The United States embassy in Nigeria has revealed plans to spend a $127,000 grant on the Busanyin shrine in Osun Osogbo sacred ground for its digital documentation and conservation.
The $127,000 grant was awarded to a California-based non-profit, CyArk, through the U.S Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP).
NAN reported that the U.S ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard, said this while signing the project’s memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Monday in Lagos.
According to Leonard, she said the AFCP was administered by the U.S department of state’s bureau of educational and cultural affairs.
She also said that the grant is to support and preserve the major ancient archaeological sites, historic buildings, monuments, and major museum collections that are accessible to the public and protected by law in their host country.
She said “Today, we’re proud to be launching our 2020 AFCP award to digitally document and conserve the Busanyin shrine located within the Osun Osogbo sacred grove,” she said.
“CyArk and its local partners were awarded a $127,000 grant under the AFCP small grant program to help document a series of shrines in the sacred grove and provide training to local professionals to build capacity and digital documentation skills and cultural heritage management.”
“The 3D digital documentation of the shrine is the necessary first step to provide the most accurate record of the current conditions of the site and effectively plan a restoration project that will increase resilience at the site during a natural disaster or extreme weather conditions.”
Leonard said that the Busanyin shrine, one of eight monuments within the grove, had been significantly damaged throughout the years due to extreme flooding.
The ambassador added that the US and Nigeria were also finalizing a bilateral agreement that would establish restrictions against the import of prohibited items of cultural property into the US.
This agreement, she said, would encourage public and private cultural institutions and law enforcement agencies in both countries to work together on repatriating trafficked objects and fostering cultural exchanges.
Also, the director-general of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), Abba Tijani, said the commission had been collaborating with relevant stakeholders to protect, conserve and manage national assets.
He said one of such collaborations was that between NCMM and Clark in 2019 which led to a successful workshop on 3D documentation.
“This is a great opportunity to train some staff of the commission as well as carry out more works at the grove,” he said.
According to Tijani, the Osun-Osogbo sacred grove as Nigeria’s second world heritage site and primary rain forest is fast disappearing in the West-African sub-region.
In his explanation, he said “The grove is important to many of its devotees both within and outside the country and other stakeholders, hence, the need to keep it in good state of conservation at all times,” he added.
“This training program will not only empower the staff of the commission in 3D documentation of cultural heritage but also assist in conservation works to be carried out in the grove.”
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