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Private Investment In Heritage Preservation Berths Dental Museum In Ile-Ife

By Kabir Alabi Garba
18 October 2015   |   6:00 am
MUSEUM, as a repository of events and activities of man in the society is beginning to attract the attention of private concerns and specialists in areas other than culture and artistic enterprise. Before now, governments (at federal and state levels) as well as institutions of higher learning are stakeholders in the establishment and management of…
A scene from the play, Dokita Eji presented by the National Troupe at the event

A scene from the play, Dokita Eji presented by the National Troupe at the event

MUSEUM, as a repository of events and activities of man in the society is beginning to attract the attention of private concerns and specialists in areas other than culture and artistic enterprise.

Before now, governments (at federal and state levels) as well as institutions of higher learning are stakeholders in the establishment and management of museums with a view to preserve and promote cultural and natural heritage of humanity. But the story is changing with the commissioning, recently, of the Dental Museum located at the ancient city of Ile-Ife, Osun State.

And the primary objective of the new antiquity home as emphasized by Emeritus Professor of Law, David Ijalaye, who presided over the ceremony, is to promote “oral, dental and general health with particular focus on the history, education, research and information aspects of this huge project.”

As a major component of the Foundation for Dental Education, Museums and Archives

Prof. Ogunbodede (left); Mallam Yusuf Abdallah Usman and Mr. AkinAdejuwon at the event

Prof. Ogunbodede (left); Mallam Yusuf Abdallah Usman and Mr. AkinAdejuwon at the event

(DEMA Foundation), the project, stated the initiator and promoter, Prof. Eyitope Ogunbodede, “is a product of several years of painstaking research into the history and development of dentistry in Nigeria from the earliest introduction of modern dentistry to the present.”

Already, the facility warehouses variety of profound historical materials, which have been collected and preserved from around 1926 when Nigeria had its first dental doctor in the person of Dr. Sydney Obafemi Philips.

Regarded as the first Dental Museum in Africa, the richness of its collections is reflected in the storage of priceless items such as the first dental chair used in Nigeria by Dr. Ewart Gladstone Maclean, a Baptist missionary who happened to be the first person to practice modern dentistry in the country. The dental chair was manufactured in the United States in December 1907.

In his welcome remarks, Prof. Ogunbodede said, “ the Museum also houses assorted dental laboratory equipment and clinical instruments. Materials depicting the evolution of general and dental education from the early 20th century till present are provided.

“There is a hall of fame with photographs and other essential information on the early practitioners of dentistry. There are also life-size heads bearing the different tribal marks in Nigeria with one of these showing the complications of tribal marks. Also among the collections is a Mobile Dental Van used for the provision of dental services in the early 70s and early 80s.”

Ogunbodede’s statements would later be confirmed when guests and well wishers were invited to tour the new facility. The objects and relics were well arranged with dates and captions. “We did this to ensure that nothing is left out,” Ogunbodede said as he conducted guests, which included Director General, National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), Mallam Yusuf Abdallah Usman, Artistic Director, National Troupe of Nigeria, Mr. Akinsola Adejuwon, around materials displayed in the museum.

But as a complete package, the occasion also witnessed the presentation of the book, History of Dentistry in Nigeria authored, also by Prof. Ogunbodede.

The book, he said, would complement the educational mission of the museum, while proceeds realized from its sale “will be used as part of the funding for the museum.” He told the audience that “the issue of sustainability of the museum has been given adequate thought and plans put in place to ensure that it continues to improve.”

But the desire to put history and development of dentistry in Nigeria in proper perspective gave birth to the book. “It started in 1987 as an attempt to attend to my own curiosity in knowing the name of the first trained dentist to practice in Nigeria. I found inconclusive and conflicting reports with nothing specific and no evidence at all of the claims and assumption,” he recalled. Although the problem with history and documenting the occurrences of the past, he noted, was not peculiar to his area of specialization alone, the dentistry scholar soon discovered “there are more of such issues to uncover and that even a journal article will not suffice. I therefore decided that the very minimum would be a book on the history of dentistry in Nigeria. Along the way, I found my purpose would be better achieved with a dental museum.”

He is glad that the dream has come true, saying, “there is no better way of reaching out to the community than through a properly designed museum.” He is confident that the book will complement the materials in the museum to enhance the awareness of dentistry and dental health.

While commending Prof. Ogunbodede’s efforts, DG of NCMM, Mallam Abdallah Usman said the establishment of the Dental Museum was in line with the core mandate of the Museum institution all over the world.

“A museum should be ‘a non-profit making permanent institution in the service of society and it development which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibit for purpose of study, education, enjoyment, material evidence of man’s and his environment’.

“I am glad to note that this museum which was established in 2013 ‘as a charity (non-for-profit) organization with the mission of promoting oral and general health with particular focus on the history, education, research and information aspects’ with core objectives which is to investigate, document, propagate and preserve the histories of dentistry in Africa and the world.”

Usman therefore commended the vision and passion of the initiator and his team “for the zeal they have shown in mobilizing resources for the establishment of this wonderful institution of knowledge, education and enjoyment.” He called on lovers of knowledge to take a cue from the giant stride by Ogunbodede and co “and contribute their quota to world knowledge by undertaking to establish museums as chroniclers of history, preservers and conservers of heritage and educational resource centres.”

One distinguishing feature that stands the new museum out is the assemblage of life-sized heads bearing different tribal marks. The import of these exhibits, as explained by Ogunbodede, is to show some of the complications arising from this practice and how it can, sometimes, distort human face. Evidence abounds that in the process of constructing these marks, parts of the dentition of the person might be disorganized. And often, this could breed bumps, dental diseases, oral and other hygienic disorders.

And in order to lift the importance of this aspect, a dance-drama was staged by the National troupe of Nigeria. The play, written by Arnold Udoka, was titled Dokita Eji. It is about the myths people usually associated with most oral and dental problems and diseases. The wide applause that trailed the performance underscored its acceptance by the audience. Indeed, it became a testimony of how dance-drama could communicate social issues for better understanding.

The message was apt: once you have a tooth-ache or decay, all you need do is to approach a dental doctor to handle your case. The play was used to disabuse people’s minds concerning certain misgivings and dental related challenges which people often link to witchcraft.

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