The Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi
Ambode, says the state government can transform the National Museum in
the state to a cultural edifice of international standard, as well as
rehabilitate other federal infrastructure, if the Federal Government
partners the state.
Ambode, who spoke at the Lagos House,
Ikeja, during a visit of the Minister of Information, Culture and
Tourism, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, added that he would ensure the speedy
transformation of the museum once the Federal Government was ready to
collaborate with Lagos.
He said considering the strategic
importance of culture and tourism to the identity of people, Lagos and
the Federal Government needed to work together to boost the essence of
culture, improve on the economy, and develop the nation.
He said, “Just the same way we have
collaborated with the police, we will collaborate with you to give a
facelift to the infrastructure of the Federal Government in Lagos. We
will do it because it will eventually be to the benefit of Lagosians.
“Talking precisely about the National
Museum at Onikan, we want to put up a modern-day museum of international
standard towards the Lagos at 50 celebration next year.
“We are not only doing it for Nigeria, but also for the future of our cultural heritage.”
The governor, who lamented that some
Nigerian languages were gradually going into extinction due to the lack
of preservation of cultural values, said with the renewed commitment of
the federal and state governments, issues of youth unemployment could be
adequately addressed using culture, tourism, arts, sports and
entertainment.
Earlier, Mohammed said he was in Lagos
to solicit the support of the government to collaborate in jointly
moving the state and the country forward in areas of culture and
tourism.
Copyright PUNCH.
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