…To preserve over 250 ancient artefacts
The Federal Government, in partnership with the United States Embassy and the Wheyham Report Foundation, yesterday unveiled an immersive digital heritage platform designed to preserve Nigeria’s ancient Nok civilisation, with more than 250 artefacts digitally catalogued and protected against illicit trafficking.
The project, launched in Abuja, also featured the premiere of the documentary ‘Nok Culture: History, Art and Civilization’, and was implemented under the US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation.
Speaking at the event, the Chargé d’Affaires of the US Embassy, Keith Heffern, said the initiative demonstrated how technology could strengthen cultural preservation while tackling the illegal trafficking of heritage objects. According to him, the project has digitally preserved more than 250 Nok artefacts, upgraded the Nok Museum, trained 50 Nigerian youths in advanced digital preservation skills and reached over 50,000 people across the country.
He explained that the platform incorporates Non-Fungible Token (NFT)-based tracking technology to improve authentication and traceability of artefacts, describing it as a tool for disrupting the multi-billion-dollar illicit trafficking of cultural property while strengthening law enforcement cooperation between Nigeria and the United States.
Heffern disclosed that the United States had invested about $1.2 million over the past five years in cultural heritage preservation projects across 21 Nigerian states through the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation.
Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, said the project fulfilled part of the grant agreement signed between the ministry and the US Embassy in February 2025 to document and preserve the Nok terracotta artefacts of Kaduna State.
She described the Nok civilisation as one of Africa’s earliest and most sophisticated producers of terracotta art, noting that the initiative would make the country’s cultural assets accessible to people beyond museum walls. “What we see this morning is a component of that project delivered,” Musawa said.
She stressed that digital preservation complements, rather than replaces, physical conservation by ensuring cultural records remain available even when artefacts themselves are threatened. The Minister added that the ministry intends to replicate the digital preservation model for other tangible and intangible cultural heritage across Nigeria, while commending the US government for more than two decades of support for heritage conservation projects, including Sukur, Osun-Osogbo and now the Nok cultural landscape.
Earlier, the Project Lead of the Wheyham Report Foundation, Barr. Yahaya Maikori, said the initiative was conceived to preserve, protect and promote Nigeria’s cultural heritage through innovation, digital technology and community participation. He said the project had catalogued 250 Nok artefacts, introduced digital documentation and tracking systems, refurbished the Nok Museum, engaged young Nigerians in heritage documentation, developed immersive digital experiences and produced a documentary on the Nok civilisation.
Maikori acknowledged the support of the US Embassy, the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Yale University and the Ham community, describing the partnership as vital to preserving one of Africa’s oldest civilisations.
Also speaking, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, described the preservation of Nigeria’s cultural heritage as a critical pillar of national security, saying Nigeria must protect its history with the same commitment it devotes to defending its territorial integrity.
Musa, who said he hails from Zangon-Kataf in Southern Kaduna, noted that the area forms part of the cultural landscape of the Nok civilisation and expressed pride in being associated with one of Africa’s earliest civilisations.
The Defence Chief observed that although the first Nok terracotta was discovered in 1928 and transformed global understanding of Africa’s history, many Nigerians remain unaware of the civilisation’s significance. He urged greater investment in museums, historical monuments and infrastructure around the Nok cultural landscape to encourage Nigerians to appreciate and take ownership of their heritage.
Musa also argued that safeguarding Nigeria’s cultural heritage is an important non-military component of national security. The CDS praised the deployment of augmented reality and virtual reality technologies in the Nok heritage project, saying they would make Nigeria’s history more accessible to young people across the country and in the Diaspora.
