Nigerian Heritage Sites – SS1 Citizenship & Heritage Studies Lesson Note (First Term)

A heritage site is a place of natural or cultural value that a country protects for present and future generations.

• Main groups in Nigeria: UNESCO World Heritage sites, national museums and national parks.
• Why they are protected: identity, tourism, education and nature conservation.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. explain what heritage and heritage sites are;
2. name the two UNESCO World Heritage sites in Nigeria and say where each is found;
3. state the purpose of a national museum and name four national museums in Nigeria;
4. name four national parks in Nigeria and one feature of each;
5. give four reasons why heritage sites should be protected.

What is heritage?

Heritage is anything handed down from the past that a community values and wants to keep for the future.

• Everyday example: an old family ring kept safe for 200 years because it tells where the family came from.
• For a country: heritage sites do the same job for the whole nation.

What are heritage sites?

Heritage sites are special places, some made by nature and others by our ancestors, that tell the story of Nigeria’s history, culture and beauty.

What are the types of heritage?

There are two types of heritage: natural heritage and cultural heritage.

• Natural heritage: places made by nature, such as forests, rivers, hills and wildlife areas (for example, Yankari National Park).
• Cultural heritage: things made by people, such as old buildings, artworks, artefacts and sacred places (for example, Sukur and the National Museum, Lagos).

What are the UNESCO World Heritage sites in Nigeria?

UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which identifies and helps protect places of great value to the world.

Nigeria has two UNESCO World Heritage sites: Sukur Cultural Landscape and Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove.

Sukur Cultural Landscape (Adamawa State)

• Setting: a village high up on a hill.
• Buildings: stone houses and palace walls built without modern machines.
• Farming: farms on terraces (steps cut into the hillside).
• Why it matters: it shows how people lived hundreds of years ago.
• Listing: it was the first UNESCO site in Nigeria (1999).

Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove (Osun State)

• Setting: a large sacred forest along the banks of the Osun River.
• Belief: it is the home of Osun, the Yoruba goddess of fertility.
• Features: sculptures, shrines and artworks in the forest.
• Why it matters: it is one of the few remaining sacred forests of the Yoruba.

What are national museums?

A museum is a building where old objects (artefacts) are kept so that they are not lost or destroyed.

Nigeria’s national museums are managed by the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM).

What is the purpose of a museum?

• Preserve: keeps artefacts safe from loss and damage.
• Educate: lets students see history instead of only reading about it.
• Display: shows the culture of different peoples to visitors.

Which are the national museums in Nigeria?

• National Museum, Lagos: famous for the “Jemaa Head” and Nok terracotta (baked clay) sculptures over 2,000 years old.
• National War Museum, Umuahia (Abia State): keeps relics of the Nigerian Civil War and traditional weapons used by warriors in the past.
• Gidan Makama Museum, Kano: an old 15th-century palace that tells the history of the Hausa people and the Kano Emirate.
• National Museum, Benin City: famous for the Benin Bronzes, many of which were taken abroad in the past and some of which are now being returned.

What are national parks?

A national park is a large area of land set aside by law to protect wildlife, plants and natural scenery.

• Difference from museums: museums protect objects, while parks protect living things such as animals, trees and rivers.
• Manager: parks are run by the Nigeria National Park Service.

Which are the main national parks in Nigeria?

• Yankari National Park (Bauchi State): the most visited park in Nigeria, famous for elephants and the Wikki Warm Spring, where visitors swim in naturally warm water.
• Gashaka-Gumti National Park (Taraba and Adamawa): the largest park in Nigeria, so big and mountainous that its weather differs from place to place.
• Cross River National Park (Cross River State): a very old rainforest and home of the rare Cross River Gorilla.
• Kainji Lake National Park (Niger and Kwara): the first national park created in Nigeria (1979), good for seeing lions, hippos and crocodiles.

Other national parks include Old Oyo, Okomu, Chad Basin and Kamuku.

Why should we protect heritage sites?

We protect heritage sites because they give the nation identity, income, learning and a healthy environment.

1. Identity: they remind us who we are. A person who does not know their history is like a tree without roots.
2. Tourism: visitors from many countries spend money on hotels, food and transport, which helps the economy.
3. Education: students can visit the sites and see history with their own eyes.
4. Nature conservation: parks help keep the air clean and protect animals from going extinct (disappearing forever).

What threatens heritage sites and how can we protect them?

Heritage sites are threatened by human activity and neglect, and they are protected by law, care and public education.

Threats

• Vandalism and looting: damage to buildings and theft of artefacts.
• Poaching: illegal hunting of park animals.
• Deforestation: cutting down trees in forests and parks.
• Neglect: lack of repairs and funds.

Ways of protection

• Laws: punish people who damage or steal heritage.
• Agencies: NCMM looks after museums and monuments, and the Nigeria National Park Service looks after parks.
• Education: teaching citizens, especially young people, to value heritage.
• Funding: money for repairs, guards and rangers.

Quick revision table

Evaluation

1. What is a heritage site?
2. Name the two UNESCO World Heritage sites in Nigeria and the state where each is found.
3. Which body manages national museums in Nigeria?
4. Name the largest national park in Nigeria and the first national park created in Nigeria.
5. Give two reasons why we should protect heritage sites.

Assignment

Choose one heritage site from this note that you would visit next holiday. Write down its name and state, three things you hope to see there, and one reason why it should be protected.