The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade, has urged African leaders to establish national registers of cultural heritage, emphasizing that museums must spearhead the effort to document objects, monuments, and traditions before they are lost.

According to a press release issued by his Director of Media and Publicity, Bode Durojaiye, the monarch stated this during his visit to the Afro-Brazilian Museum in São Paulo, pointing out that “These should include objects made by our forefathers, the monuments of the land and things created by us today that would become of historic importance tomorrow.”

According to the monarch: “Africa is opening herself to the world in a way that she had never done in the past. We are no longer ‘the Dark Continent’ and Africans are no longer ‘the primitives’. The civilisations that once flourished in Africa have become the issue in the art world today.

“The head-count of our cultural property should be properly and fully documented. In this regard, our museums have the primary responsibility to ensure that such national registers are created.

“These great cultural materials across Africa put together today belong to Africa and to humanity collectively.”

Stressing the importance of establishing proper documentation and national registers of historic places and objects, the monarch noted that while we cannot deny the advantages of rapid expansion in our modern world, such progress “imperils the irreplaceable heritage of nature and culture, essential to the equilibrium and happiness of mankind.

“This, in turn, leads to a situation where cultures vanish with the disappearance of the economic and social systems which brought them into being.

“Even human groups, the victims of thoughtless and too sudden evolution, perish, and for the human sciences such as history of art, archaeology, and anthropology, loss ensues, as well as frustration and misery for mankind if all the objects and places of historic importance are not appropriately recorded and documented,” he said.

ALSO READ: FRSC officially opens portal for 2026 recruitment exercise

The Afro Brazil Museum (Museu Afro Brasil) in São Paulo is the largest museum of the African Diaspora in Latin America.

It houses over 6,000 works of art, artefacts, and antiques spanning five centuries of history to chronicle the profound cultural and historical contributions of Black people in Brazil. It is located inside the Manuel da Nóbrega Pavilion at Ibirapuera Park.

The institution was founded in 2004 by renowned artist, curator, and director Emanuel Araújo. It centres the Black experience in Brazilian history and culture, elevating self-esteem, dignity, and pride.

The museum’s massive permanent collection includes paintings, sculptures, and photography depicting Black historical figures, daily life, and the African diaspora; ethnographic artefacts, documents, slavery-era plantation equipment, and traditional religious items; and arts and crafts.