Sustainable safety and security at museums in Southeast Nigeria: implications for national reformation
by Elochukwu A. Nwankwo; Okechukwu O. Anozie; Uchenna H. Obieluem
International Journal of Tourism Anthropology (IJTA), Vol. 6, No. 1, 2017

Abstract: The significance of culture to Nigeria's identity, unity and development has given museums relevance in national discourse. Notwithstanding, the potentialities of museums as catalysts for national unity have been partly undermined by safety and security issues. Inspired by the recent clamour for national reformation, this study answers the following questions: What are these safety and security threats and how can museum contribute to national reformation in Nigeria? This paper, through ethnographic studies coupled with cluster and purposive sampling techniques, studied selected museums in Southeast Nigeria with a focus on safety issues. Some of the identified threats include poor maintenance culture, hostilities from host communities, criminal activities, antiquity theft and smuggling, collapse of weak structures, etc. The study further proposed 'collaborative management and research' as one of the ways of maximising the gains of museum for national reformation of Nigeria and other developing nations. The paper further argued that museum as an institution has a role to play in national reformation of the Nigerian nation by actualising true and sustained unity and that museum achieves this through the systematic reconstruction of forgotten identities and lost memories.

Online publication date: Thu, 16-Nov-2017

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