• to encourage genuine conservation efforts within Nigeria
• to discourage the looting of antiquities from Nigeria to Europe, USA etc
• to identify and create a tentative list of potential world heritage sites for Nigeria
• to undertake preparatory work to obtain Nigeria's first UNESCO world heritage sites

Background: The 2,000-3,000 year old Nok, Kwatakwashi (Sokoto) and Katsina terracotta figurines are found almost entirely within Nigeria; and their art traditions spread over much of the African continent during the Bantu expansion over the last 2,000 years. Massive looting on a scale far in excess of the sales and expropriation during colonial times has been carried on with the active collaboration of senior personnel in Nigeria. A key objection to this process is that these excavations were not carried out by trained archaeologists, so almost all data on the archaeological provenance and is lost.  We know almost nothing of the full in situ cultural context of what has been described as the 'Birthplace of African Art'.   Also, a lack of open discussion about past problems undermines Nigeria's museum credibility at a time when Nigeria is pressing for the return of its antiquities - thereby changing 'restitution' into perceived 're-circulation'.

Nigeria also boasts some of the world's largest ancient monuments, including the 16,000km long Benin Earthworks (see main menu), Africa's largest monument (see Sungbo's Eredo on main menu), sub-Saharan Africa's most extensive ruins (see Old Oyo), paved walkways over the Sukur mountains, and other very large monuments (see Old Owu). In 1993, though, Nigeria - Africa's most populous country - did not have a single UNESCO cultural, cultural landscape or natural World Heritage Site.  Now, with African Legacy's contribution, it has the Sukur Cultural Landscape as its first UNESCO World Heritage Site.  There are plenty of sites for those interested in Cultural Tourism; but various infrastructural challenges arising from past attitudes remain to be overcome.

Funding:

• Leventis Foundation provided Phase I funding to identify sites and carry out some basic Phase II survey work. This included accommodation for Bournemouth University Department of Conservation Sciences students who helped in the survey work at Sungbo's Eredo and the Benin earthworks. These very short-term grants were the only form of salary received.
• Legacy provided a small grant to buy aerial photographs of the Eredo and continued support of one tourist site
• IUCN provided a modest grant to cover expenses of tree-planting, path creation and maintenance, conservation agreements with local people and notice boards
• Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) created a committee to help, but allocated no funding to use them on the southern sites - only on the northern one
• British Council met the expenses of display case construction for Igbo-Ukwu
• African Legacy - despite severe indigence - bore the opportunity costs of salaries foregone and carried out operations in an extreme mode of cost-effectivieness

Achievements: The 'Nigerian factor' affected work at every turn but the main results were:

• Report on Nigeria's potential world heritage sites from every state in Nigeria
• UNESCO acceptance of Nigeria's first Tentative List of Cultural Properties
• Establishment of Nigeria's first World Heritage Committee, NCMM
• Report on The Rape of Nok and Kwartakwashi antiquities lootingsubmitted to NCMM
• Guidelines to instigate Rescue Archaeology in Nigeria submitted to NCMM
• Survey of about 100 km of Sungbo's Eredo and another 50 km of Benin Iya
• Masterplan for Okomu Forest Reserve accepted by State Government & ODA
• Site preparation & local conservation agreements for Sungbo's Eredo & Benin Iya
• Survey of Sukur paved walkways, and other preparatory work
• Igbo-Ukwu C9th brozes replicated for Igbo-Ukwu community museum
• Benin/Sungbo's Eredo and Sukur nominations presented to UNESCO in 1996
• Okomu Forest Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary made a National Park
• Sungbo's Eredo given world-wide publicity owing to links with Queen of Sheba
• Sukur Culture Area declared as Nigeria's first World Heritage Site 2.12.1999
• Benin Earthworks receiving serious attention from UNESCO in 2000
• Publicity in BBC History Magazine, Sunday Times and Culture Without Context (Illicit Antiquities Research Centre, Cambridge) on the looting of antiquities from Nigeria.
• Spotlight forced on corrupt officials and dealers in UK, Europe & NCMM: one top official removed.