The Federal Government on Thursday restated its commitment toward the promotion of heritage sites in the country.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made the remark at a retreat for management staff and curators of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments held in Kano.
The minister represented by the Director General, National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Mr Yusuf Abdallah, said promoting the nation’s various heritage sites would boost tourism, create jobs and enhance socio-economic activities in the country.
“The government is making efforts to develop and promote heritage sites with a view to boosting tourism in the country.”
He, however, regretted that the redevelopment of hertage sites had suffered setback due to activities of terrorists and other criminal elements in the country.
He called on the participants to come up with tangible recommendation for immediate implementation by the Federal Government.
In his remarks, the Director General of the Commission called on Kano State Government to support the current effort toward enlisting Kano Historical Urban Landscape on the world list.
He said the call was necessary in view of the immense benefits the project would bring to the people of Kano state in particular and Nigeria in general.
“I want to request His Excellency, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje and His Highness Mallam Muhammad Sanusi II to support our efforts toward enlisting the Kano historical urban landscape on the world list,” he said.
Abdallah said even though the world Heritage nomination process in Nigeria had faced a number of challenges, the challenges were not insurmountable as experienced showed in the case of Sukur and Osun Osogbo.
“With the support from the local communities and state governments, most of the challenges being encountered during nomination process can be surmounted, ” he said.
He said the retreat was a follow-up to the 2016 edition, where the participants produced an action plan for 2017-2021.
According to him, the participants would now review the action plan in the light of the current realities for effective implementation.
“The objective is to make the preservation of our heritage resources part of the national development agenda,” Abdallah said.
He noted that for several years UNESCO had made concerted efforts to raise awareness on the immeasurable contributions culture could make to the economic, environmental and social spheres of development.
Join Daily Trust WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You.
