Ambode promises to rebuild National Museum, FG facilities

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.