The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, has said Nigeria needs ingenious ways of collecting antiquities relevant to operations of various organizations in the country in order to preserve the relics that can bridge the knowledge gap needed for sustainable development of the country.
He stated this when the commission joined in the celebration of the 2021 International Museum Day with the theme – “The future of museums: Recover and reimagine” recently in Abuja, saying the theme appropriately captured the reason the commission established a special museum for the telecommunication’s industry in the country, as it was intended to bridge the historical knowledge gap in the evolution of communication as well as meet the need for information by future generations.
“The NCC communications museum was established in November, 2006 for documentation of historical collections on the evolution of communications in Nigeria. Communication artifacts were identified in various locations across the country where postal and telecommunication offices were established in order to retrieve relics for exhibition,” he said.
Represented by the commission’s executive commissioner, stakeholders’ management (ECSM), Barr. Adewolu Adeleke, Danbatta pointed out that the museum should be seen as an important resourceful centre that could stimulate critical thinking and creative ideas for expanding the frontiers of knowledge and advancement of development in relevant sectors of the economy.
“Our museum is designed and reinvented to conserve the history of the Nigerian telecommunication’s industry and we see it as very important to collect, exhibit and preserve telecommunication’s items to enlighten and educate stakeholders on the evolution of communications with a view to nudging our minds towards critical thinking that will bring about new innovations to assist in building a better future for our industry and the nation.
“The NCC Museum plays valuable roles in supporting the commission’s agenda by providing unique information resources to cater for historical needs of the future generations, while building capacity and stimulating innovations to assist in fashioning out a better future for the Nigerian communications industry,” Danbatta added.
In a statement by the NCC director of public affairs, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, Danbatta said the NCC Museum Day was a demonstration of the commission’s commitment to facilitating learning and collaboration with relevant museum professional bodies in order to conserve antiquities used to develop the industry in the best possible manner for socio-economic impact of the nation.
The museum generally plays important roles in the society by conserving the past and helping to shape the future through providing needed insight into history, while educating future generations and equipping them with the requisite information and knowledge for sustainable development.
Earlier in his remarks, the director-general, National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), Prof. Abba Tijani, represented by the commission’s assistant director, museums, Kilba Uche, presented a brief on the ‘Role of museum in the digital era’.
