Waja

Samuel Oluwole Ogundele (Ph.D.),
Department of Archaeology and Anthropology,
University of Ibadan,
Ibadan, NIGERIA.
E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract
This paper is an attempt to develop an understanding and knowledge of
archaeology within the broader context of cultural heritage
management/conservation in Nigeria. Nigerian archaeology is yet to witness some
exponential growth in several senses as a result of unbridled rigidity about the
conceptualisation and practice of the profession. Most Nigerian archaeologists are
still painfully unable to craft a spirit of openness and teamwork as they continually
allow competing legitimacies and sometimes, primordial hegemonies to occupy a
conspicuous space in their vocabularies of popular and professional discourses.
Consequently, the caricatures of archaeology and museum studies cannot be
shattered.
For archaeology to become a very socially engaging area of human
endeavour, it has to begin to dance creatively with such fields as museology, fine art,
robotics and cinematography. While it is a truism, that core archaeological
concepts and methods must not be jettisoned, the realities of today demand a much
bigger space for knowledge applications in order to capture contemporary
sensitivities and aspirations. This latter part of modern archaeological heritage
management straddles the sphere of museum operations. It entails site replication
using a myriad of cutting-edge digital technologies to make a given locale come
alive for educational/historical purposes and tourism.
Today’s Nigeria cannot afford to be doing archaeology as if it is a mere
academic pastime or esoteric enterprise, in the face of numerous challenges and
problems bordering on youth unemployment, underemployment, political
instability and shrinking economic space arising mainly from monumental
corruption, that has become a tradition of the political class including its business
associates.
There are several world-class archaeological site complexes in Nigeria that
are long overdue for a replication exercise. These include the Taruga iron-working
site in central Nigeria; Igbo-Ukwu burial chamber in the east and Old Oyo in the
west. A replication operation is not tantamount to a total transformation of a site
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W. Afr. J. Archaeol. Vol. 45 (1) 2015
into a tourist destination. Only a section or sections is/are needed. The remaining
part of the site is left for future archaeological research. This is sustainable
archaeological heritage management in action! This re-construction work derives
from thoroughgoing field and laboratory research and not speculation. Therefore,
profound heritage scholarship cannot be crippled or cannibalised when
archaeological sites are conceptualised of, as a special industry anchored on
history, economy, spirituality and social liberation. However, for optimum
efficiency in all its ramifications, a heritage management activity of this magnitude
has to give enough space to the philosophy of private-public entrepreneurism so
that it (heritage management) can remain afloat the stream of sustainable
development. Andah (1990) has also made some inroads into aspects of this subject
– Cultural Resource Management with a special emphasis on the African
experience.