By OLUWASEYI ODUNEYE-OGUNWOMOJU

The public has been reminded to obtain permits from the National Commission for Museums and Monuments before taking any antiquity or contemporary art out of the country.

The Curator of the National Museum of Unity, Mrs Oriyomi Otuka, drew the public’s attention to this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Wednesday.

Otuka reiterated that Decree 77 of 1979 mandated the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, previously called the Department of Antiquity, to be the custodians of culture and antiquities.

“The decree gave us the mandate to be in charge of antiquities of all kinds.

“Whether they are vintage cars or whatever, you have to get permits from the National Commission for Museums and Monuments.

“We give permits for contemporary arts like paintings, flower vases and sculptures that are newly made or replicas.

“Before you take them out of Nigeria, you’ll bring them to the museums, and we will assess them to make sure they’re not antiquities.

“Once we clear them, we issue a permit called a Clearance Permit to travel with the artworks,” she said.

Otuka added that in 2025, 350 persons applied and were cleared of different contemporary artworks.

“All museums charge 10 per cent of the value of artworks, and these go into the government’s purse,” she said.

She, however, stated that Export Permits are issued for objects intended for exhibitions or to be researched upon.

“We issue that for you to take the object out of the country and bring it back.

“Before this is issued, the person and object would have gone through much scrutiny to ascertain the true position of the claim.

“The export permit would only be given after we’ve done our own thorough investigation, and most times, people we’ve provided such permits have been bringing the objects back to the country,” she said.

She, however, said that animal skins (leather), ivory, some stones and antiquities can’t be cleared for exportation.

When asked if artefacts have been returned by the governments of foreign countries to Nigeria, particularly the South-West, Otuka said she was not aware of any.

She, however, said that the commission’s Director-General, Mr Olugbile Holloway, had directed all curators to liaise with the Nigeria Immigration Service and the Nigeria Customs Service to prevent illegal exportation.

“A synergy is needed to enlighten the services about what the museum does and give them a better understanding of antiquities, as they are in the best position to stop illegal export.

“I have written to both organisations and will be meeting them in two weeks to see how best we can work together to stop illegal exportation of antiquities,” she said.

NAN reports that in 2025, the museum recorded 17,449 visitors, including 43 foreigners, with students having the largest representation of 11,867. (NAN)