Professor Abisogun Leigh, former VC LASU, Dr. Opeyemi Asaolu (C&Q Editor TVC News) and Professor Sola Fosudo, Head of Theater and Music Department LASU
The Nigerian government and other relevant agencies have been urged to formulate and implement policies that will promote proper documentation and archiving of musical practices in the country.
Members of the Association of Nigerian Musicologists (ANIM) made the call at the end of the 17th Annual National Conference of the group, held at the Department of Theatre Arts and Music, Lagos State University, LASU.
The theme of the conference is, “Documentation and Archiving of Musical Practices in Nigeria”.
In the communique released by ANIM and signed by the President, Professor Isaac Idamoyibo, the conference laments shabby practices in the state of Nigerian musical documentation and archiving.
It states that after looking at the documentation and archiving of musical practices in the country from historical, socio-cultural, educational and therapeutic perspectives, there is little provisions by government for its growth.
The association notes that for documentation and archiving of musical practices in Nigeria to become viable enterprise, the practice should be made an integral part of Nigerian music curricula in schools and colleges.
It states that since Nigerians have little knowledge and awareness of the need to document and archive musical practices, modern technology should be deployed to assist, while ANIM and other institutions saddled with teaching and learning of music should be actively involved.
Other recommendations made by ANIM after the conference are;
“individually and collectively, Nigerians must be made to be actively involved in embodying, documenting, archiving, transmitting and transforming Nigerian musical practices;
Each university, polytechnic and college of education should put in place archiving and documentation scheme.”
Such institutions are to to also “institute data of lecturers with broad information of titles of projects”, while “each department should equip its library with music journals to have national outlook”.
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