The National Assembly Library Trust Fund (NALTF) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs met to join forces in a major push to preserve and digitize Nigeria’s historical and diplomatic records.
The meeting held during a recent courtesy visit by NALTF’s Executive Secretary, Rt. Hon. Henry Nwawuba, on Wednesday, August 6, to Foreign Affairs Minister Amb. Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, aims to create a synergy to centralize and make the repository of national information easily accessible.
The initiative was praised by Minister Tuggar, who likened the NALTF’s role to that of the influential US Library of Congress. He emphasized the critical need to properly record Nigeria’s domestic and international engagements and legacies. “We have records lying at our embassy in Germany that need to be brought here,” Tuggar stated, highlighting the challenge of scattered data and the important role of NALTF in harmonizing these data. He also mentioned the wealth of information from ECOWAS that often goes unnoticed by the public.
Nwawuba echoed this sentiment, assuring the minister that NALTF exists to provide the ministry with robust research support and record-keeping. “We are here to let you know that the ministry can count on NALTF whenever they need records or for research purposes,” he said. “The library is also looking to build international partnerships with other libraries to create a global network for data access.”
The meeting also revealed the importance curating data from significant events, such as the recent ECOWAS at 50 celebration, which produced a wealth of revalidated agreements and information. The minister pointed out the need to collect and preserve this kind of data so Nigerians can be better informed about the treaties that affect their lives.
Below are more photos from the courtesy visit.
