IT was an exciting and a colourful outing at the Oba Ovonranmen Square in Benin City, Edo State capital as friends of the museum gathered to mark this year’s International Museum Day at the National museum location with music, exhibition of traditional costumes by the students of Obaseki and Igbinedion Junior Secondary Schools topped with lectures by renowned art scholars.

The Esogban of Benin Kingdom, Chief David Edebiri, Chairman of the occasion went down memory lane to recall how the National Museum came into being with an article he wrote in the Nigeria Observer titled “who owns Benin Museum?”.

“The Benin Museum was originally housed in a two room apartment at the former New Nigeria Bank building opposite the Oba Palace under the curatorship of late Dr. Jacob Egharevba, a renowned Bini historian and author of the “Short History of Bini.” With the publication of the article, the then dogmatic Military Governor of Midwest Region, Col. Samuel Ogbemudia “sprang into action and the construction of the present building was embarked upon which was later handed over to the Federal Military Government and later baptized as the National Museum.

With this reminiscence, activities started with the presentation of the first lecture by Prof Osaren S.B. Omoregie dwelling on the theme “Museum (Memory-Creativity)- Social Change,” citing late Dr. Jacob Uwadiae Egharevba (1893-1980 AD) credited with “daring to take the first steps to go from village to village, shrine to shrine, artist to artist to embark on this type of uncanning enterprise and collect artefacts for the royal home as it was gibly put.”

The second lecture delivered by Dr. Omokaro Izevbighie, an art historian of the Fine/Applied Arts Department of the University of Benin on the same theme also refreshed the memory of the audience the essence of Leonardo de Vinci, ‘generally regarded as one of the greatest artists in history of his researches and experiments in many fields of knowledge, all which earned him the name of “universal men”.

In his message, delivered by the Benin Curator, Theo Umogbai, the Director-General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) Mallam Yusuf Usman Abdallah said “the day wasn’t only to raise awareness or the importance of museums in the development of the society, but also to bring to focus the richness of our historical heritage, preserved and displayed by museums together with the inventiveness and vitality that have characterized the sector in recent years.”

Indigenous fashion parade by students of Obaseki Groups of Schools and the Igbinedion Education Centre unveiled the colourful themes of the ethnic dressing amongst them, the Bini and Etsako outfits.

A tour of the museum climaxed the day where the late Arala of Benin’s personal collection of Artefacts donated to the Benin Museum by his daughter, Dr. Mrs. Ododo Odaro, a retired Permanent Secretary showed various bronze works of Bini empire.