Building Conservation as a Veritable Tool for Preservation of Cultural Heritage: A Case of Historic Buildings in Calabar, Nigeria

Abstract

The phenomenon of modern conservation can be said to be virtually new in the developing world, though, it has been practiced extensively in the developed world. In almost every settlement, buildings of historic importance are under threat from either destruction or replacement with imported western technology and culture. The aim of this study is to assess the problems and prospects of conserving sites of historic buildings in Calabar in Nigeria. This study is dependent on both primary and secondary data. Primary data were obtained by direct observation, interviews and administration of questionnaires while secondary data were extracted from published and unpublished sources which include text books, journals and conference proceedings. A comprehensive reconnaissance survey of the study area was carried out and twenty-eight (28) historic buildings were identified. A stratified simple random sampling was adopted by dividing the buildings into categories out of which twelve (12) were selected as the sample size. The findings revealed that virtually all the buildings are old and over 100 years but greater percentage (66.7%) of them are in good and fair conditions while about 75.0% of them enjoy infrastructural facilities like electricity to date. It was recommended that Government should make the rehabilitation of these buildings a priority and fund for this could be achieved through establishment of National Trust Fund.

Keywords: Conservation, Cultural heritage, Historic buildings, Infrastructural facilities, Values