NaijaArchives is a project hosted by the French Research Institute in Africa (IFRA-Nigeria) based at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
The overall aim of the NaijaArchives Project is to improve the accessibility of Nigerian archives based on archivists' and users' experience. While we have worked with the National Archives of Nigeria, we hope that our focus on private archive centres will make it possible to shed light on Nigerian social, cultural or gender dynamics etc.
The three branches of the Nigerian National Archives house the precolonial, colonial and postcolonial records of Nigeria. While these archives have been widely used by scholars, their exact content deserves to be explored in a more systematic manner. There is also a large number of Nigerian private libraries and archives which are open to the public and managed by intellectuals, academics and archivists. Our objective is to promote knowledge of these centres as their use often remains limited beyond their immediate environment.
On another hand, if digital technology has already started a movement to transform social sciences and the humanities, access to sources and production of data can be notoriously difficult in African contexts. Yet, recent Nigerian and international projects have aimed at bridging this gap and led to the creation of several digital archives.
To compensate for this lack of information on Nigerian archives, especially on the internet, IFRA-Nigeria launched in 2018 a programme aiming at protecting and promoting Nigerian archival heritage.
See our website to learn more about our project.