July 20, (THEWILL) – The Curator, National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Ilorin branch, Mrs Woleola Idebi, has called on the Federal Government to renovate the 36-year-old museum, as it is in a deplorable state.
The curator made the call on Friday, when members of the Nigeria Association of Tour Operators visited the museum, as part of activities for the association’s ongoing Eighth Annual General Meeting (AGM) and conference in Ilorin.
Idebi said that visits by tourists to the museum have reduced drastically due to its deplorable condition.
“This museum was established in 1988, purposefully to protect our rich cultural history and tradition, as well as promote the nation’s cultural heritage, but we are not getting to do that.
“The museum is no longer attractive to the tourists because of the current condition, the fences are falling apart, we do not have access to power supply.
“From the entrance, you can see it is not appealing, we need the government to renovate this museum.
“I assumed office a week ago and I want to ensure this museum is visible enough to attract tourists, that is the reason I am speaking out.
“We need urgent renovation, there are no chairs to sit in the museum, we do not have access to electricity, we use the money we generate from tourists to buy fuel to power our generating set each time we have visitors”, she said.
Idebi noted that the state of the museum posed a threat to the safety of artefacts and other materials there.
Janefrances Ebere Chibuzor is a Tourism Writer at THEWILL
