By Josephine Obute (NAN)
Mr Taiye Olaniyi, Vice President, Legacy 1995, a historical and environmental interest group, has urged parents to reawaken cultural and historical heritage in their children.
Olaniyi spoke on Saturday during the group’s maiden joint exhibition, organised for schools, to mark the Children’s Day, at Railway Museum, Ebute-Metta, Lagos.
Olaniyi, who said the Railway Museum is managed by the group, noted that children should be the focus because they are the hope of tomorrow.
“Children remain very primal to an organisation like ours whose concern is preservation, restoration, and promotion of historical and environmental heritage of the past.
“Legacy’s association, collaboration, and management of the Railway Museum in Jaekel House, built in 1898, maintains the documentation and archiving of artefacts of history.
“This would afford Legacy to put on both the national as well as global positioning of the chequered history of the Nigeria Railway Corporation.
“We express our appreciation and seek further collaborative efforts of the Railway management to the herculean task of preservation, restoration, and promotion of our heritage,” he said.
He said the Children’s Day event was in collaboration with Nigerian Philatelic Service, Centre for Research Institute, Media and Museum Development, CRIMMD and Slum Art.
Olaniyi congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari for the rich facelift, and pride given to the story of the railway in Nigeria.
Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN), Mrs Nkechi Adedeji, Deputy Director in charge of monuments, National Museum, said children should be taught history to prevent extinction of culture.
“We need to educate our children constantly of our culture and heritage to avoid losing them to western tradition which is what the museums do.
“We commend the Railway Museum for a beautiful package for our children, we encourage private bodies in the museum industry to reduce the concentration because of the increasing population,” he said.
NAN reports that schools were shown various exhibitions on Nigerian history, monuments, NIPOST, and taken on a tour of a train.