Gen Theophilus Danjuma (Rtd) has inaugurated the Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS) museum and science library named in his honour in the FCT.
Located at Wasa District Cadastral Zone, Apo FCT, the science and museum complex occupies 4.18 hectares.
The architectural plan of the complex consisted of a pierce, science museum and library complex, an administrative block, a conference centre with comprehensive conference facilities and a guest house.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Danjuma funded the construction of the science museum and library.
The retired general, while speaking at the commissioning, said that asides erecting a building, the museum needed to be equipped with facilities deserving of a museum.
“You need to have regular correspondence between the academy of science and prospective donors to know how you are progressing and to ensure you have what makes the building a museum.
“With the deployment of science and technology, it is possible to access things we don’t have here, and to do that you need money and sustenance for regular correspondence,” he said.
Danjuma pledged to lend his voice in spreading the needs of the science community for availability of funds.
He stated that science was the bedrock of development for any nation.
Mrs Esuabana Nko-Asanye, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, said the establishment of the science museum would serve as a heritage for generations.
“With this, I am certain that our research, development and innovation is going to be documented for the next generation of Nigerian children to have what they can fall back on to report on science.
“They can have what it takes to develop research, to come up with patents that we can expand our scope to commercialise and not just resting on the shelves.
“This is the foundation of all that, all our laboratories are now going to key in through this so that we have most of the things we need to train our children from kindergarten up to tertiary as scientists, innovators, and inventors,” she said.
Prof. Ekanem Braide, President of NAS, said the building plan was approved after some delay by Development Control in October 2023 and the building contract awarded in November 2023.
Braide stated that the museum would serve as a useful resource for inspiring and strengthening Science, Technology,
Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) education.
“The museum will also showcase Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage and civilisation that can produce cross-cultural understanding.
“It will be a source of knowledge and inspiration, while management of the museum will continue to collect, preserve, interpret and display objects of artistic, cultural and scientific significance for the education of the public, particularly students.
“The library will provide access to authentic and reliable information required to support learning and development, it will house all sections in an ideal library, including an e- section and a repository,” Braide stated.
The president said they would continue to promote both local and international collaborations among researchers, government, industries and communities for national development.
Prof. Mahouton Hounkonno, President, Network of African Science Academies (NASAC), said the museum represented the interface between the science community and the general community.
According to him, it is a meeting point where ideas are nurtured and curiosity transformed into discovery.
‘”As Africa faces unprecedented challenges from climate change, to technological adaptation, spaces like this become beacons of hope fostering education and system engagement.
“Science does not exist in isolation, it thrives in the lives of the people it tends to outlive.
“This museum will not only preserve the heritage of Nigerian science, but also inspire the next generation of innovators and problem solvers who will continue to shape the future of the nation and continent at large.” (NAN)
