Legendary highlife musician, Sir Victor Uwaifo, has called on government and corporate bodies to take over his private music museum to save it from total rot. Uwaifo made the call during a visit to his “Revelation Tourist Palazzo” Museum in Benin City on Friday by officials of National Council for Arts and Culture as part of the ongoing National Festival of Arts and Culture holding in the city.
Uwaifo said that he had invested a lot in preserving the culture and history of the Edo people and Nigerians at large by establishing the museum. He said that the museum, which housed all his intellectual property, ancestral shrines, items from the slave market peculiar to Edo State, ritual items and more was his contribution to humanity. Uwaifo said, “I have put in so much into the museum. My flesh, blood and money have been invested into the museum and I want the government to take it over for proper management.
“I invested so much money into the museum which I could have put in a fixed deposit account. “I’m a fulfilled musician and artist. For me, there is nothing better than music and art because it gives me satisfaction. “It makes me look forward to the future with pride,” said Uwaifor, popularly known as Guitar Boy.
Uwaifo said that the museum had been a beehive of activities since inception as it had recorded huge patronage from students who got entertained, educated and inspired through its works of art. Responding after a tour of galleries within the museum, Mr, Olusegun Runsewe, Director General of NCAC, promised to assist in maintaining the museum.
Runsewe promised to supply computer systems to the museum for proper data capturing which, he said, was very important to its growth. “If this museum were to be in other countries of the world, tourists would be paying hugely to visit it, we must ensure this place is well preserved for the sake of posterity. “The education I got here is out of this world and I’m happy that history is kept and our children can learn,” he said.(NAN)
Pix: Sir Victor Uwaifo
