National Museum Lagos

The National Museum of Nigeria in Lagos pleasantly surprised me. The exhibition doesn't look modern, but that's not the point. I really appreciated the curator's approach, which presented the collection through the stages of human life, from birth to... not death, but to the afterlife. This fact alone highlights how much traditional art is—or was—in the service of humanity. Artists didn't create for aesthetic reasons or the need for personal expression, but in service of their tribal family. There are many valuable exhibits on display, well and clearly described. If I missed anything, it was dates, placing objects and events on a timeline. I highly recommend it. On the other hand, Nigerian culture is so rich and diverse that I consider this museum merely a vestibule to the castle of cultural abundance created by numerous tribes with their vast imaginations, rituals, and artifacts. Nigeria deserves a museum ten times larger and richer, because it truly has much to be proud of.

I went there years ago as a teenager and decided to revisit this place as an adult. It was still quite the same. Well preserved old relics, and lots of history there. We paid N1,500 for entrance and we didn’t use a tour guide. There was no need and most of the relics were self explanatory especially as native Nigerians who knew a little about history. You will be done with the tour in 2 hours or so if you’re snapping pics and making videos. It was a fun experience.

1. I wonder what happened to all the pictures of the old Lagos. 2. Many pictorial gaps in the pre-colonial and national history. 3. I will suggest the display of old currencies and a write-up on the persons in the current ones showing why they were considered worthy of being placed on National currency.

This place hold a unique historical view and explanations to many Nigeria events. It worth exploring for learning purposes and time with family and friends. Safe for kids too I really had fun here after the whole touring

We bought tickets in person after 1500 Naira per person. There were 3 galleries inside and 1 gallery outside. The inside galleries were about history of some of the tribes of Nigeria. The galleries were very dark and cold. There was quite a few repetitions in the items displayed between galleries. Overall it took about 1.5 hours to walk through. I would recommend if you're interested in Nigerian tribes and their varying beliefs and practices or history of Nigerian leadership. I think it was worth the 1500 but there are definitely improvements to be made.

The National Museum is located in Onikan, Lagos Island, Lagos State. The museum has a notable collection of Nigerian art, including some pieces of statuary, carvings, and archaeological and descriptive anthropology (peoples and cultures with their customs, habits, and mutual differences). Its a very neat place, well behave and kind staff. It has a section withe history of Nigeria's past and present leaders, head of states and Presidents of the Pre-colonial and colonial masters including the Presidents and head of states of First, Second, Third and Fourth Republic. The museum houses the collections of artifacts belonging to different cultures of the ethnic groups in Nigeria. The size of the collection is estimated at 47,000 objects, made of different materials such as wood, ivory, metal and terracotta. The artifacts include masks, textiles, drums, dane guns and wooden figures. Among the artifacts, in the Yoruba section, the museum includes Egungun costumes and clay pots. The museum has a collection of statues dating from different periods of Nigeria's history. The museum also houses traditional musical instruments such as sansas, fiddles and flutes.peoples and cultures with their customs, habits, and mutual differences.The museum contains jewelry and crafts, as well as a collection of textiles including Akwete cloth and other textiles from the Okene, Bida and Western States areas of Nigeria.The museum has displayed works of art by Nigerian artists such as Nike Davies-Okundaye, Abiodun Olaku, Djakow Kassi, Bruce Onobrakpeya, Bolaji Ogunwo, Yusuf Durodola, Chinze Ojobo,[32] Nosa Iyobhabha, Duke Asidere, Ben Enwonwu, Nathaniel Hodonu, Northcote W. Thomas, Kelani Abass and Elizabeth Ekpetorson.The museum contains a variety of sculptures. Among these are the grave sculptures of the Dakakari people who inhabit Sokoto State. These types of sculptures are used in graves to commemorate the death of an important person such as a warrior, social leader or a chief. The museum also contains a sculpture of a Sukur woman in traditional dress from Adamawa State. At the entrance of the museum, also with a sculpture of a deity called Chukwu, of Igbo spirituality. The museum also houses stone sculptures of the Ekoi people. The museum also has sculptures of animals that are used in different cultures of the ethnic groups of Nigeria (Wikipedia) The place is very conducive and well managed 👏

Beautiful and serene place that allowed me to walk down the memory/historical lane of Nigeria. So many beautiful relics and treasured artifacts. Many dated to as far back as the pre-colonial era.

We had to go here because we couldn't stay in John Randle museum. Entrance fee is now 1500 (since it's not been updated in the site). Children are 500 and if you want a tour guide, you pay 5000. It has a lot of comprehensive artifacts and is divided into 4 sections so you feel like you went to different museums. It took almost two hours to navigate the entire place. Place is hot though with very few functioning fans but it has a nice ambience and you can sightsee on your own.