Here is a story of a man with so many stories yet not talked about, Dr. Raphael owner of CRIMMD Library & Museum of Lagos Nigeria located in Ejigbo- Idimu, Lagos State. CRIMMD is an acronym for the Center for Research, Information Management & Media Development (CRIMMD).
The Founder of the Concerned Parents & Educator’s Initiative (CPE), Mrs. Yinka Ogunde, and some of her members took a trip to the CRIMMD Library & Museum, where she and her team met with Dr. Raphael James who took them through an interesting journey of how his doggedness brought him so many accolades and achievements.
Back in 1993, as a National Youth Corp Member, serving in Ondo State University, his Alma mater, driven by his passion for research, he wrote and launched a book on “The History of Nigerian University”. He shared how he was able to get the presence of the late Chief MKO Abiola to the book launch who donated 5 million naira and made over 6 million naira for the University at that time.
As a serving Corp member, he engaged in 13 Community Development projects in Ondo state and won several awards including the Best Corper Award for Ondo state and letters of recommendation.
Worthy of note was his phone interview with the former President of the United States of America, Barrack Obama which was possible through Barrack Obama’s Grandmother.
Taking us through his library which has been in existence for the past 19 years and grants the general public free access. He stated that he got some books and cash donations for the library while he bought most of the books.
There are books, games, Newspapers, Magazines dated as far back as 1910, 1920s, and old CD Players. He has a pile of so many books despite donating about 57,000 of them across the country.
Moving from the library to the museum, he said “Welcome to Nigeria”. He says he calls it Nigeria because of the collections of unique objects, artifacts, antiques, and cultural objects with each telling a historical story.
Indeed, it is a 10 in 1 museum with a show of historical items ranging from pictures to real-life objects. On the wall was a display of pictures of past Heads of State, Colonial masters, and Military Governors. Neatly arranged are old Nigerian and foreign coins and currencies, cowries and Tobacco leaf, and other items used in exchange, Manilla in different shapes and sizes, spares, feathers, 18 different coca cola bottles, ancient bowls, and cups, ceramics jugs as old as 150 years, bottles of gin from the year 1900, 1910 used in exchange for slaves, a collection of different bottle cocks, the Biafran stamps, chronological order of Telephone to cell phones, camera and Television, Printers, Samples of mineral resources in Nigeria, Guns used during the British Benin war, Colonial helmet, and some country flags, sack used for storing cocoa and groundnut, and a python skin of 1962.
When asked how he came about this idea of display, he said, he wanted the museum to have a collection of all cultural/historical materials, not a collection of a particular item/object as seen elsewhere.
The objects displayed are not limited to these as he mentioned that he has limited space to exhibit all.
The CRIMMD library & museum commissioned by Chief Alex Akinyele is a home of history that should be visited by the young and old.