Senate moves to establish NASS museum, archives to preserve nation’s history

By Christiana Ekpa

Senate yesterday moved for establishment of National Assembly legislative Mesuem and Archives to enhance preservation of the country’s heritage.
The Upper Chamber noted that Nigeria has no archive where history of the country is documented and it is embarrasing when the it depend on foreign lands to acquire historical information.
Senate is concerned that the Legislature serves as the only key symbol of democracy particularly in the Presidential System of Government but much has not been documented about the history of Nigerian Legislature due to long years of military rule.
Also, it noted that the few years of the existence of democracy in the country has been eventful for the Legislature in the areas of Executive-Legislative relationship and the challenges of the oversight performance by the Legislature without adequate documentation for the use of incoming generation.
To proffer solution, the Senate in Collaboration with the House of Representatives has moved to establish a Joint Committee of Culture and Tourism on National Assembly Legislative Museum and Archives to ensure preservation of Nigeria’s history.
Senate however, directed the Joint Committee on Culture and Tourism on National Assembly Legislative Museum and Archive to study the resolutions of the 7th Senate and House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the report of the Ad hoc Committee on Immortalization for implementation and continuity to enrich the achievements of the National Assembly for the sake of posterity.
The motion for the need for establishment of a National Assembly Legislative Museum and Archives was moved by Senator Fatimat Raji-Rasaki (Ekiti Central) and eight other senators.
​Leading the debate, Senator Matthew Urhoghide (Edo South)​​ explained that section 60 of the same Constitution empowers the Senate and House of Representatives to regulate their own procedure.
According to him, National Assembly Joint Committee would facilitate the implementation of this unique initiative as an indelible legacy that the 8th National Assembly could bequeath the legislature and the Country at large, as well as generate revenue.
Contributing, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce (Bayelsa East) concurred that the museum and archive is necessary because previous government do not have their legacies stored in libraries. He recalled how Nigeria paid huge sum of money to BBC, other international film agencies to acquire a recorded tape of the civil war.
Senator Barnabas Gemade (Benue North-East) posited that the call for establishment of a history centre is a wake-up call to the executive and legislature to change the course of history.