The President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, on Tuesday inaugurated the Ad hoc Committee on the Establishment and Development of the National Assembly Museum and Archives.
Performing the ceremony, Saraki said the facility demonstrated that “we can indeed build on the gains of the past if we are determined”.
He added: “We often lament about a lack of foresight, and a failure to build on the gains of the past.
“Some people have suggested, erroneously, that we want to establish a Museum and Archives to immortalise ourselves.
“But nothing could be further from the truth. This is about institution building, it is about institutional memory, it is about legacy; and most of all, it is about the greatness of Nigeria.”
He noted that information availability was critical to the functioning of democratic legislatures, adding that access to information was crucial to the strengthening of parliamentary oversight.
He further explained that museums and archives played an important role in preserving legislative records for posterity.
Saraki said: “This becomes even more critical in a fledgling democracy such as ours. It would be best if we are able to draw on the deeds and records of past National Assemblies, to enable us to cross the bridge of memory that was broken by the military years.
“This way, we will not keep re-inventing the wheel in our quest for nationhood.”
Earlier, Chairperson, Senate Committee on Culture and Tourism, Senator Fatimat Raji-Rasaki, said the project had been on the drawing board from the sixth Assembly.
She said the proposed museum would serve as a place where chronicles of the performances of the National Assembly could be read and visited from time to time.
Trending
- Traditional ruler shot dead inside palace
- Primate Ayodele to Yoruba Nation agitators: You can’t break Nigeria
- Police intercept bags of Indian Hemp at Lagos jetty
- Enugu, families to give Ibu, Junior Pope befitting burial
- Police arrest suspects for attempting to disrupt inauguration of commissioners
- Police rescue three children locked up by grandmother + Photo
- Police foil attack in Katsina, neutralise suspected bandit
- US vetoes Palestine’s request for full UN membership