National War Museum, Umuahia

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National War Museum
National War Museum, Umuahia
Established1985
Location Umuahia North, Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria
Coordinates 5°32′42″N7°29′10″E / 5.54498°N 7.48615°E / 5.54498; 7.48615
Type War museum
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The National War Museum is Nigeria's only war museum located in Umuahia, Nigeria. It showcases the military history of Nigeria from objects of pre-colonial warfare to relics from the Biafra-Nigerian Civil War. It has a collection of tanks, armored vehicles, ships, and aircraft all from Nigeria or the defunct Republic of Biafra. [1] Almost all tanks and AFLs are Biafran and all aircraft are Nigerian. [2] Gazetted as a heritage site in Nigeria, the National War Museum is the main repository of the official narratives of the fratricidal war in Nigeria from 1967 to 1970 [3] .

Contents

History

Entrance to the museum National War Museum Umuahia Nigeria.jpg
Entrance to the museum

Ideas to create a national war museum began after an official visit by Lt. General Theophilous Danjuma's official visit to Yugoslavia in 1977. The plans were approved that year by the Supreme Military Council of Lt. General Olusegun Obasanjo's administration. Exploratory studies for the museum's establishment began, and the project was launched in 1985. [1]

The museum is located at Ebite Amafor in Isingwu Autonomous Community in the Umuahia North Local Government Area, the same place where the bunker for the Voice of Biafra was during the war. [3] The radio station is still intact as is a subterranean former office and command post for the Governor of Biafra, nicknamed the "Ojukwu Bunker". [1]

It features four permanent exhibition galleries, [2] [3] along with an open-air gallery. The first exhibit is the "Traditional Warfare Gallery" and covers weapons from traditional indigenous warfare. The second exhibit is the "Armed Forces Gallery" and covers the evolution of the Nigerian Army from 1963 to present. The third exhibit, "The Civil War Gallery", shows photographs and objects from the war heavily skewed in favour of state-sanctioned narratives [3] [4] . The final "Open-air Gallery" shows heavy military hardware from the army, navy, and air force [1] [2] [3] .

The museum also features an annex at Ugwuachara at the former residence of Dr. Michael Iheonukara Okpara, a premier of the Eastern Nigeria region from 1959 to 1966. [1]

Collection

One of the planes used during the Biafran War in Nigeria NAF 102 - One of the War Planes used during the Biafran War in Nigeria.jpg
One of the planes used during the Biafran War in Nigeria
Biafran War ship Biafran War ship.jpg
Biafran War ship

Source for contents: [1] [2] [3] [5]

Torpedo used by the Nigerian Navy aboard NNS Nigeria Torpedo NNS Nigeria.jpg
Torpedo used by the Nigerian Navy aboard NNS Nigeria

Air force pavilion

Army pavilion

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Onuora, Chijioke N. (2015-09-02). "The National War Museum, Umuahia: Preservation of Civil War Memorials and Nigerian Military History" . Critical Interventions. 9 (3): 204–218. doi:10.1080/19301944.2016.1157350. ISSN   1930-1944.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Onuora, Chijioke, ed. (2016). The National War Museum Umuahia (PDF). Development Alternatives and Resource Center. ISBN   978-1-61163-880-6.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Emeafor, Obinna; Onyemechalu, Stanley (2021). "Objectivity in Museums: The Nigerian Civil War According to the National War Museum, Umuahia". The International Journal of the Inclusive Museum. 14 (1): 49–70. doi:10.18848/1835-2014/cgp/v14i01/49-70. ISSN   1835-2014.
  4. ↑ Onyemechalu, Stanley Jachike (February 26, 2024). "History, Memory, and Wartime Heritage Interpretation: Insights from The Legacies of Biafra Heritage Project". Heriland.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ↑ "Umuahia and its war museum - The Nation Nigeria". The Nation . March 7, 2015. Retrieved March 27, 2018.

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