The Nigerian Music Preservation Project is an initiative designed as the first national collection, sensitization and archiving of the popular music history of Nigeria, beginning from the 1950s and ending in the 2000s. This is a long term project motivated by the current gap in the active preservation of Nigeria’s music history and the need for access to this history for posterity.

1. To establish a digital database of popular Nigerian musicians starting from the 1950s to the 2000s. This database will include their biographies, discographies, notable achievements and all media (text, audio, video) pertaining to them. This database will be made available for public viewing.

2. To archive music materials from the 1950s to the 2000s. The archive may contain various formats including musical instruments, sound recordings (CDs, DAT tapes, DVDs, gramophone records, magnetic tapes, mini discs, reel tapes and sound cassettes), films, videos (VHS and Beta), playback equipment, paper documents (letters, minutes of meetings, newspaper cuttings, financial documents, song texts, photographs, diaries and posters), textiles, music manuscripts and born-digital content (sound recordings, images and written content).

3. To establish a physical space where these archived materials can be exhibited to the public. This space may be a museum and will house all archived materials, an interface to access the digital database. An example of this is the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Smithsonian Archive of African American Music.

4. To organise public outreach campaigns aimed at the mass sensitization of Nigeria’s musical history. These efforts may include but are not limited to issuing press releases, briefings and commentaries; disseminating reports, studies and publications; making written or oral submissions to parliamentary committees and inquiries; working with the media; holding public meetings and events; convening conferences and workshops; and creating and contributing to educational materials. Information may be disseminated through a range of different means or tools such as radio, television, video, film, the internet, social media, mobile phones, newspapers, newsletters, leaflets, poster campaigns and the arts. A variety of visual tools such as stickers, logos, t-shirts, armbands, bracelets and banners also may be used.