comma
2 0 1 2 -1
I N TE R N A T I O N A L  J O U R N A L  ON A R CH I VES 
REVUE I N TE R N A TI O NA LE  DES A R CH I VES
Governm ent Recordkeeping  
in Sub-Saharan Africa
L'archivage dans ('administration publique  
en A frique sub-saharienne
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UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY
Table of contents 
Table des matieres
Introduction
James Lowry 1
Introduction
James Lowry 3
Einleitung
James Lowry 5
Introduction
James Lowry 7
np eA H C AO BH e
AxceuMC Aoypu 9
L£ J jT  11
tua
13
Administrative Histories / Donnees administratives
Milestones in archives administration in Nigeria
AbiolaAbioye 15
Ghana’s budgetary cycle, financial select committees, and records
Pino Akotia 27
‘Lost’ and ‘found’: the concealment and release of the Foreign and 
Commonwealth Office ‘migrated archives’
MandyBanton 33
National Archives / Archives nationales
The National Archives of Tanzania fifty years after Marcia Wright’s Report 
on the government records and public archives of Tanganyika
Charles Magaya and James Lowry 47
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iv Table of contents/Table des matieres
-Archiving to the last archivist standing: the National Archives of Zimbabwe 
under sanctions
Ivan Murambiwa 59
An analysis of the public archives infrastructure in Uganda
David Luyombya and Sylivester Sennabulya 67
Digital Records and Archives / Gestion des documents et des archives
The Teachers’ Records Management Improvement Programme in Sierra Leone: 
a case study
Andrew Griffin and Muniru Kawa 79
E-records management and e-government in Southern Africa
Cathrine Nengomasha 95
L’etat des lieux des archives, des TIC, de l’E-Gouvemement, et de lacces 
aux informations au Burundi: defis et perspectives
Jean Bosco Ntungirimana et Anthea Seles 107
Archival Solidarity, Good Governance and Accountability /
Solidarity archivistique, bonne gouvernance et responsabilite
Creating professional unity for records managers and archivists:
the experience of the Kenya Association of Records Managers and Archivists
Cleophas Ambira 117
Un Bon Archivage pour une Bonne Gouvernance au Burkina Faso: un projet modele? 
Soungalo Apollinaire Ouattara, Marc Trille et Christine Martinez 123
Accountability in archival science since Parkinsons thesis
Lekoko Kenosi .. 135
Abstracts 147
Resumes 153
Zusammenfassungen 159
Resumenes 165
Pe3K>Me 171
O L a i d o  l8l
H  183
Authors’ contact details /  Contacts des auteurs 187
Editorial Board /  Comity de f a c t io n  , 189
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY
Milestones in archives administration in Nigeria
%
Abiola Abioye
This paper examines the development of archives administration in Nigeria, beginning with the early 
efforts of the Colonial Office in London to preserve the official record^ of the Nigerian Secretariat. It 
then discusses in detail Dr Kenneth Dike's record survey of the 1950s which laid the foundation for 
the establishment of the Nigerian Record Office (later known as the National Archives) and traces the 
development of archives administration at the national and state level as well as in the business sector. 
Finally, it examines the legislation for archives management in Nigeria, identifying a number of issues 
that must be addressed.
Introduction
The Arabic collection is reputed to be the oldest class o f records in the Nigerian archives: it 
contains manuscripts dating from 1111 A.D.*1  2The bulk o f the Arabic manuscripts in Nigeria is, 
however, still in private hands, though concerted national and international efforts are being 
made to collect the manuscripts for the nation.1 Official and systematic record-keeping in 
Nigeria did not begin until the coming o f the Europeans and the subsequent introduction 
o f colonial rule. Indeed, there was no entity called Nigeria until the amalgamation o f the 
Northern and Southern Protectorates in 1914. Perhaps this is why it has been advocated that 
the year 1914, rather than i960, when Nigeria attained political independence, should be 
celebrated as Nigeria’s year o f nationhood. According to Adedoyin Lafinhan, then Director 
o f the National Archives o f Nigeria,
records in the archives show that we came into being as a m odern state on 1st January, 1914, 
the date the northern and southern protectorates was [sic] finally amalgamated into political 
unity via an O rder-in-Council o f 22nd day o f November, 1913 which cam e into effect from  1st 
January 1914 with Sir Frederick Lugard as the first Governor-General o f Nigeria.3
Dr Abiola Abioye is a lecturer in the Department of Library, Archival and Information Studies, University of 
Ibadan, Nigeria. He attended the University of Nigeria, Nsukka where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in History 
and Archaeology in 1983. He proceeded to the University of Ibadan, where he obtained a Bachelor of Law degree, 
Master in Archival Studies and Doctorate in records management in 1987,1998 and 2006 respectively. He worked 
in the National Archives of Nigeria as an archivist for several years before joining the University of Ibadan, where 
he now teaches and conducts research in archives administration, records management and legal issues in infor­
mation work. He is also a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court o f Nigeria.
1 BABALOLA F. O., ‘The future of Arabic manuscripts in Nigeria’ in The Nigerian Archives, 1:4,1993, pp.9-26.
2 UMAR A. O., "Ihe origin, development and utilization of Arabic manuscripts in the National Archives, 
Kaduna’, paper presented at the ‘Workshop on Exploring Nigeria’s Arabic/Ajami Manuscript Resources for the 
Development of New Knowledge’ held at Arewa House, Kaduna, Nigeria, 7-8 May 2009.
3 LAFINHAN A. H., ‘1st January and the birth of a nation in Nigerian Tribune, ljanuary 2008.
doi:io.3828/comma.20i2.1.02
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16 Abiola Abioye
The question of nationhood in Nigeria is shrouded in controversy. While some authorities 
are o f the view that there is just one nation, which is the political entity called Nigeria, others 
have argued forcefully that there are, indeed, many nations in the country, each attaining 
the status of nationhood at different times. To this school of Thought, Nigeria is a mere 
geographical expression. Be that as it may, a large body o f records was produced in Nigeria 
under the colonial administration before Independence.
Archives administration
Records facilitate the activities of organisations and individuals, and the preservation of 
records ensures their survival as evidence of those activities. It was with this understanding 
that several despatches were sent from the Colonial Office in London to the colonial admin­
istration in Nigeria, beginning with that o f 1914, on the subject o f the preservation of the 
records o f the colonial administration.
The 1914 despatch specifically requested ‘a brief report as to the existing arrangements 
for the custody and preservation of the older official records of the government’, hoping that 
‘every care is already taken of those which are more or less recent and therefore required for 
official reference’ and advising that effective steps should be taken towards ‘the safe keeping 
and preservation of the documents in question’.4 5Sir Frederick Lugard, the Governor- 
General, in his reply to the despatch, gave the impression that all was well with the records 
of the colonial administration. He replied:
Supreme Court records and records o f the Commissioner o f Lands were kept in strong­
rooms. The older Southern Nigeria records were preserved in the Secretariat, were well 
housed, carefully catalogued and readily accessible. In fact, the Southern Nigeria records 
rooms were only renovated in 1912 at a cost o f £100, and all pre-1898 records were found to be 
in a very fair state o f preservation. Correspondence with the Colonial Office was preserved 
in Government House, where the records were complete and in a fairly satisfactory state 
o f preservation. The records o f the Northern Provinces were still recent and were being 
preserved in Zungeru.3
Lugard’s conclusion was that the official records o f the colonial administration in Nigeria 
were in ‘a fair state of preservation and that adequate arrangements had been made for their 
safe keeping.
The despatch of 28 December 1936 was particularly important for the introduction of 
the principles of records management into public administration in Nigeria. The despatch 
required the colonial administration to apply retention periods to account and treasury 
records as well as establishment and service records. The Colonial Office Instructions 
required the former category of records to be kept for seven years; records in the latter 
category, which were required for superannuation purposes, were not to be destroyed 
until after 60 years. Records o f historical value were to be carefully preserved, presumably 
permanently. The implementation of this records retention and disposal instruction was 
enforced with all seriousness by the Financial Secretary to the Nigerian colonial adminis-
4 National Archives of Nigeria, A memorandum on the organisation and management of Archives in Nigeria, 
National Archives Headquarters, Ibadan, 1970.
5 Ibid.
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Milestones in archives administration in Nigeria 17
tration, who directed and authorised officers ‘to destroy such books and records after the 
expiration of the periods quoted, unless any particular records are required to be retained 
for longer periods, and with the exception of records having a historical value, which should 
be carefully preserved’.6 An earlier despatch, dated 16 October 1936, also had implications 
for records retention and disposal. It advised that appraisal exercises should be adequately 
supervised by a responsible authority so as to eliminate the incidence of the destruction of 
records of actual or potential historical interest. M r Ormsby Gore, then the Colonial Secre­
tary, made it emphatically clear to his subordinates in the colonies that
the preservation o f its records in a satisfactory state must be regarded as one o f the first duties 
o f a Colonial Government, a duty which derives greater urgency from the fact that delay in 
the institution o f suitable protective measures may and does lead to the inevitable loss o f 
documents o f value.7
Recognising the possibility that local facilities might be inadequate, particularly on account 
of the tropical climate, the metropolitan authorities advocated the transfer o f records to the 
Public Record Office in London in order to prolong their survival.
Action was not taken on this despatch until the intervention of M r J. A. M. Maybin, the 
Chief Secretary, on 21 September 1937, when he issued a circular to all government offices 
in Nigeria requesting information on ‘existing official practices with regard to the destruc­
tion, and the retention and preservation of records, and inviting suggestions on what official 
policy should be on these matter [sic]’. The replies received from 12 offices painted varying 
pictures of the state of records in public offices in Nigeria. The replies showed that there 
were no uniform policies and procedures for the management and preservation of records 
in Nigeria’s public sector during this period. The immediate action that Maybin’s circular 
required could not be taken due, at first, to the 1938 annual leave of M r Niven, who was then 
the Principal Assistant Secretary and who was assigned the responsibility of attending to 
the matter, and later to the outbreak o f the Second World War, during which the matter was 
‘kept in view’ and the file dealing with it ‘periodically brought up until May 1946’.
In 1948, another despatch was received from the Colonial Office on the matter of records 
preservation. It is ironic that the file documenting the preservation of records had, itself, 
fallen into a state of disrepair. The Assistant Secretary (Political), M r J. O. Field, is said to 
have expressed his distress over this development. The 1948 despatch re-emphasised the 
necessity of preserving records, particularly those of historical interest. It referred to the 
arrangements being made to establish a Central African Archives at Salisbury, in Southern 
Rhodesia, to take care o f the public records o f Northern and Southern Rhodesia and Nyasa- 
land. Sir Hilary Jenkinson, the then Deputy Keeper of Public Records in London, empha­
sised the need for a survey of the situation in all colonial territories, in a memorandum 
and questionnaire. In his memorandum, Jenkinson referred to the attention that the issue 
of archives management was enjoying in Europe and America and expressed regret over 
the dearth of information in England about archives in the colonies. He concluded with 
the offer o f technical assistance. Although Mr J. I. Okwudiafor, the Assistant Secretary who 
attended to the 1948 despatch, was favourably disposed to the survey proposed by the Public —
6 NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF NIGERIA, A memorandum on the organisation and management of Archives in 
Nigeria, National Archives Headquarters, Ibadan, 1970.
7 Ibid.
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18 Abiola Abioye
Record Office, no serious steps were taken to address the issue. The request for funding for 
the appointment of a Special Officer to attend to colonial records in Nigeria was denied by 
the Financial Secretary. It is on record that the Financial Secretary, M r Himsworth, advised 
the Chief Secretary to reply to the Secretary of State ‘that owing to the lack of accommoda­
tion and staff it is not proposed to set up archives in this territory at present’.8
It is, therefore, evident that the British administration showed keen interest in the 
preservation of the records o f its colonial administration in Nigeria but that in comparison 
with other British colonies, the British officials in Nigeria seemed to lack the will to salvage 
and preserve the records in a stable state. The general impression about the attitude of these 
officials to records can be summarised as follows:
With very few exceptions, among whom one would include [C hief Secretary to the Legisla­
tive Council] H.M . Foot himself, it would appear that the mental abilities and the gift o f 
vision o f the generations o f British officials who served in Nigeria throughout the period 
o f its colonial tutelage would not match those o f other British servants o f the Empire who 
worked in other lands like Ceylon, Mauritius and India and who placed the colonial public 
records o f those territories on firm basis without having to be prodded into doing so by  the 
Colonial Secretary.9
Despite the calls for action received by these officials, colonial records in Nigeria faced the 
imminent danger o f total loss until the intervention of Dr Kenneth Onwuka Dike in the 
early 1950s.
Dike's intervention
In June 1950, Dike had a discussion with Foot, during which he expressed serious concern 
about the state of government records and other archives in Nigeria. In his letter o f 7 Ju ly  
1950 he reiterated his concern for the records, particularly for the consular records in Calabar, 
which were almost ruined by insects and damp. Dike then made a proposal intended to 
ensure the survival and proper preservation of the country’s historical records. The proposal 
was for a rescue mission in two stages. The first stage was a survey ‘to locate and save from 
destruction, all sources of historical importance in the country’ and Dike offered to render 
free service in supervising this preliminary survey. The second stage, which was the preserva­
tion of the Nigerian historical records, would, according to Dike, require the appointment of 
an archivist who, ‘aided by the report following this preliminary investigation, could under­
take the work of classifying, cataloguing, [and] pooling together all known historical sources 
in Nigeria’. When he submitted, on request, what he termed his ‘final recommendations for 
the survey of historical records in Nigeria’, Dike proposed a role for himself, much expanded 
from the first stage of his initial proposal. It is, therefore, not a surprise that he became the 
first head o f the Nigerian Record Office, which was established on his recommendation at 
the end o f the preliminary survey. His proposal of a modest expenditure of between £4,000 
and £5,000 annually for the running of the office seems to have laid the foundation for the 
modest funding of archives that was later to be experienced by public archival institutions in 
Nigeria. However, the amount suggested was not considered a modest expenditure by the
8 Ibid.
9 Ibid.
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Milestones in archives administration in Nigeria 19
Financial Secretary, who advised him to limit his activities in the first year to the preliminary 
survey. The Finance Committee approved the sum of £850 for the first full year o f Dike s 
assignment.
Dike was appointed the Supervisor o f Records on a part-time basis for three years with 
effect from 1 January 1951. An analysis of his initiatives indicates that most o f the woes that 
later befell the National Archives of Nigeria had their roots in his engagement and, particu­
larly, in his execution of his mandate.10 Though highly educated and an eminent historian, his 
lack of expertise in archives administration and records management was a shortcoming that 
affected the quality of the rescue work undertaken through the preliminary survey. The fact 
that the assignment was undertaken on a part-time basis (during weekends and vacations) 
casts serious doubt on the thoroughness of the execution o f his proj ect, which was to cover 
the whole o f Nigeria. Equally noteworthy is Dike’s underestimatiomof the enormity of the 
assignment and what was required to accomplish it, in terms o f men, money and material, 
as well as office accommodation and storage space. His hope for office and1 storage accom­
modation in the University College Library was unfulfilled. It required the kindness and 
goodwill of Professor Hamilton Whyte of the West African Institute of Social and Economic 
Research (WAISER) to secure the free use of two rooms in the W AISER building.
Whatever his shortcomings, Dike remains a reference point and a pioneer in the estab­
lishment of the Nigerian Record Office. His scheme became a face-saving exercise for a 
colonial administration that had gradually acquired notoriety for the flippancy with which 
it treated the problem of records preservation. Dike carried out his records survey between
1951 and 1953 with the assistance of undergraduates on vacation and a few appointed staff, 
particularly M r Shofu, a first class clerk seconded to the Records Survey Office from the 
Nigerian Secretariat, and M r L.N. Askikodi, a permanent archive assistant who joined in . 
April 1952, and who was assigned the responsibility o f co-ordinating the activities of the 
undergraduate workers in the Eastern Provinces. The bulk of the survey was done by these 
assistants, as Dike himself was said to be available for the assignment only during weekends 
and Easter and Christmas vacations. His longer vacations were always spent abroad, and in
1952 he overstayed his vacation in England and left M r P.H. Hair, his colleague at W AISER, 
to supervise the survey work.
The survey work encountered a host o f other problems: there was a lack of professional 
expertise, particularly on the part o f the undergraduate assistants, who were inadequately 
prepared for the work; difficulty in paying honoraria and travel allowances to ad hoc workers 
in the field; and the suspicion engendered by the removal of old records from the regions 
to the Records Survey Office at Ibadan. The survey office was soon filled up with records, 
and accommodation became the most pressing need. Regional offices were established at 
Enugu, Kaduna and Lagos but those served only as a temporary reprieve. They became 
inadequate sooner than expected. ,
Dike submitted the final report o f his records survey assignment to the government 
on 14 September 1953; the later printed version was entitled Report on the Preservation and 
Administration of Historical Records and the Establishment of a Public Record Office in Nigeria. 
The highlights o f the report included a discussion of basic record-keeping requirements, 
the physical conditions o f the records surveyed, and recommendations. Dike reiterated the
10 Ibid.
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20 Abiola Abioye
A
importance of legislation 'defining and regulating the administration, destruction, transfer 
and ownership of national archives’.11 12With specific reference to the U K  Public Record Office 
Act, he made a case for legislation that would grant powers over departmental records to the 
head of the proposed Nigerian Record Office. On the physical conditions of the records, 
Dike reported that they were mostly in a deplorable state, so, for example he described how 
‘In one office in the Northern Region, there are birds nesting in an attic where old records 
are stored, and the effect can be imagined’.11
The list of recommendations included the enactment of legislation, which he suggested 
might be similar to the law establishing the archives in Southern Rhodesia, the appointment 
o f a full-time archivist (presumably in addition to the Chief Archivist) to take care of ‘the 
technical organization of the historical records emerging from the survey’ and the incorpo­
ration ofthe records survey work into that ofthe record office, to be established with tempo­
rary accommodation provided ‘to house the archives of the nation’.13 The other main recom­
mendations related to the constitution of an Archives Committee whose secretary would 
be the Supervisor o f Records and whose function would be to act as ‘the Chief Executive in 
the interim period before the inauguration of the Record Office and the appointment of the 
Chief Archivist.14 Dike recommended that, as soon as the Record Office was established, the 
committee should play only an advisory role. He further recommended the formulation of 
rules for the regular transfer of departmental records to the Record Office and the establish­
ment of a binding and repair section in the Record Office.
Dike’s report has been criticised as an attempt to achieve his ambition to become head 
of the Nigerian Public Record Office that was to emerge as a consequence of his survey. His 
recommendation of the appointment of a full-time archivist who would not be the Chief 
Archivist was considered to be ‘contrary to the established practice in such matters where a 
qualified full-time head would be first appointed, and ... would be free to plan the establish­
ment and development of the new department.'5 His failure to address issues o f profession­
alism has since been regarded as placing the new establishment on shaky ground.
Nevertheless, Dike’s recommendations relating to the establishment of a record office 
were accepted and, on 1 April 1954, the Nigerian Record Office was established. Contrary to 
the popular claim that it came into being through an administrative order of the Governor- 
General, it has been established that no such order was passed, even though Dike’s report 
was tabled in Parliament on 27 March 1954.16 Rather, it was a circular prepared in the Nigerian 
Secretariat that heralded the establishment, with provisions that included the prohibition 
of records destruction without the Supervisor’s consent, the appointment in each depart­
ment of a qualified person to take responsibility for records weeding, and the empowerment 
o f the Supervisor to examine public archives in any government office and remove those 
considered to be of national value. These provisions form the reference point for the archival 
legislation that emerged in Nigeria in later years.
11 DIKE K. O., Report on the preservation and administration of historical records and the establishment of a public 
record office in Nigeria, Government Printer, Lagos, 1954.
12 Ibid.
13 Ibid.
14 Ibid.
15 NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF NIGERIA, Memorandum on the organisation and management of Archives in 
Nigeria.
16 Ibid.
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>,
Milestones in archives administration in Nigeria
Although the Nigerian Record Office (later the National Archives of Nigeria) started 
in temporary accommodation, it moved to a purpose-built building within the vicinity of 
the University College campus at Ibadan in 1958. This was followed by the opening o f the 
Kaduna and Enugu records centres, in 1962 and 1963 respectively..Today, the Ibadan, Kaduna 
and Enugu offices have been upgraded to zonal offices, each having a number of branch 
offices in the geo-political zones under its supervision. The bulk o f the National Archives’ 
holdings is still the records o f the colonial administration in Nigeria, even though acquisi­
tion exercises were undertaken after Nigeria’s independence, particularly in the 1980s.
Public Archives Ordinance 1957
The need for legislation to regulate archives administration and records management in 
Nigeria was passionately expressed in Dike’s report in tandem with the principle that such 
legislation expresses values that a people have associated with recorded memory’.17 This 
need was not met until 1957 when the Public Archives Ordinance No. 43 was enacted, 
with a commencement date o f 14 November 1957.18 The law, which was largely modeled on 
Ghanaian archives legislation, and the provisions o f which became quite inadequate soon 
after enactment, was the legal instrument upon which archives administration in Nigeria 
was based for about three and half decades. During this period, the lacuna in the law, unfor­
tunately, provided an excuse for the neglect of archives in the country.
A  popular criticism of the Ordinance was that it did not give the Director mandatory 
power over departmental records as envisaged in Dike’s report. Instead, the Ordinance 
provided the Director with the power to examine public archives and give advice on their 
care, custody and control, advice which the public office could not be compelled to heed. 
The Ordinance failed squarely to address the question o f the management of current records 
as well as the records o f the then regional governments. Section 2 o f the Ordinance (the 
interpretation section), even defines the term ‘archives’ so as to exclude the public records of 
the regional governments relating to the period between 23 January 1952 and 30 September 
1954. Section 8 merely stipulates that the functions of the director in relation to regional 
public archives are to be conferred upon him by the government to which the records 
belong, with the consent o f the Governor-General.
The presentation o f the Public Archives Bill, 1957, portended ominous signs for the 
Record Office. While the bill was presented for the First Reading by the Minister of Works 
and Survey (Alhaji Muhammadu Inuwa Wada), the Second Reading presentation was made 
by the Minister of Education (Mr Aja Nwachuku) on 12 September 1957, responsibility for 
archival matters having changed in the meantime. Even before this, in January 1956, at a 
meeting o f the Archives Committee presided over by the ChiefJ ustice, Sir Stafford Forster 
Sutton, the issue of the appropriate ministry within which to place the Nigerian Record 
Office had been a subject of hot debate. Periodic movement from one ministry to another 
has since characterised the history o f the National Archives of Nigeria, with the attendant 
policy inconsistency and instability that have stunted its growth.19
17 ICA Committee on Archival Legal Matters. 'Principles for archives and current records legislation’ in Janus, 
1,1997, pp.110-116.
18 Nigeria, Public Archives Ordinance, Cap 163, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria and Lagos, Vol. 5,1958.
19 ABIOYE A., ‘Fifty years of archives administration in Nigeria: lessons for the future’ in Records Management 
Journal, 17:1,2007, pp.52-62.
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22 Abiola Abioye
Despite its perceived and actual shortcomings and the agitation for massive amend­
ments or, ideally, a repeal and replacement, the Ordinance remained in force until 1992. 
An amendment of 1967 was insignificant as it failed to address the specific criticisms made 
against the Ordinance. In 1992, the National Archives Decree,No. 30 was promulgated by 
the military government o f General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida with the commence­
ment date of 8 July, 1992. The decree, which by virtue of section 315 o f the Constitution 
o f the Federal Republic o f Nigeria, 1999, has now assumed the status of an Act o f the 
National Assembly and was incorporated in the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004,“  
was meant to address the shortcomings of the Ordinance. It was, particularly, meant to 
bring archives administration and records management in Nigeria in fine with international 
good practice.
I } 'l
National Archives Act
, \
The Act, which is in four parts, makes provisions for the management o f all categories of 
records be they public, private, individual or official. It recognises records generated by 
every organisation (public or private) and individual as forming part of the memory of the 
nation.11
Part 1 o f the Act establishes the National Archives of Nigeria as a Federal Department, 
which ‘shall be entrusted with the permanent custody, care and control o f all archives of the 
Federal Government and o f such other archives or historical records as may be required, 
from time to time, pursuant to this Act’. It further makes provision for the establishment of a 
number of branches of the National Archives as the minister may, from time to time, deter­
mine. In acknowledgement o f the periodic movement of the National Archives of Nigeria 
from one federal ministry to another, Section 52 defines the term ‘minister’ to mean ‘the 
minister charged with responsibility for National Archives’. It also makes provisions for the 
appointment and functions of the Director and staff of the institution.
Part 2 o f the Act deals with the preservation and management of public records. Respon­
sibility for records management in the public sector is assigned to the heads of public offices, 
departmental records management officers (DRMOs) and the Director of the National 
Archives. A  DRMO, for instance ‘shall have as his function or the main part o f his functions 
the planning, development and organization of records management programme’ for his 
office. In addition, he is to afford the Director ‘facilities for the examination and inspec­
tion of public records’; and is to ‘submit, with the assistance and under the guidance and 
supervision of the Director, retention and disposal schedules applying to all records not 
covered by the general schedules ... for the approval of the Minister’. He is also to ‘apply 
tested standards, procedures, techniques, materials and equipment in all matters relating to 
record making and record keeping, record preservation and protection, selective retention 
of records, records scheduling for disposal and transfer of records to a Records Centre or to 
the National Archives’.
The Director o f the National Archives is to exercise the power to examine public records 
in the custody o f any public office that are not confidential or secret, and take the actions 201
20 Nigeria, National Archives Act Cap N. 6, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
21 The full text of the Act is available at http://www.placng.org/lawsofhigeria/node/214 [accessed 6 Mar. 2013],
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY
Milestones in archives administration in Nigeria 23
necessary for their management and preservation, as set out in the Act. He can also examine 
confidential or secret records with the permission of the head of the public office that has 
custody of the records. The Director also has the responsibility for the establishment and 
operation o f a Federal Records Centre for the management, of non-current public records, 
as an integral part of the National Archives. He is to issue, with the approval of the Minister, 
general schedules regarding the retention and disposal o f records common to several or all 
public offices. Perhaps it is worth mentioning that, in relation to his responsibilities, the 
Director is under an obligation to prepare an annual report for submission by the Minister to 
the National Council of Ministers on the records management activities of public offices. He 
is also to organise training programmes aimed at improving the effectiveness and technical 
knowledge of records management personnel in public offices.
The Act makes provisions for public access to public archives at'.the National Archives. 
Accordingly, ‘all public archives o f the age o f twenty-five years or more shall be open to the 
inspection of member of the public but where a longer period of closure has been stipulated 
by the head o f the public office which had the custody of the public archives before their 
transfer to the National Archives, the Director shall comply with the stipulation’. However, 
public archives which relate to the private life o f individuals shall not be made available for 
the inspection of members o f the public except with the written permission of the persons 
concerned, their heirs or their executors, if  these are known to the Director’. Other access 
provisions in the Act aim at liberalising access, protecting privacy and the national interest, 
and preserving the essential qualities o f archives. Whatever access provisions are contained 
in the Act must, however, now be read together with the provisions of the 2011 Freedom of 
Information Act.
The National Archives Act recognises the right o f every state government to establish 
its own state archives, collaborate with one or more state governments to establish a joint 
state archives, or assign the preservation of its archives to the National Archives. Archives 
so assigned are, however, to be regarded and managed as part of the archives o f the Federal 
Government.
Part 3 o f the Act makes provisions for the preservation and management of records of 
private bodies, individuals and companies. The Director of the National Archives is given 
the power to inspect, survey and advise on the safe custody, preservation and care o f all 
non-current records and historical documents held by private bodies and individuals in 
Nigeria. He is to maintain a register of non-current records of value that are not deposited 
in the National Archives or in a place of deposit. Owners of private archives have certain 
obligations for the preservation of their records. Private archives are not to be disposed of 
by their owners, holders or possessors without the written permission of the Director o f the 
National Archives.
As for business archives, every business house or company that is not government- 
owned is required to operate an archives division on reaching its 25th year of operation. 
Those that had already attained that age at the commencement of the Act were required 
to meet this requirement not later than three years after commencement. Provision is also 
made for the compulsory transfer to the National Archives o f non-current records o f a-*1 
business house or a company that fails to establish an archives division or a joint archives 
division by a prescribed date. No compensation is to be paid for the records transferred 
under these conditions, which are then deemed and managed as public records.
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24 Abiola Abioye
Part 4 o f the Act deals with miscellaneous issues, for example the appointment and 
functions of the National Archives Advisory Council, the power o f the Minister to make 
regulations on matters such as the admission o f the public to the National Archives for the 
purpose o f using the archives, the transfer o f records to the National Archives and the fees 
to be paid for services provided by the National Archives. Finally, Part 4 creates offences and 
stipulates penalties for contravention.
Implementation and enforcement
Although the 1992 Act makes sweeping provisions for archives administration and records 
management in Nigeria, the National Archives has been grappling with the implementation 
and enforcement of some of those provisions since its enactment. Furthermore, the archives 
and records management terrain has witnessed tremendous changes in the two decades 
since the Act was passed: in particular, information and communication techhology has, as 
observed by Granstrom, chang[ed] public expectations of the ease o f accessing, duplicating 
and delivering official documents and other services’.12 More than ever before, business is 
now being transacted in the electronic environment and the evidence of these transactions 
is being recorded in electronic format. Archivists and record managers are facing a new 
situation regarding archives administration and records management. The enabling legal 
instrument must respond to and capture the changing circumstances. It is, therefore, not 
a surprise that a new archives bill is awaiting passage by Nigeria’s National Assembly, to 
address the present day requirements o f archives administration and records management 
in the country.
At this stage, it is important to shine our searchlight onto the development of archives 
at the regional/state level. In the northern part o f Nigeria, the Arewa House in Kaduna 
emerged as a sort of regional archives for the preservation o f records of the old Northern 
Region. One of the states that emerged from the region was the North-Western State whose 
government, in 1975, promulgated an edict for the establishment o f the History Bureau in 
Sokoto. In conformity with the tradition, Niger State, which emerged from the old North- 
Western State following the state creation exercise of 1976, also established its own state 
archives. Similar attempts were made in some other states in the North hut with little 
success. As far back as 1990, states like Plateau, Gongola and Borno were reported to have 
shown keen interest in the establishment of their own archives23 but these states still remain 
without their own archives.
In the southern part o f Nigeria, the former Bendel State (now Edo and Delta states) 
established its state archives in 1977. The former Imo State took similar steps and became 
one o f the front runners in state archival development in the South. Lagos State seems to 
have taken up the leadership position in this regard through the establishment of-the Lagos 
State Records and Archives Bureau, a well-equipped modern archival repository. Its estab­
lishment was also supported by legal instruments, through the enactment of state legisla­
tion on archives. The Lagos State Government was able to achieve this through the support
22 GRANSTROM C., ‘Legal framework for appraisal’ in Comma 1/2,2002, pp.67-71.
23 DARAMOLA J. B., ‘States and archival development’ in The Nigerian Archives, 1:2/3 January/July 1990, 
pp. 14-25.
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Milestones in archives administration in Nigeria 25
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of the World Bank and in consultation with experts in the field, particularly those in the 
Department o f Library, Archival and Information Studies of the University o f Ibadan and 
the National Archives of Nigeria. The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration has 
also established its archives unit, called the Archives and History Bureau, to take responsi­
bility for the preservation and management of the archives of the FCT.
Despite persistent proddings and the assurance of technical support from the academic 
sector, particularly the University o f Ibadan (the kind of free service offered by Dike in 19S0), 
some states are yet to find their feet and take the bold steps required to establish their own 
archives. Political expediency, rather than genuine interest in the survival of their documen­
tary heritage, has always determined their attitude to proposals made for the establishment 
of state archives. The only occasion when the interest of policy makers in those states is 
ignited is when there is an unsatisfied need for records for decision-fnaking.
In the business sector, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (N NPC) is in 
the forefront in the establishment o f business archives. The Corporation >has shown keen 
interest in the development of its archives since the 1970s. The infainous 1979 incident of the 
missing 2.8 billion naira was a lesson in good record-keeping.14 The corporation took advan­
tage of the abundant technical expertise then available at the National Archives to organise 
its archives. Other business organisations that have taken steps in developing their archives 
include Chevron and First Bank of Nigeria Pic. They have deployed sufficient resources 
towards the preservation of their business archives.
Conclusion
Despite the gains o f the past, archives administration in Nigeria is still faced with enormous ̂  
challenges. These include a lack of appreciation o f the importance and value of archives, 
particularly in the public sector, poor funding for public archival institutions, shortages 
of requisite personnel for archives administration, and low staff morale. In the National 
Archives, for example, facilities have decayed over the years, equipment is outdated, reposi­
tories are congested and holdings are disintegrating. The funding pattern for archives admin­
istration in Nigeria must change. Adequate budgetary provision must be made for the activi­
ties of archival institutions in the country. Archives administration must be removed from 
the low priority list and be given its due attention. In the first three decades o f its existence, 
the National Archives could boast of highly skilled personnel. With the exit of most o f the 
old and experienced archivists and the discontinuance o f the culture of training newly- 
recruited archivists in centres o f excellence in archives administration across the world, 
professionalism has nose-dived and is disappearing. Urgent steps must be taken to remedy 
the situation. A  culture of record-keeping must be promoted in the country.
The National Archives Act of 1992, despite its commendable provisions,,still requires 
some amendments to meet present-day needs, particularly in the areas of electronic records 
management and autonomy for the National Archives. It is assumed, for instance, that the
low level of funding of the National Archives is a result of its status as a department in a
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24 In 1979, 2.8 billion naira disappeared from the Midland Bank, London account of the NNPC and was later 
traced to the private accounts of NNPC employees. A  number of similarly substantial frauds were uncovered 
at NNPC between 1979 and mid-1980s; these included the existence of secret oil contracts that deprived the 
country of significant oil revenues.
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26 Abiola Abioye
ministry that subsumes the budget allocation. But in any case, at the time of writing, the new 
archives bill laid before Nigeria’s National Assembly had passed through the Second Reading 
stage. It is hoped that the provisions of the new archives law will, when finally passed, address 
these critical issues and put archives administration in Nigeria pn firmer ground.
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