The Federal Government, in conjunction with Diasfund Africa Limited, has concluded arrangements to establish the first digital museum in Africa. The African Heritage Digital Museum would be inaugurated on the International Museum Day featuring about 1,000 high resolution photographs of the oldest man-made artefacts in Nigeria.

The director-general (DG) of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), Mallam Yusuf Abdallah Usman, said that the idea behind the project was to highlight the importance of Nigeria’s cultural objects to Nigerians and the global community, adding that there was a need for foreigners to appreciate the aesthetic value of the objects.

Usman stated that, “Given the number of people engaged in the use of internet, we are hopeful that a lot of money will be generated though the revenue will be shared between the commission and Diasfund. We, however, do not have a fixed amount that we will realise from the project.”

He added that Diasfund, through Crown Fraud, has been advocating for the return of the Queen Idia Mask and other Nigerian cultural heritage in British museums through different television appearances and many writings in the print media in the United Kingdom.

Responding, the director of Markets and Investments, Diasfund Africa Limited, Mr Obinna Egele, said that the project is designed to be easily accessible through mobile and other portable devices, insisting that the digital museum have global reach.