From Artefacts of Lace: Story of Nigeria’s New-Look Museums
Yusuf Abdallah Usman, DG NCMM, waxing exultant, expresses his feeling to Sunday Trust thus: “this is the first time the British museum gave Nigeria some items to display on loan.” On display in the various exhibition rooms are different types of lace materials, some of which are mounted on mannikins.The story of lace is vividly […]
Yusuf Abdallah Usman, DG NCMM, waxing exultant, expresses his feeling to Sunday Trust thus: “this is the first time the British museum gave Nigeria some items to display on loan.” On display in the various exhibition rooms are different types of lace materials, some of which are mounted on mannikins.The story of lace is vividly captured in this increasingly popular exhibition, which has become a powerful reflection of the new face of the museum in the country. Lesson: The museum is not just about artefacts. It doesn’t just dwell on the past. It is forward-looking and also connects very well with modern culture and current fashion trends. Indeed, the museum has place for lace and much more. The current exhibition chronicles trends in the lace trade, as well as highlights the careers of powerful lace merchants, who left Nigeria and travelled up to Lustenau in Austria to purchase the material. The late Modupe Asabi Obebe, Iyaloja of Egbaland, is a good example of these enterprising merchants who were already flourishing in the 1960s and 1970s. Lace was also used to capture social developments in Nigeria. For instance, when the Peugeot 505 car came on the market, lace materials began to reflect it’s introduction by highlighting ‘505’. Also, a type of lace had an impression of the Mercedes when this vehicle became very popular in the country. Quite a number of Nigerian musicians also sang odes in praise of lace, and a visitor to the museum will note this as he goes round. Hajiya Faji, Ebenezer Obey and Aworawo amply illustrate this tendency. Lace also had its low moments. A good illustration of this was when the regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo banned the importation of lace in the late 1970s to draw attention to local fabrics in the country. Lace is produced in Lustenau, Austria, a community with a population of 21,000. The business interests of this Austrian community feeds the lace needs of some 18 million lace lovers in Lagos State, and other lace enthusiasts across Nigeria. The guide at the museum says of this: “We use lace more than any other group in Africa, only followed in this passion by the Senegalese.” The exhibition also serves to show that though “we don’t produce lace, we produce something similar to it.” Thus, it highlights materials such as Akwete which is an indigenous material. Lace is also very flexible, and can be used for a variety of intentions and can be deployed in quite creative ways, the guide says.
She adds “Austrian Lace lasts longer than the Chinese version. It’s the original.” The lace exhibition is also supported by a number of fashion houses in Lagos which have put on display some of their best work. These include Tiffany Amber, owned by Folake Folarin-Coker, House of Bunor, by Frank Osodi,and Ituen Basi, owned by Ituen Bassey. This display by the fasion houses is one of the unforgettable high points of the exhibition.
Mrs Ibironke Ashaye is the Curator, Lagos Museum. She is still ecstatic about the great throng that witnessed the opening on the exhibition in early June. Her words: “There were so many visitors on the first day, and this number even included children. Over the weekend so many people came, and we are still expecting more visitors to come.” She adds that “effort is being made to reach out to the illiterate who love lace. So we are doing flyers in three languages. We are trying to reach them in the language they understand.” She said that the Yoruba started the trade in lace in the 1960s, and the Austrians took lace for the first time to the Gbagi market in Ibadan in the 1960s’. She told Sunday Trust that during the opening of the exhibition many visitors were both excited and happy at the display of lace, and were forced to ask ‘Is this a museum? This is not the Lagos we used to know, adding that another exhibition to be known as the life –cycle exhibition will soon be staged. She said “it will chronicle the history of man from birth to death, telling dynamic stories, using objects.” She hints that it is a new initiative and will be another effort to further change public perception of the museums. On the dynamism of people of Lustenau in Austria, she says “ifa population of not more than 21,000 can do this,it is an inspiration to us in Nigeria, and we can begin to think of something indigenous to us here, which we can sell elsewhere, and raise the gains of our people in the process.”
Ibadan: A visitor to the freshly renovated Ibadan museum is soon struck by the group of children of different nationalities playing joyfully in the play park. The grass is lush green and it’s a sunny day. The children sing joyfully as the swings move in the afternoon breeze.It’s a splendid sight. The three women present are also affected by the beauty of the joyful scene, which is like a little children’s festival: A festival of the swings. Mrs.I.Kola-George is Curator of the Ibadan Museum, which has some 507 objects on display. She says of her museum “This museum was formerly a sleepy museum with little or no activity, but things have changed now. In the past it was relatively unknown , though it is one of the mega museums. Little or nothing was known about it and the place was practically abandoned.” She attributes the great change at the museum to the special efforts of Yusuf Abdallah Usman, the D-G. Her words: “The museum was renovated by the DG and all leakages were attended to. He started an awareness programme and actually came here for that purpose. So interest in the museum started picking up. The most thrilling thing is the access road constructed so people can easily know where the museum is. We have a children’s play park, and children form 75% of the museum going public. In big cities children don’t have adequate play grounds. So the DG has established a wonderful play park with state of the art equipment, and it can accommodate 30-35 children at time. She adds that the museum has a solar borehole with a stand by generator, as well as a new museum kitchen. According to her the proposed ICT Centre will attract a sizeable patronage to the museum. At a point transportation was a big problem at the museum, but the provision of a new bus has helped matters tremendously. Within the museum is a permanent exhibition showcasing items indicating the unity of Nigeria. The museum is also keen on establishing a gene bank. According to Mrs George “We have set up a gene bank. The purpose is to preserve the indigenous flora and fauna.” She speaks of numerous sensitization programmes carried out around Ibadan “which have led to an upsurge in terms of visitors to the museum.” The new museum kitchen will also have a ripple effect on the community. Her words “More people will like to eat traditional cuisine, and listen to traditional music, or would like to watch people working in the crafts village.” She is quite excited about the lace exhibition, which will soon leave Lagos for Ibadan. According to her “We intend to reach out to the Iyalojas who deal in the Lace cloth, and various contemporary representations of the cloth will feature. We will have a big do.We are bringing musicians who will tell us in lyrics the genesis of lace. We will showcase Akara and Eko,a traditional snack.”
Oyo: The museum at Oyo is located within the sprawling palace of the Alafin of Oyo. The museum itself is actually an old palace building, so says Mr Banji Ojo, its Curator. The building, which is freshly renovated, will soon play host to an exhibition dedicated to the history of Oyo. According to the Curator, “We have been here since 2004. All efforts to put the place in proper shape were futile until the present DG came. He wants to put the museum at the forefront of development efforts. He deemed it fit to have a befitting museum to chronicle Yoruba history in Oyo. Oyo is the foundation of Yoruba history. This is what the exhibition is going to capture.” In respect of the exhibition, he says that “the museum has received a positive response from the palace of the Alafin of Oyo, and all traditional rulers have promised to assist the museum to depict the cultural life of the Yorubas. The exhibition will hold as soon as we get the materials which the Alafin has promised us.”
Esie: This is the site of Nigeria’s first museum, established in 1945. There are 1,700 intriguing soapstone images at the heart of this museum, and were the reason for setting it up in the first instance. Emeka Stephen Ibecheozor is the Curator of the Esie Museum. He speaks generally on the functions and significance of the museum. His words: “People are supposed to come and enjoy themselves at the museum. It is a place where people can come for a picnic.” There are some recent developments at Esie museum which promise to turn around the fortunes of Nigeria’s famous pioneer museum. According to him, “For the past seven years there has been no new structure put up here, but we were persistent in our demands. So now we have a brand new administrative block as well as a gallery. Without a gallery, we cannot adequately display our materials. The Almighty used the DG to bless Esie museum.” Explaining further, he says that the new gallery has five compartments and that there will be different story lines for each compartment. The famous Esie soapstone images will be the central focus of the exhibits at the Esie museum. In February, there were 400 visitors to the museum, while in March the figure rose to an impressive 1,311 visitors. But the museum faces a number of challenges. One of these is the regular encroachment by herdsmen and people from the neighborhood. Sometimes the encroachment results in bush fires threatening the museum which is largely unfenced. Again, the museum is some three kilometres from the town of Oro, and without a vehicle, the museum is really hindered in its effectiveness, and this affects the numbers of visitors, says the Curator.
Ilorin:The recently renovated Ilorin museum is currently hosting an exhibition on past and present leaders of Kwara State.The freshly looking museum is billed to coordinate an exhibition of Islamic arts, and preparations for this are underway. Oladele Olajide of the Ilorin museum tells Sunday Trust that “This museum was once an abandoned place. It is a colonial building leaking rain water profusely in many parts, and we sought the assistance of the DG NCMM who turned around the place by carrying out extensive repairs towards the end of last year. He has already been to Ilorin to inaugurate the committee to find land for the project, as well as to raise funds.
Yusuf Abdallah Usman tells Sunday Trust that there are plans to turn around all the museums in the country. First, there will be a review of the exhibitions at some of the museums such as the Kaduna and Jos, and this is part of the efforts to revive and energise the museums generally. According to him, there is a plan to upgrade interpretation centres which are directly connected to the numerous monuments and sites across the country. An example is the interpretation centre attached to the Birnin Kudu rock painting site located in Jigawa State. Next is an effort to intensify the training of all staff to make them able guardians of the artefacts. An example of this training effort is the lace exhibition in Lagos, which saw some 24 staff of the commission to training. Above all is an epochal vision which will see to the establishment of a national unity museum in Abuja. His words “We plan to establish a national unity museum in a central location in Abuja to serve as a cultural ‘central bank’ for the country. It will also serve as a vault where we can keep our artefacts, and as a conservation laboratory where these objects will be treated.” He speaks of the exhibition on Kano city walls, the lace exhibition, the forthcoming Life-cycle exhibition, as well as the exhibition on polygamy in contemporary marriages, as illustrations of the areas which the museum is gearing into, and which will, no doubt, draw new energy into the museum to radically alter and improve public perception of the institution, which is now rearing a new face. Finally, he adds that the efforts to raise the profile of Nigeria’s museums will certainly consume billions of naira. He hopes that with a favourable budget this year, more museums can be renovated and improved..
The trip to Lagos and other cities was sponsored by the NCMM.