PERSPECTIVES ON THE COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION OF ARABIC AND AJAMI MANUSCRIPTS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This paper highlights the relevance and importance of Arabic and Ajami manuscripts collection and preservation as literary source materials for development through teaching, learning and research. The paper identifies five perspectives on collecting and preserving Arabic and Ajami manuscripts in Nigeria. The first perspective concerns the relevance of the manuscripts to teaching, learning and research, which prompted governments, Islamic scholars and researchers to engage in the collection and preservation of these resources. The second perspective refers to the period when Nigeria became a single political unit in 1914 when the need for account books and treasury records arose. The third perspective relates to the period when both the colonial administrations in 1948 in Lagos and the seat of the colonial administration in Kaduna in 1950 realized the need to preserve Nigeria's historical records. The fourth perspective focuses on the period when veteran and erudite historians put forward a proposal on the need to ''save what can be saved'' of the historical records in the country before it was too late. The fifth perspective could refer to the period when some indigenous art teachers, historians, and scholars thought of the need to reconstruct the history of the Nigerian people’s cultures and civilization. This resulted in the publication of their recoveries and findings for the advancement of teaching and learning. Consequently, this led to the establishment of the Northern History Research Scheme at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The paper concluded that the collection and preservation of Arabic and Ajami manuscripts is an effort to transmit knowledge, cultures, values, and skills to society. In order to ensure the effective preservation of this invaluable national cultural heritage, it is recommended, among others, that the public repositories of Arabic and Ajami manuscripts should exploit appropriate Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the management of these special resources.