Top 10 Cities any traveler should consider visiting in Africa.

Top 10 Cities any traveler should consider visiting in Africa.

Top 10 best Cities in Africa

Nigeria’s poor history of preserving its historical artifacts and the need for legislation to conserve relics.

ICMS,Inc Reports
By Tom Okure, Ph.D

Whether at the national, state, local, institutional or even family level, Nigeria has a very poor history and record of preserving and conserving its historical artifacts. This poor record of preservation extends even to maintenance of new and existing public and vital economic infrastructures all over the country.  

Old residency museum building in Calabar, Cross River State

This statement does not mean that some national, state and local historical buildings and artifacts such as the historic old residency museum building in Calabar, Cross River State or the historic Palace of the Emir of Kano, which is the official residence of the Emir, have not received good restoration and maintenance attention. The attention paid to the conservation and preservation of some structures like the palace of the emir of Kano is perhaps due to its Muslim cultural significance as the residence

The Gidan Rumfa commonly referred to as the
Gidan Sarki (or Emir's house)

of the emir of Kano who serves as the leader of the Tijaniyya sufi order in Nigeria. After the Sultan of Sokoto who serves as the leader of the more populous Qadiriyya sufi order in Nigeria, the Emir of Kano historically represents the second most important cultural Muslim position in Nigeria.

While some heritage objects and structures have received some focused attention, the great majority of Nigeria’s historic heritage are severely in poor condition due to neglect and the poor understanding of the significance of these historical relics by policy makers.

Historic heritage preservation and or heritage conservation as the term is generally used in many contexts is a determined effort by governments, institutions and even individuals, that strive to conserve, preserve and protect objects, buildings, landscapes or other relics which are considered to have national and historical significance. In Nigeria, the body of record evidence indicates that there is an urgent need to introduce conservation measures directed at maintaining and managing change to national heritage assets in such a way that these historical relics are sustained for future generations and their significance where appropriate are enhanced and even utilized to boost tourism and generate income for the government.

Nigeria has a rich cultural and colonial history with accompanying historical buildings and artifacts that urgently need preservation and conservation attention. Examples of historical sites worth noting and visiting are many and include:

The First Story Building in Nigeria, Badagry Nigeria

The First Story Building in Nigeria located in Badagry Nigeria. This story building is alleged to be the first story building built in Nigeria by a missionary called Reverend Henry Townsend.

The Historic Old Premier's Lodge in Enugu State

The Old Premier's Lodge, Enugu. This historic building was abandoned and neglected for so many years without regard to its historic significance. It was the official residence of Nigeria's first president, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, when he was premier of the Eastern Region. Enugu state of Nigeria has now decided to restore and upgrade the former official residence into a tourist site.

Slave History Museum in Calabar, Cross River State

The Slave History Museum in Calabar, Cross River State. Even though the initiative to create this museum originated in the Cross River State as part of its effort to boost tourism within the state, the significance of the potential of the museum caught the attention of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments which took over the management of the museum. The museum houses many artistic objects but is also an ethnographic museum with permanent exhibitions including the Esuk Mba Slave Market in Akpabuyo.

The National Museum, in the city of Lagos, Nigeria

The National Museum, located in the city of Lagos. The museum was established by the English archaeologist Kenneth Murray in 1957 and contends a collection of Nigerian art, including many historical exhibits of statuary and carvings and archaeological and of ethnographic nature.

There are also many more recent buildings, monuments and landscapes put into use over the past 30 years all over the country that are not receiving adequate maintenance and preservation attention and are showing evidence of deterioration.  

Many of Nigeria’s past colonial and cultural buildings and relics date back to more than a century and reflect important milestones in Nigeria’s national history which include the period of slave trade, introduction of British political and administrative rule in Northern and Southern Nigeria and the introduction of christianity by European missionaries etc. Take for example, the historic Lord Lugard’s office building in Ikot Abasi in Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria. 

Historic Lord Lugard’s office in Ikot Abasi,
Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria

This is just one of many examples of historical buildings which is currently in a state of disrepair due to government neglect. If properly restored, this historic building could become a tourist destination in Akwa Ibom State because of its historical significance.  

It is important to note that it was in this historic building that on January 14, 1914, the famous British colonial administrator by the name of Lord Lugard, signed the amalgamation of Northern and Southern protectorates of colonial Nigeria essentially fusing the two regions into a unified British administrative entity called Nigeria today.

Mary Slessor House, Calabar Cross River State

One can argue that Nigeria as a developing country has so many challenges and budgetary resources are always insufficient to cater for all economic, social and cultural development needs. Even so, the preservation of the country’s rich history requires that the attention of policy makers be focused on preserving and protecting historical objects, buildings and landscapes because of the importance of these relics for future generations of Nigerians.

Old High Court Building, Race Course Lagos Nigeria

Conclusion 

What is immediately required is a concerted effort at all levels of government to introduce new educational preservation programs and innovative leadership. 

Achievement of this task will not come easily because of the lack of a preservation and maintenance culture in Nigeria. Nevertherless the accomplishment of this noble goal is badly needed and would require policy makers at the national and state level to develop proactive and innovative legislation directed at regulating the preservation of the country’s historical heritage sites for future generations. 


Links for further reading on Nigeria's Amalgamation House:

Repairing Nigerias Amalgamation House
Lugard Lived in Akwa Ibom State

________________________

All rights reserved by Tom Okure, Ph.D CEO of Inter-Continental Mgt. Systems, Inc (or ICMS Inc). ICMS, Inc, is a multifaceted business and management consulting firm with its head office in Albany, New York.

The United States Mother Of All Bombs (MOAB) and The Russian Father Of All Bombs (ATBIP).

ICMS, Reports

By Tom Okure, Ph.D.

The US Air Force on Thursday April 13, 2017 bombed a network of Islamic State tunnels in Afghanistan using its largest non-nuclear weapon. According to the Afghanistan Ministry of Defense, the bomb nicknamed the Mother of All Bombs (or MOAB) killed 36 militants. The acronym MOAB actually stands for “Massive Ordnance Air Burst.” The bomb was dropped on Thursday at around 7.32 pm Afghan local time targeting a complex of tunnels in Achin district of Nangarhar province, where it is alleged that an Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State group has taken root and is operating freely near the Pakistani border.

Both the United States and the Russians have these monster bombs in their arsenal of non-nuclear weapons. President Vladimir Putin of Russia is said to have his own Father of all bombs at his disposal. The Russian bomb is said to be four times more powerful than US Trump’s Mother of all bombs (MOAB) that was just dropped in Afghanistan on Thursday.  The Russian bomb is termed “Aviation Thermobaric Bomb of Increased Power or (ATBIP).”

Comparatively, Russia’s Father of all bombs is filled with explosives said to weighs just 15,560 lbs but filled with 44 tons of explosives with 

temperatures when detonated much higher than that of the US Air Force Mother of all bombs which weighs an incredible 21,600 lbs but is said to be filled with only 11 tons of explosives. The staggering weight of the US bomb makes it bigger in size, even though the Russian bomb is more powerful.The accuracy of Russia's claims concerning the weapon's size and power have been questioned by US defense analysts. Nevertheless, if the Russian bomb is as destructive in explosive power as it is claimed to be, then the device would be the most powerful conventional (non-nuclear) weapon that currently exist in the world.

Both the Russian and the US bombs explode in similar fashion by annihilating anything within the blast zone, crumpling any existing buildings and creating huge explosions and aftershocks. 

Read more about these monster bombs:

Father Of All Bombs

Putin's Father Of All Bombs

The U.S. Mother Of All Bombs that killed 36 ISIS militants

The New US Navy USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier is massive and a technological wonder.

The US Navy latest aircraft carrier called USS Gerald R. Ford recently headed out to sea off the coast of Virginia, on the first of a number of sea trials it will undertake to test many of its state of the art technological systems. Built at a staggering cost of $13 billion, the gigantic ship is the most expensive ship that has ever been built and is the first among a new class of aircraft carriers being put into service by the US Navy and is said to have a five acre flight deck and built to hold up to 4,660 personnel and 75 aircraft.

USS Gerald R. Ford Aircraft Carrier

The humongous warship is 1,106-foot long and is able to launch 220 airstrikes per day from two of its runways and is almost invisible to radar detectors. The ship was designed by using 3D computer modelling and can launch numerous airstrikes, about one every six minutes because the deck utilizes electromagnetic force to propel the jets forward.

Read more

USS Gerald R Ford Aircraft Carrier