Rivers Museum And Tourism Development (2)

This is the concluding part of the article published last Wednesday.

Another issue, which is the most important, that has to do with autonomy of the museum under reference is its management. The museum would have leveraged its autonomy in terms of sustainability of professional standards in its practice as internationally recognized, if it has been managed by professionals, trained museologists (curators). The museum function involves many  different skills. Qualified personnel with the required expertise to meet all responsibilities should manage the museum.

According to ICOM, “There should also be adequate opportunities for their continuing education and professional development of museum personnel.”

It also describes the head of a museum as “a key post” and prescribes his or her qualities thus: “These qualities should include adequate intellectual ability and professional knowledge, complemented by a high standard of ethical conduct.”

The situation in Rivers State Museum is however, a far cry from and frontally runs counter to the international acceptable practice and precepts.

It is very unfortunate that the State museum has been turned to a dump site. How else can one explain the posting of directors with no professional knowledge about the museum to head the museum instead of giving room for the trained personnel to bring their professional expertise to bear in its management? The phenomenon has created despair and cacophonic statements about what the museum can offer to the public and as well wasted away antiquities and artifacts that would have been a source of cultural pride to the State as well as tourist attraction.

I learnt that a few of the personnel that were trained at the Institute of Archaeology and Museum Studies, Jos Plateau State (the only training ground in the country for would-be museologists) from the time of Alagoa’s headship of the museum are now being relegated to the background and even subjected to unethical standards.  Anyway, how do you expect professionals to thrive in any working environment that has no regard for professionalism?

However appalling the situation at the museum may be, some life can be brought to it if the right thing is done. It is therefore incumbent on the supervising or overseeing authorities as a rescue mission to sanitise the museum by putting a museum professional at the helms of affairs.

After resuscitation effort is carried out, the authorities in charge of the museum should contemplate in the long run the relocation of the museum to a befitting complex outside the state secretariat to guarantee its access to public on weekends and public holidays.

Another area of intervention is adequate funding, research, stocking and exhibition. There should also be adequate opportunities for continuing education and professional development of museum personnel.

To make the Rivers museum a pride of place, effective, systematic and broad based strategy in the area of museum marketing aimed at correcting wrong perception of the museum is imperative. The museum should be made to exude delectable appeal to public because over the years, it has experienced lull in its operation especially as relates to proper exhibition.

These would place the museum on its feet again: a museum that the State can be proud of and that would push the frontier of cultural tourism further. All hope is not lost if proper interventions are made in the ailing areas.

Hart wrote in from Port Harcourt.

Ama M. Hart