NAN-H-25
Building
By Taiye Baiyerohi
Lagos, Feb. 9, 2017 (NAN) The Lagos Director, National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Mr Louis Eriomala, had suggested that permission should be taken from the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture before ancient buildings could be demolished.
Eriomala told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos that this was to ensure that we preserved ancient buildings which ought to serve as relics and monuments.
He said that he noted this while in Turkey where he observed that the city had a combination of ancient and modern buildings which gave the city a unique look.
Eriomala said the city was at a huge advantage as these monuments attracted several tourists to it.
The country was able to achive such with an organised government and people, he said.
The director said that just like the first storey building in Nigeria was preserved in Badagry, other ancient buildings across the country should also be preserved and maintained.
He said that the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture should come up with laws and sanctions that would guide against demolition of ancient buildings.
“These ancient buildings tell more about our history as a people and how developed we are over time.
“ We need to protect these buildings and make them serve as relics for the tourists.
“We should be able to marry development with our past, people should not just take it unto themselves to demolish and renovate buildings.
“There is an urgent need for the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture in conjunction with the state governments to undertake a collation of historical buildings in Nigeria, including old palaces.
“These will serve as tourist attractions that will boost the needed internally generated revenue profile. They will also help to tell our history,” Eriomala said. (NAN)
PTB/ORO/PAD
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Edited by Razak Owolabi/Peter Dada