Threat to National Heritage – SS1 Citizenship & Heritage Studies Lesson Note (First Term)

Threats to national heritage are the things that cause our traditions, languages, monuments and artefacts to be damaged, forgotten or lost.

Behavioural objectives

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

1. Name five threats to national heritage.
2. Explain how urbanisation and globalisation harm our traditions, languages and historical sites.
3. Describe how neglect, conflict and corruption lead to the loss of monuments, records and artefacts.
4. Give examples of heritage affected by these threats, such as the Kano City Walls, the Sukur Cultural Landscape, the Nok Terracotta and the Benin Bronzes.

What is national heritage?

National heritage is the traditions, languages, monuments and objects a nation inherits from the past and passes on to future generations.

• Tangible heritage: things we can touch, such as city walls, palaces, museums and artefacts.
• Intangible heritage: things we practise or speak, such as festivals, folk stories, music and local languages.
• Why it needs care: like a house that is not looked after, heritage falls apart when it is left unprotected.

What are the threats to national heritage?

There are five main threats to national heritage: urbanisation, globalisation, neglect, conflict and insurgency, and corruption.

What is urbanisation (modern city growth)?

Urbanisation is the movement of more people to cities and towns, and the building of more roads, malls and houses for them.

• Demolition: old buildings or ancient walls are sometimes pulled down to make room for highways or plazas.
• Example: parts of the ancient Kano City Walls have been damaged because of new buildings.
• Cultural loss: people who move from villages to cities often leave their traditional ways of life behind.
• Result: village traditions slowly die out.

What is globalisation (the “global village”)?

Globalisation is the way the whole world is connected through the internet, television and trade.

• Changing tastes: many young people prefer foreign fashion, music and food to their own.
• Language loss: speaking only English and watching only foreign films can make us forget local languages and folk stories.
• Cultural dilution: the weakening of a people’s own culture by a global, standardised culture.

How does neglect and lack of maintenance harm heritage?

Neglect is the failure to repair, protect or care for heritage.

• Decay: monuments and museum buildings fall apart when roofs and walls are not repaired.
• Weather and pests: rain, sun and termites slowly destroy a site that nobody looks after.
• Ignorance: some people do not know that an old rock or ancient tree in their village is a heritage site, so they treat it as rubbish.

How do conflict and insurgency harm heritage?

Conflict and insurgency are war and violent attacks, which destroy people’s lives and also their history.

• Destruction of sites: ancient sites in conflict areas, such as the Northeast, have been damaged.
• Example: the Sukur Cultural Landscape, a World Heritage Site, has been affected by insurgent attacks.
• Loss of records: libraries and palaces burnt in a riot or war take with them records that can never be replaced.
• Looting: in war, artefacts can be seized and carried away. The Benin Bronzes were taken from Benin City by a British force in 1897.

How does corruption harm heritage?

Corruption is the dishonest use of public office or money for personal gain.

• Stolen funds: money meant for repairing museums or paying heritage guards is sometimes stolen by officials.
• Illegal trade: officials or looters may be bribed to look away while artefacts such as the Nok Terracotta are smuggled abroad and sold.
• Wrong appointments: a museum suffers when a friend with no knowledge of history is put in charge of it.

How do the five threats compare?

The table below sums up what each threat does and gives one example.

How can we protect national heritage?

We protect national heritage by caring for it, teaching it and reporting those who harm it.

• Education: teach heritage in schools so young people value it.
• Language use: speak and write our local languages at home and in community events.
• Maintenance: repair and guard museums and monuments regularly.
• Honest management: spend heritage funds properly and appoint qualified people to run museums.
• Public agencies: support bodies such as the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), which looks after museums and monuments.
• Reporting: tell the authorities when you see damage or smuggling.

Class activity

1. Look around your neighbourhood. Is there any old building or tradition you think is being “neglected”? What can be done about it?
2. Debate: “Is globalisation more of a blessing or a curse to our Nigerian culture?”
3. If you were the Minister of Culture, what is the first thing you would do to stop people from smuggling our artefacts abroad?

Evaluation

1. Name the five threats to national heritage discussed in this lesson.
2. What is “cultural dilution”, and which threat causes it?
3. Give two ways in which corruption harms our heritage.
4. Why is the burning of libraries and palaces during war a permanent loss?

Assignment

Choose any two threats to national heritage from this lesson. For each one, explain in two or three sentences how it harms heritage and give one example from the note.