The American University of Nigeria (AUN) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) to conserve the Sukur Cultural Landscape Projects, tangible and intangible heritage.
The Sukur Cultural Landscape is a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) world heritage site in Adamawa State, currently facing insurgency and climate change threats.
The $1.5 million AFCP grant, signed on Thursday at the US Embassy in Abuja, will support a two-year project led by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) in collaboration with AUN, the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), and Ahmadu Bello University.
The project aims to preserve Sukur’s heritage, while also bolstering community capacity and resilience. Its goal is to reinforce local, national, and international networks for site conservation and additionally, to revive endangered traditional crafts and the Sukur language.
Dr. Audu Liman, Head of the Atiku Institute for Development, revealed that the project has commenced since February 24, 2023, and will reach some communities in Madagali LGA, Adamawa State. “We will train them on new ways of making money, a new market, whether it is art and craft or iron smiting, making hoes and cutlasses, and we will help them bring their goods from the mountain down to land and also up to Yola, where we will help them sell the goods.”
While emphasizing the significance of the Sukur Cultural Landscape, the Minister of Art, Culture, and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, praised the partnership and highlighted the longstanding support of the United States in cultural preservation in Nigeria.
Reported by Chiedozie Joseph