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| Dr. James |
James Raphael is the
founder and Director General of Center for Research, Information Management and
Media Development (CRIMMD). In this interview with ADA DIKE, the founder of the
Photo Museum of Nigeria History, the author of many books and the publisher of
African Dame and The National Biographer Magazine sheds light on why he set up
CRIMMD and the need for Nigerians to read.
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What is the Center for Research,
Information Management and Media Development (CRIMMD) all about?
At CRIMMD
we manage information; media and political research; biographical and
autobiographical writings; documentations, exhibitions and script editing. CRIMMD
is a non-political, non-governmental, non-profit making but
standard research developmental institution.
Situated at 138
Idimu-Ejigbo Road, Idimu Lagos, our museum
of photo history is rich with photographs and portraits of the slave trades and
its relics, through to the famous Berlin Conference of 1884/85; the era of
Explorers (Expedition) of Dr. Mungo Park, Richard Landers and others. The onset
of the merchants of the Royal Niger Company of Sir George Goldie through to
Lord Fredrick Lugard who amalgamated Nigeria in 1914 and his wife, a former
colonial secretary of great Britain, Flora Shaw, who historically invented a
name for us-from ‘Niger-Area’ to Nigeria.
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| Dr. James |
We have outstanding
landmark personalities: the likes of King Onyeama, King Jaja of Opobo, Queen
Amina of Zaria and Bishop Ajayi Crowther, among others. Protectorates governors
and all former Governor Generals; fire brand die-hard Nationalist from Sir
Herbert Macaulay through to Mazi Mbaonu Ojike; indigenous Governor General;
Regional premiers and Regional Governors; Military Head of States and their
deputies; Military governors and the Military Administrators that ever ruled in
the making and shaping of Nigeria. Civilian elected presidents and vice
presidents; and all the first ladies from Mrs. Flora Ogbeyalu Azikiwe to Dame
Patience Jonathan; elected civilians governors up to the present time,
including Senate presidents and the Speakers of House of Representatives from
the pre-independence era to the present time.
A pictorial roll
call of Chief Justices of Nigeria; Federal Capital Territory (FCT)
Administrators/Ministers; Inspector General of Police (past and present);
Secretaries to the Federal Government; Chiefs of Army Staff, Naval Staff; Air
Staff, Chiefs of Defense and the Ministers of Defense; Comptroller General of
Customs Service; Chairmen of Electoral Commissions; Central Bank of Nigeria
Governors; notable people in the News; Nigeria women of substance and
achievers; Events of the century; the Nigerian Civil War and personalities.
There is a section on “The 12 hour revolution of Isaac Boro”; “The June
12 Saga” The Second World War; The Nigerian Civil War; Biafran Republic,
including emblems like stamps, currency, coat of arm and many others – relics
of historical significance.
There are in
addition, some historical relics like stamps - as well as the history of stamps
dating back to the era of the first post office in Nigeria, a branch of the
British General Post Office in 1851, to the era when the Royal Niger Company
operated a parallel post office and postal administration in the Oil Rivers
Protectorate of the Niger Coast territories in 1887, to the period when Thomas
De La Rue Coy Ltd of London was awarded the first contract for printing the
definitive Postage Stamps for the colony of Lagos in 1868 by the Crown Agents. Our
museum has on display hundreds of stamps printed in the last 100 years.
We also have National
symbols past and present and a lot more, including different maps of Nigeria
displaying state creations from the protectorate era to the present 36 states,
old and new national anthem and the composers, amalgamations speeches and all
coup speeches, symbols of coat of arms, flags and the personalities behind
them. All photographs we have in our museum have profiles.
There is also the book section, hosting great biographies of Nigerians,
Nigeria history books, Military books, Civil war books and Who’s who in Nigeria
books.
The museum is powered by CRIMMD which
established a free public library that was commissioned to the public on
December 16, 2004, by the former Federal Minister of Information Chief Sir,
Alex Akinyele JP. On December 28, 2008, CRIMMD commenced, visited and donated
books worth a million Naira to 33 Media Organizations in Nigeria, as its
contribution to boost the reading culture in Nigeria.
It is very
difficult to cover in writing the treasure on display in ‘the Nigeria at 100’
Archi-Seum; historically, it is the making of Nigeria in full measure, The collection is awesome, it is a
timeless treasure of Nigeria on the move to the next level. You have to visit
us to appreciate us.
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| Dr. James |
Can you tell us a rough estimate of
the numbers of photographs you have in your museum?
We have
about 10,000 photographs of everything that has to do with Nigerian history in
our internal hard drive.
Can you tell us the importance of the
photographs in your museum?
Everything
we have here is telling a story about Nigeria to the younger ones that are
coming up. For example, there is a photograph of a Mercedes Benz with soldiers
standing behind it that is hung on the wall. I want to assume that that car
belonged to General Olusegun Obasanjo (rtd). That was the day of the handing
over note of Biafra back to Nigeria was signed at the booth of the car. We also
have the original copy of the handing over note of Biafra to Nigeria.
The pictures
we have here remind us where we are coming from and enable us to prepare
ourselves where we are going to.
How do you generate funds for running
your museum and library?
What I do
basically is that whatever I get from my research job, I put it back into the
centre because the centre is like a hobby to me. I don’t see it as if I am
working; I actually see it as if I am having fun.
What do these shells represent?
This section of
the museum contains Nigerian currencies. In the past, many West African
countries used shells as a means of exchange, representing money. We have
different sizes of shells depicting different amount of money.
We have old currency and coins – dating to the
period, prior to the establishment of the West African Currency Board: samples
of used various forms of money including cowries and manilas and other strange
commodities that were also used as a form of exchange known as barter. I
discovered that there were five sizes of the manila currency, originally. We
have been able to get four and we are searching desperately to get the last size.
We have samples of
the West African coins of 1930’s; the July 1, 1959, Central Bank of Nigeria
currency notes and coins; the 1965 denominations; 1968, Nigeria civil war
currency denominations; 1973, decimal currency; February 11, 1977 currency
denominations; the July 2, 1979, currency notes of three denominations and the
February 2007 redesigned currency notes.
I am a
researcher so I go out of my way to search for these items. Once I have an idea
about something, I go the extra mile to get it and keep it in the museum.
Where do people get cowries from?
They come
from the sea. I was at the Badagry Beach two weeks ago and some young men were
swimming. One of them brought out something from the sea and called it ‘Sea
tongue’. He said he was going to sell it for N3, 000.00. Though I didn’t know
what it was, I jokingly told him to sell it to me at N1, 500.00 but he refused.
I laughed. Interestingly, the moment he moved, I turned and saw exactly the
same thing so I picked it and asked him to buy it. He said he would pay N500. I
have kept it and I am also trying to find out what it is meant for.
How do you source for the photographs
in your museum?
It has taken
me about five years to put these photographs together and my sources are wide
because I don’t restrict myself. As you observed, I have a collection of
biographies which are up to 156 and most of these biographies have different
pictures. So I lift some of the photographs from those books. I got some of
them from magazines, old newspapers and so on. I go to the National Libraries
and take shots of old newspapers and also buy a couple of the photographs from
people. For example, there is a photograph of a champagne wine here for Sir
Adisa Akinloye. I remember buying it for N5,000.00 because I needed it
desperately. Prof. Wole challenged me to see if I could get that photograph so
I got it to prove to him that it is possible.
What informed your decision to set up
the CRIMMD?
When I
left Government House, Umuahia, Abia State, and came back to Lagos, I wanted to
start something for myself but I didn’t have the resources to do that. So I
attended an interview in a newspaper for the position of a Business Development
Manager (BDM). On the day I was to resume, they told me that they have given
that position to someone else and asked me to take the position of an Advert
Manager but I refused.
So I set
up the centre but did it in a wrong way. I wrote letters to some embassies in
Nigeria, telling them that I have started a centre and I wanted them to donate
books to me. Unfortunately for me, the United States of American embassy sent a
representative to confirm if I actually have an office and I was using my house
address. When they went back and told them that I had no office, the address I
used was a residential area, they wrote me a letter saying that I was lying.
I actually
felt bad because my aim was to start from my home address, while searching for
a place.
Initially,
when I told my friends that I wanted to run a free library, they didn’t take me
serious. When I opened the library, nobody visited it to read books. We placed
adverts in some national dailies and radio stations and printed posters. In my
last count recently, we have more than 8,000 registered members that come to
the library.
Due to reasons known to individuals,
many Nigerians don’t read. So how many people visit your library on a weekly
basis?
The essence
of setting up the library which is almost 10 years this year was when I noticed
that Nigerians don’t read. The only time someone comes into our library and see
it filled is when students want to take Joint Admission and Matriculation
Examination (JAMB) or West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and so on. Some
will even ask me to get them chairs to sit outside. Immediately after the
examination, everybody disappears, except those who are preparing for Institute
of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) examination. I have thought of it
that because we can’t read shouldn’t mean we should forget our history and that
was when the concept of this photo museum came in.
Let us bring
the photographs that can tell stories. I am sure that the younger ones can
testify that. Once they look at the photographs, it makes it easier and faster
for them to remember the story you are telling them because they can now know
the history of Nigeria with those photographs. Our charges are relatively
cheap, we charge N500 per student so I don’t know why schools don’t bring their
pupils/students for excursion.
I believe that
reading books brings development. Have you realized that those who don’t read
go physical? Those who cannot communicate resort to physical combat, and that
is what we are witnessing in the House of Representatives. Those who cannot
express themselves properly pick up chairs and hit somebody. If we read, we
will understand what we are doing and I strongly believe that if Nigerians
start reading, there will be a positive change in our society. Let us establish
libraries in all streets of Nigeria the way we have churches. When you don’t
read you can’t express yourself.
Three weeks
ago, I was in Ado Ekiti in Ekiti State. The taxi I boarded who couldn’t make a
sentence told me he’s a student of a university. I asked him: “How far is the
place we are to Ikogosi?” he said: “Oga, the place is farring (sic) very much.”
Tomorrow that guy will graduate and probably wins an election and goes to the
House of Representatives. What do you expect him to do? We should encourage
Nigerians to read. If we read to gain knowledge it will be much better for us
than to read and get certificates. When I want to hire workers, I don’t look at
the certificates but discuss with applicants one on one. It is not about
certificates but about what you have inside of you. If we realize that in
Nigeria, we will make a lot of difference.
Can you give us an estimate of the
number of books you have in your library?
We arranged
the library last week and at the last count, we have one million and twenty
four (1,000, 024) books and over a hundred (100) bundles of magazines. I buy
all kinds of books and magazines because students come in from the Lagos State
University and other schools. Most times, they tell me that they didn’t see the
information they’re looking on the internet. We have general interest books for
every discipline, from the kindergarten to the university level. We also do
newspaper clipping.
In this era of e-library, e-book and
so on, most information can be found on the net. Don’t you think it is one of
the reasons many students don’t visit your library?
They are
some materials you cannot get from the net. For example, I have African Concord
and other magazines from their inceptions which you cannot get on the net. The
stories you can get from the net are stories from the year 2000 till date.
What efforts are you making to
digitalize your library?
It is a wonderful
thing, we are making efforts to digitalize our library but it is capital
intensive and we don’t have that kind of money, presently. We have started but
it is a gradual thing. But I am looking forward to seeing that all materials we
have in the library are digitalized.
How do you intend to ensure that your
museum and library stand the test of time?
Interestingly,
I am nurturing those who will take over the library. My 14-year-old daughter
who is hell bent of becoming a medical doctor is a writer. She spends her time
with me in the library when she is on holidays. She wrote a book at the age of
six. She is following my footsteps as I wrote my first book when I was in the secondary
school. There was a book I wrote about cigarette smoking and wanted the former
Minister of Health, Late Prof. Olukoye Ransome Kuti, to write the foreword. I
went to the ministry but was frustrated by security guards and his secretary. I
visited the ministry for 22 times in a period of three months. On the 23rd
occasion, I saw the minister escorting his friend. I was very adventurous then.
I blocked him and told him my mission. He asked me my age and whether I smoke.
I said no but “I know you smoke sir.”
He took me
to his office and I sat on the edge of the chair. He offered me coffee and I
handed over the manuscript to him and he told me that nobody accepts
manuscripts. I told him I didn’t have a type-writer. He called his personal
assistant, Dr. Sodeinde, and asked him to type it. He eventually wrote the foreword
of the book. After he wrote the foreword, I made several attempts to get the
book published because I didn’t have money. I later got it published while in
the university.
During my
youth service year, I was able to generate money and made it part of my youth
service project. I served in Ondo State where I did a campaign on that and
distributed some copies of the book free of charge. When I came to Lagos, Prof.
Olukoye was no longer the Minister of Health but Dr. Dalhatu Tafida. During one
of the ministry’s event, I implored them to allow me present my book, the
minister accepted but other people told me they did not remember to include the
presentation of my book to the programme. For the first time in my life, I
misbehaved because I almost cause trouble just to have an opportunity to
present my book. Interestingly, the little confusion I caused was covered by a
television crew – Abike Dabiri and Frank Olize.
One night, I
worked late and my daughter was awake, she told me that she was writing a book.
I laughed over it but remembered that was how my father laughed when I told him
I was writing a book so I encouraged her that I will publish it. Most of the
story she wrote were some of the bed stories I told her but she modified it and
created characters and ended the stories her own way. I asked her mother to
edit it so that people will not assume I wrote it for her.
Can
you give us an insight to your background?
I was born on January 10, 1965. I hail from Abia State,
married Princes Folasade from Ogun State and we are blessed with three
children: a boy and two girls. Our eldest child is Nigeria’s youngest author at
the age of 6.
I attended Isolo Grammar School, Isolo, Lagos State. I am a
graduate of Psychology with Honours from the Ondo State University, Ado-Ekiti; I
hold a Certificate in Conflict Resolution from the California State University,
a Diploma Certificate in Computer Desktop Publishing and Diploma certificate in
Journalism.
I served as Administrative Officer, Ondo State University
Ado-Ekiti (NYSC) from 1992 to1993. I was part what was called “Newswatch Dream
Team” after I joined Newswatch magazine in 1994. We were specifically working
on “Who Is Who In Nigeria” then and provided research materials for the
editorial team.
I wanted to start my own business but immediately got a job
as the Special Assistant (Research) to Chairman of the National Reconciliation
Committee (NARECOM) in the Presidency, Chief Sir Alex Aknyele in Abuja in 1996.
When I came back to Lagos, I got a job as an Administrative
Manager, Nigeria-Philippines Chamber of Commerce and Industry Apapa, 1997-1999;
Media Relations Manager, Slok Group Ltd, owners of Slok Airline, 1998-1999 and I
worked as Media Assistant to Abia State Governor, Government House Abia, 1999-2000.
I am the Director-General, Center For Research, Information Management and
Media Development CRIMMD, Lagos, 2004- date; appointed the Registrar of the
African Institute of Entrepreneurship, Lagos, July 15, 2011.
I have won dozens of awards, including: October 1st
2013: HEIRS Outstanding Merit Award for the establishment of a Photo history
Museum, March 15, 2013: The CATALYST CREW Prime Merit Award as an Outstanding
youth Leader, January 2013: RIMA IM Award for Private Sector for the
establishment of a private Photo Museum of Nigeria Political History, June 30,
2011: Gong Magazine, Intercontinental Integrity Award, April 24, 2011:
Strongtower Publishers International Man of the year award for 2010, November
30, 2008: TAAC Communications Humanitarian Service Award in recognition of my
immense contributions towards the growth and development of Lagos State,
November 1, 2008: Igbo Speaking Community Silver Merit Award for outstanding
contributions to the progress and development of Igbo people in Lagos, August
9, 2008: Nigeria Police Community Relations Merit Award in recognition of
philanthropic gesture to the enhancement of peace and security in Ejigbo and
environments and April 10, 2008: African Institute of Entrepreneurial Award for
immense entrepreneurial Achievement and contribution to the promotion of
entrepreneurship. Others are: February 2008: The Philanthropic Award for
helping people with disability in Nigeria; October 10, 2007, Junior Chamber
International Nigeria LASU Chapter Merit Award, August 1, 2007: Alimosho
Indigenous Students Union Heroes Merit Award for community/educational
Development, June 12, 2007: The MKO Abiola Prize for Knowledge Propagation and
so on.
I have also received
Appreciations / Commendations Letters, including: October 4, 2007: Lagos State
Government Education District VI Appreciation letter for the Development of
Education in the District; September 24, 2007: NTA 2 Channel 5 Lagos
Commendation letter for encouraging reading habit in the Nigerian Society;
October 2005: USA President, Bill Clinton Letter of Appreciation for assisting
Katrina victims; February 2000: NYSC Abia State Secretariat Appreciation Letter
for contributions at the “NYSC Millennium Festival of Theatre”; March 17, 1997:
Queen Elizabeth of England Commendation Letter on General Aguiyi-Ironsi
biography.
