The Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, representing Nigeria, has signed an agreement with the United States government to preserve Sukur’s cultural heritage in Adamawa State.
Speaking at the event where a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) was signed in Abuja, on Thursday, February 15, 2024, the Chargé d’Affaires of the US embassy in Nigeria, David Greene, said the grant was awarded to the International Council on Monuments and Sites in Nigeria, ICOMOS-Nigeria.
The “latest grant will support ICOMOS-Nigeria and its local partners to help preserve Sukur cultural heritage through infrastructure enhancements, the revival of threatened traditional crafts, and documentation and preservation of the Sakun language,” Green said.
According to Greene, the purpose of the grant is to document, conserve and improve the cultural heritage of the Sukur UNESCO World Heritage Site in Adamawa State,
Also speaking at the event held in the US embassy premises in Abuja, Nigeria’s Minister of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy Hannatu Musawa, informed the audience that the Sukur Cultural Landscape is under imminent threat of insurgency and immediate danger imposed by global climate change.
“The project aims at undertaking a 2-year conservation and preservation work in the Sukur Cultural Landscape, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is regarded as a place of Outstanding Universal Values.
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“The work also involves the conservation of the tangible and intangible heritage of Sukur Cultural Landscape, enhancing community capacity, strengthening local, national and international links and networks for conserving the site’s Outstanding Universal Values and buttressing the resilience of the Sukur community in the face of insurgency and climate change,” said.
She said the project is supported by the United States of America through the Ambassador’s Fund, which is anchored by the Nigerian National Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites in Nigeria, ICOMOS Nigeria and the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM).
Also, according to the minister, “Additionally, the American University of Nigeria, Yola, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, the Sukur Community and the Factum Foundation are key partners.”
She said, “The project is a two-year conservation and preservation effort in the Sukur Cultural Landscape, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which aims to provide technical assistance to revive threatened traditional crafts, build, and strengthen relationships with local and international partners, and address the security, economic, and social stability of the Sukur community, which has been impacted by insurgency and climate change.”
