Historical sites of Nigeria – Map

Legacy’s ongoing efforts to encourage tourism

One of Legacy’s key objectives is to raise awareness about the huge number of historical monuments and sites across Nigeria. The huge number of sites that require detailed investigation such is quite overwhelming. Very early on Legacy realised that detailed investigation of them all was not possible; this factor informed the decision to produce a map of historical sites to widen interest and encourage more people to become involved.

The production of the map was a collaborative effort between Professor John Godwin and Kofo Adeleke, who are both Legacy Trustees, and work on it started around 1996. It took almost four years of work in spare time to complete the research, achieve funding, and organise the technical production for an accurate and good quality map. Legacy is hugely indebted to the Leventis Foundation, who sponsored the production of the map, and assistance from the Nigerian Bottling Company, and many others who made various contributions.

Legacy published The Historical Sites Map of Nigeria in 1999. Presented to the public at the National Museum, Lagos on Friday 28 April 2000, guests at the event included senior officials from the NCMM, the Lagos State Ministry for Arts and Culture, and the British High Commissioner. There is a framed copy of the map, donated by Legacy at the museum. The map intends to stimulate interest and concern about historical sites, especially amongst young people, and donated copies of the map to 3,600 post primary educational institutions in every state in Nigeria.