Creative Industry

Nigeria Unveils Digital Museum to Safeguard Cultural Heritage

Published

1 year ago

August 15, 2025

Joel Ajayi

The Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, has launched the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) Digital Museum, a first-of-its-kind innovation that reimagines how Nigeria engages with its rich cultural heritage.

This landmark achievement of one of the sister agencies under the Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy marks a new era in cultural preservation, promotion, and accessibility, positioning Nigeria as a leader in digital heritage management.

At the official launch, Minister Musawa stated that the digital museum was the first to display real-life Nigerian Antiquities.

“Today, we stand at the threshold of a new era for Nigeria’s cultural heritage. This event is not merely a celebration of technological achievement; it is a testament to our nation’s enduring commitment to preserving, promoting, and sharing the richness of our history and creativity with the world. This innovative project ensures that our stories, traditions, and creative expressions are preserved not only for today, but for generations yet unborn.”

Musawa also enumerated the ministry’s challenges in the preservation of museums and monuments in the country.

“Over the decades, these institutions have evolved, curating invaluable artefacts, conserving traditions, and educating generations about our diverse past.

However, these custodian institutions have faced significant challenges over their years of existence, including inadequate funding, infrastructure gaps, insecurity, and more, but just like our great nation and its culture, they have stood the test of time”, Musawa said.

The NCMM Digital Museum is a comprehensive national effort to create a unified, interactive digital repository of Nigeria’s diverse heritage, spanning centuries, cultures, and communities.

This innovative platform offers interactive exhibitions, multimedia storytelling, and virtual tours, enabling users to explore Nigeria’s cultural treasures from anywhere in the world.

“We invite every Nigerian and our friends from around the world to explore, engage, and celebrate our cultural legacy,” the Minister added.

The NCMM Digital Museum is set to contribute to a global dialogue on the future of museums and the preservation of world heritage, joining esteemed companies like the Louvre, Smithsonian Institution, and British Museum.

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Creative Industry

FG Backs MyCityApp Launch of 100-Day Tourism Calendar to Drive $100bn Economic Growth

Published

2 weeks ago

September 15, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Federal Government has thrown its weight behind the launch of MyCityApp, a Nigerian city discovery and tourism platform designed to aggregate festivals, concerts, cultural events and lifestyle experiences into a single digital calendar.

The platform, which flags off the 100-Day Tourism Calendar, was unveiled on Monday at the Ember2Remember National Stakeholders’ Conference in Victoria Island, Lagos, with the initiative targeting Nigeria’s estimated $100 billion tourism and creative economy opportunity.

In a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja by the Media and Publicity Adviser to the Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Nneka Ikem Anibeze, the ministry said the conference was aimed at mobilising public and private stakeholders to transform the September-to-December festive period into jobs, investment and economic growth.

Speaking at the unveiling, the Minister, Hannatu Musa Musawa, said millions of visitors travel across Nigeria every year to celebrate, reconnect and experience the country’s diverse culture, stressing that the festive season could be deliberately organised and monetised to strengthen tourism’s contribution to the economy.

“This initiative is about moving beyond the traditional concept of a festive season. It is about deliberately organising, packaging, promoting, and monetising one of the most economically active periods in our national calendar,” Musawa said.

She noted that every visitor generates economic activity across several sectors, including aviation, transportation, hospitality, restaurants, entertainment, retail, technology, artisans and local communities.

The Minister commended MyCityApp Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Ifeoma Chukwu, for her vision and commitment to the initiative.

She urged state governments, event organisers, tourism operators, hospitality businesses and other stakeholders to list their festivals, concerts, exhibitions, food experiences, cultural celebrations, fashion and sporting events on the national calendar.

Musawa said the platform would enable Nigerians, members of the diaspora and international visitors to discover tourism and entertainment experiences across the country from a single, credible source.

Earlier, Chukwu said Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage and creative sector provided enormous opportunities for tourism-driven economic growth.

She cited the contributions of tourism to the economies of countries such as Spain, France and the United States, arguing that Nigeria could equally build a $100 billion tourism economy.

Also present were Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Toke Benson-Awoyinka; Enugu State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Ugochi Madueke; NCAC Director-General, Obi Asika; National Gallery of Art Director-General, Ahmed Sodangi; ARCON Director-General, Dr Olalekan Fadolapo; and MTN Nigeria CEO, Dr Karl Toriola.

MyLagosApp and MyCityApp will serve as the digital engines of the calendar, distributing events through a 360-degree media ecosystem to audiences in Nigeria and the diaspora.

Stakeholders were encouraged to upload their events on MyCityApp to participate in the national tourism calendar urging them to upload events on http://www.MyCityApp.io.

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