On March 4, 2024, a former Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Shehu Sani, posted on his X handle (formerly Twitter) that Nigeria is the only country in the world without a museum in its capital city.
Shehu Sani made the claim while reacting to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s visit to Qatar, where the president and his entourage were taken on a tour of various Qatari monuments and the National Museum of Qatar by its Director, Abdulaziz bin Hamad Al Thani.
Claim: Is Nigeria the only country in the world without a Museum in its capital city?
Verification
In most countries, ‘the national museum’ is located in the cultural or commercial capital. For example, the administrative capital of South Africa is Pretoria, but the South African National Museum is in Cape Town. Nigeria has a National Museum located in Lagos State. Nonetheless, the CDD War Room found that there is a National Space Museum located at the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Expressway, Airport road, Lugbe, Abuja. It exhibits historical works which involves rocketry, astronomy among others. The museum offers immersive experiences in virtual reality tours, simulations and games.
Also, The CDD War Room found that Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, has notable private museums that any foreign visitor can visit. For instance the Discovery Museum founded in July 2021, it is located at Adetokunbo Ademola Cres, Wuse 2, Abuja which is touted as Nigeria’s first digital museum. The museum comprises both the Adult and Children’s arena. It features physical artefacts, virtual reality, and digital art gallery, among others.
Added to the above, there are other places where museums can be found in the FCT, Retro Africa located in Asokoro created in 2015 as a community of art enthusiasts, curators and collectors, headed by founder and creative director Dolly Kola-Balogun.
Verdict: Misleading
The claim by Shehu Sani that Nigeria is the only country in the world without a museum in its capital city is misleading; findings show that there are various museum centres in Nigeria’s capital city. CDD War Room equally found that there are capitals across the world, where national museums are not sited.