Thirty six year old national museum needs rehabilitation….Curator

The National museum Ilorin needs urgent rehabilitation as most of the facilities are in a deplorable state.

So says the curator, Mrs Woleola Idebi, as she appeals to the Federal Government to renovate the facility that harbour the county’s iconic artifacts.

Mrs Idebi who made the appeal when members of the Nigeria Association of Tour Operators visited the museum, as part of activities lined up for the association’s 8th Annual General Meeting (AGM) and conference which took place in Ilorin, kwara state.
The Curator regretted that the deplorable state of the museum has reduced the number of visitors / tourists visit to the place because the facility is not longer attractive.

“This museum was established in 1988, purposefully to protect our rich cultural history and tradition as well as promote the nation’s cultural heriatge, but we are not getting to do that.

“The museum is no longer attractive to woo 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 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 serious threat to the safety of artefacts and other materials.

Chioma Ezike