Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Hon. Gabriel Zock, has said Nigeria can transform its rich cultural heritage into a thriving economic sector if properly harnessed.
Speaking on Tuesday in Abuja during the 2025 International Museums Day celebration, themed “The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities”, Zock stressed that culture is a reflection of a people’s wealth and should not be neglected.
“When you abandon your culture, you abandon your riches. Each state in Nigeria is blessed, but we’ve been distracted by Western influences. It’s time we rediscover our identity,” he said.
Zock assured the National Commission for Museums and Monuments of the National Assembly’s full backing in revitalising museums across the country. He emphasised that promoting cultural assets requires deliberate investment and legislative support.
“You can never reap what you haven’t sown. We must invest in our creative talents and cultural institutions to get meaningful returns,” he said, citing the global success of Nigerian musicians as an example of untapped potential.
Zock promised to work closely with the Budget Office, the Ministry of Finance, and the Appropriations Committee to ensure that the Commission receives adequate funding. He also revealed that agencies under his oversight have been asked to submit proposals for legislative and financial support.
“Our role is to make laws and provide funding to ensure agencies like this commission achieve their objectives. We are committed to making sure the cultural sector gets the resources it needs to thrive,” he added.
“We have abandoned our culture. It’s time for us to go back to where we are. Check our artwork. See, they are the best in the world. But what is the problem? Because we did not preserve it well. We did not bring them to actually showcase them to the world.
“We have the best of musicians like Burna Boy, Davido, Wizkid, Ashake, and all of them. Today, if the government has shown seriousness and brought these people together, each of these people has over 20 million followers on social media. Put it together, we will have over 1 billion views that will show our culture. This is why the House committee will collaborate with agencies and ministries to make sure that the policy works.
“We will take action to make sure that we get the necessary funding that will push this country. By God’s grace, by 2030, this agency and the ministry will become one of the best ministries in the world. “
In his earlier remark, the Director General, National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Olugbile Holloway, has lamented the paltry budget of the commission.
He, however, said his team will work around it to turn the sector into a money-generating one.
Holloway said, “The reality is this sector is much underfunded, and I think that we can all admit that we don’t receive the same attention as perhaps other agencies, other ministries. Because in this part of the world, unfortunately, culture and heritage and, you know, museums, it’s not something you regularly think of as money spinners or regularly generating money. But that couldn’t be further away from the truth. The reality is, while the other sectors may represent important areas like oil and gas, mining, the cultural sector only represents the reason why we are all here.”
He reminded everyone of the importance of the art and culture sector, saying, “It reminds us of our past, it reminds us that we have great men and women that have lived before us, and it also encourages us to look at their lives as an example of what we want to achieve.”
With the future of museums and rapidly changing economies, the Director General stressed the need to reimagine the museums and make them attractive to all.
He said, “I think the Commission has to play a pivotal role as far as reimagining the museum for the young and the old. Because after all is said and done, they’re the ones that are going to carry on whatever ideas and visions we come up with for the future.
“I think the museum needs to be repositioned to be more user-friendly. The museum needs to be cooler. They need to see the museum as something that they can identify with.
“And when I say this, it’s simply to say, how do we modernise the museum? How do we leverage social media? How do we leverage online influencers? How do we leverage technology? In such a way that our cultural heritage is not just this boring thing that is dusty and smells like a cupboard that hasn’t been opened in years. How do we reinvent the very idea of what it means to be Nigerian? And how do we start to tell these stories?
He also revealed that he has started a project on social media as part of the efforts to bring the country’s various cultures to the people.
He said plans are ongoing to start playing some of the Commission’s content on culture on Lagos BRT buses.
He said, “I don’t know how many of you follow our social media pages online. We’ve tried to use AI to start telling stories of the past.
“We’ve done so many things. We’ve done Queen Amina.
We’ve done too many to name. We try to drop a story every Friday. And we hope that these stories are being shared on social media.
“And that young Nigerians can start talking about their culture. Because it’s from talking about the culture that they’re more inclined to want to come and see the objects. But in addition to using social media, we’re also trying to partner with advertising agencies, such as the BRT buses in Lagos to start playing some of the content that we’re creating on social media.
“So the aim of this really is to demystify the concept of culture and heritage. Because of our colonial history, we have a very interesting relationship with some of our objects. People will describe the museum.
“And so that’s where they keep working to do things. But we’re not completely removed from the realities and the impact that Christianity and Islam, perhaps, may have on the adoption of certain types of objects and the display of certain types of objects. But I think that it’s left to the museum to reframe how these objects are perceived.
“And to educate Nigerians so that they begin to see their past, not as this dark thing to be shunned away. But something that should be embraced to give them a stronger sense of identity.”
Also speaking, Cultural Counsellor and Director of the China Cultural Centre, Yang Jianxing, called for more funding for the museums so as to ensure that the sector evolves with time and season.
He said: “In the face of a rapidly changing world, we must increase funding, cultivate talent, leverage advanced technologies, and strengthen international collaboration to ensure museums evolve with the times and the better the cultural and socio-economic development of our respective nations.”
He stressed that China places high importance on the development of Museums.
He quoted Chinese President Xi Jinping, who noted that “museums are vital institutions for preserving and transmitting human civilisation, serving as bridges connecting the past, present, and the future”
He also revealed that as at 2023, China is home to 6,565 museums out of over 10,000 worldwide, ranking among the highest in the world.
“More than 90% of them offer free admission. And in 2022 alone, they received 578 million visitors,” he added.
He therefore said the theme of the 2025 International Museum Day celebration, “the future of museums in rapidly changing communities,” underscores the critical role museums must play in safeguarding, innovating, and redefining cultural identity and rapid societal transformations.
He urged museums to “clarify their mission, embrace opportunities, tackle challenges, and resonate with the pulse of our times.”
He added, “Today, the world is undergoing profound changes. The new wave of technological revolution and industrial transformation represented by AI is reshaping social structures, values, and lifestyles at an unprecedented pace.
“In this era of rapid transformation, museums must seize opportunities, address challenges, and drive reforms to better safeguard humanity’s cultural heritage, meet the public’s spiritual and cultural needs, and promote the progress of human civilisation as well as global peace and development.”