THE ROLE OF THE MUSEUM AT TIMES LIKE THIS
GOODWILL MESSAGE BY PROFESSOR TUNDE BABAWALE, DIRECTOR
GENERAL, CENTRE FOR BLACK AND AFRICAN ARTS AND CIVILIZATION
(CBAAC), AT THE COMMONWEALTH ASSOCIATION OF MUSEUMS’ WORKSHOP,
CALABAR, ON THE 7TH MAY,2012
It is a great pleasure for me t have the privilege of addressing noble professionals
(museologists, curators, ethnographers, anthropologists, archaeologists, conservators etc)
such as we have gathered here today, whose roles in nation-building may not often have
been well acknowledged but which nevertheless are vital in guiding us in our collective
march into the future.
You will agree with me that by virtue of my position as Director General, Centre for
Black and African Arts and Civilization (CBAAC), I am also a stakeholder and
interested party in the museum profession; my Centre, CBAAC, with all modesty, has the
widest collection of Pan-African artefacts in Nigeria, in her museum. CBAAC’s museum
is one of the numerous ones owned by government or private individuals in Nigeria.
Defining what a museum is in this learned gathering may appear like selling ice to the
Eskimos, yet it is important to remind ourselves again of the time honored role of
museums, which according to one of CAM’s past President, Mr. Emmanuel Arinze, “is to
collect objects and materials of cultural, religious and historical importance, preserve
them, research into them and present then to the public for the purpose of education and
enjoyment.”
The question may then be asked, that considering the present global and national state of
affairs, when values have been upturned, with things no longer going the way they
should, how well have we as practitioners of this dignified profession fared in correcting
societal ills and redirecting the citizenry towards noble ideals through our primary role of
educating and entertaining the people?
It is necessary to admit that there are certain misconceptions usually associated with
museum practice globally, namely:
1.
That museums collect the extraordinary as evidence of the past and therefore not
representative of the present.
2.
That they are elitist in nature and as a result, removed from the majority of the
people.
3.
That museum objects are fetish and belong to a pagan past.
The lesson from these is the need for museums to redefine their goals, roles and strategies
to reflect the aspirations of a changing world. This can be achieved by;
a. Opening up and breaking the perceived barriers of elitism in order to impact on
the larger majority of the people. Museums can also collect contemporary items
for preservation for future generations, as against the belief that they only
collect old things. Besides, children should be encouraged to cultivate the
culture of visiting museums and learning invaluable facts about their past. This
gives them pride for the present and confidence in the future.
b. Museums can, in addition, continue in their role of educating the public
culturally thereby preventing alien cultural anomalies such as terrorism as we
presently experience in some parts of Nigeria, same sex marriage etc. there is so
much knowledge and values locked and encoded in artefacts which can be
espoused via topical exhibitions, talks, workshops etc, proactively geared
towards meeting contemporary needs, correcting societal ills and improving
standards of living.
c. Museums should promote cultural diplomacy amongst nations and peoples; it
has been proven that a lot get accomplished through cultural diplomacy than
through force, terrorism or war. Museums must be interested in fostering peace,
unity and understanding amongst people through their activities.
d. Museums must be agents of advocacy for change and development; we must be
innovative and responsive to the needs of the people. We must also be prepared
to enter into partnership with like minded institutions in order to bring about the
desired changes.
e. We must take advantage of available technology in the areas of research,
training, collection, documentation, conservation, exhibition and curatorial
services. This will make the museum attractive, accessible and useful to all.
These and many more are ways through which our museums can break the
barriers of old and assume a more complimentary image resulting from its
greater responsiveness to societal needs.
I thank you for listening.