zoo
•  National Museum, Calabar
•  National Museum, Benin City
• Gidan Makama Museum
• Gidan Dan Hausa Museum and Kano State Cultural Centre
•  Kuti Heritage Museum
•  National Museum of Unity Ibadan
•  Igboukwu Museum
•  Badagry Heritage Museum
• National Museum of Unity Enugu
•  Museum of Colonial History

Two things I noticed visiting these institutions is that a lot of them do not allow visitors take pictures, but they would benefit from the publicity as must people aren’t even aware that these museums exist and are fully functional. 

The second is that quite a number of them do not have the infrastructure that would allow people tour the museum on their own and in their own pace, which makes it sometimes difficult to process all the information from the tour guide. 

It’s a very affordable form of entertainment for children from a certain age and adults. The most expensive being the Presidential library at 3000 per person and the cheapest the Jos museum at 50 per person.

The next time you are in or around the following cities : Aba, Abakaliki, Abeokuta, Akure, Asaba, Bauchi, Benin, Birnin Kudu, Calabar, Damaturu, Enugu, Esie, Hong, Ibadan, Oko, Igbo-Ukwu, Ile-Ife, Ilorin, Jos, Kanta, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Koko, Lafia, Lagos, Lokoja, Maiduguri, Makurdi, Minna, Nok, Ogbomosho, Oron, Osogbo, Owerri, Owo, Oyo, Port-Harcourt, Sokoto, Sukur, Umuahia, Uyo, Yenagoa and Yola, take some time out to visit the museum there.

Yours Truly Liesel81