19th April, 2017
Prof. Jonathan Aleru, the Head of Department, Archeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan has stressed the need to encourage teaching of archeology in secondary schools.
Aleru told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Wednesday that the measure would promote cultural heritage, enlighten the students on its importance and create interest in them to study it in the university.
Nigeria is joining the world to celebrate the international Day for Monuments and Sites on April 18 with the theme: “Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Tourism” chosen in relation to the UN International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development”.
The professor of archeology said that government should support research to identifying different cultural heritage in the country as a way of taking an inventory of country’s assets.
He called on the law enforcement agencies to be on alert against looting of the country’s cultural heritage items, monuments and sites.
Aleru emphasised the need to enlighten the public about the need to preserve items of cultural heritage, adding that heritage were capital assets that could yield more income to the country than oil.
“Most sites can be turned to tourist centres, old ones should be rehabilitated, museums can be established in different parts of the country and through cultural heritage, we can develop our own local industries,” he said.
He said that archeology and anthropology departments in University of Ibadan had departmental research geared toward practical training of students conducted yearly for 200 to 400 level students and post graduate students.
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“In 2014, we worked on migration and settlement, contested origin and Diaspora identity of Owu people in Yoruba; we identified different occupation centres of the ancient Owu people.
“The settlement sites discovered there were Owu-Ile, Orile Owu, Ilemowu in Osun state, Owu quarters in Abeokuta; cultural materials discovered were bronze objects and pottery, through them we got information about the people’s way of life.
“We also worked in Egbeda, Ibadan where we investigated historical sites that have to do with recent historical occupations of the area.
“The materials discovered were pottery, remnant of food items (bones of animals) eaten by the people,” he said.
Aleru said that one of its major challenges was lack of fund as most of the researches carried out were through personal grants by lecturers as they did not receive any support from government.
He said that lack of awareness by the general public concerning cultural heritage, which made them to destroy such items was also a challenge.