U.S. Awards $125,000 Grant to Preserve Ancient Lejja Iron-Smelting Site in Enugu

The U.S. consul general in Lagos, Brandon Hudspeth, has presented a $125,000 Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation grant to an independent cultural heritage institution, the Centre for Memories, which is implementing the Nchekwaba Project in Enugu, to preserve the Lejja Iron Smelting site.

The presentation, held on Thursday at the National Museum, Onikan, also witnessed the signing of a quadripartite agreement between the U.S. embassy, the federal government, the Enugu government, and the grant recipient, the Centre for Memories, sealing a partnership for the project.

According to Mr Hudspeth, the grant aims to support the transformation, conservation, digital documentation, and physical preservation of the site, which has existed since 2,000 BC, adding that the consulate has also discussed plans with the Nigerian government to extend the grant for another five years.

Mr Hudspeth said, “That’s why I’m honoured to be here, to award this prestigious grant that will total $125,000 to the Centre of Memories, in Enugu. This will carry out the digital documentation of the Lejja site, and it will build on the long history of collaboration between the United States and Nigeria.

Speaking to journalists after the grant presentation, Mr Ossai said a bill would soon be sent to the Enugu State House of Assembly to legally protect the site, after which the state would urge the federal government to designate it as a national monument.

The deputy governor said, “For us, it’s exciting that some of the monuments we have are being preserved.

“We’ll also escalate it to the federal government to recognise it as a national monument, and we’ll now do the last thing, which is to have it as a heritage. Participation in this event is key for us because it speaks to our investment and desire to leave Enugu state better than we met it.”

The National Film and Video Censors Board CEO, Shaibu Husseini, who was born in Ude and whose mother is from Nkanu, both in Enugu, said the grant, which aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, was a milestone in the collective journey to protect, preserve and project Nigeria’s rich historical legacy to the world.

“Today marks a significant milestone in our collective journey to protect, preserve and project Nigeria’s rich historical legacy to the global stage. The Lejja Iron-Smelting site, as we’ve been told, dates back to approximately 2,000 BC.

“It’s not just an archaeological marvel. It is an undeniable testament to ancient Nigerian sophistication, technological ingenuity and scientific mastery. It reminds the world that Africa, and indeed Nigeria, has long been the cradle of innovation and industry. This investment ensures that these irreplaceable pieces of global heritage are preserved for generations to come.

“In alignment with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the ministry remains firmly committed to transforming our cultural heritage assets into vibrant drivers of tourism, education and economic growth. Safeguarding sites like Lejja is central to that mission,” Mr Husseini, who represented the culture and tourism minister, explained.

Centre for Memories’s executive director, Iheanyi Igboko, described Lejja as “arguably the most extensively studied archaeological site in Nigeria, and it has produced some of the strongest evidence of early iron production on the continent”.

“Research led by Professor Pamela Eze-Uzomaka of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, together with the African Archaeology Network, Professor Felix Mabunda of the University of Dar es Salaam, and radiocarbon analysis carried out at the University of Oxford, places iron-smelting activity at Otobo Ugwu, Lejja, at approximately 2000 BCE. 

“This is among the earliest evidence of organised, large-scale iron production anywhere in the world, and it challenges older narratives that assumed ironworking in Africa was not independently developed. Lejja gives us scientific evidence that predates the famous discoveries at Igbo-Ukwu—not to diminish Igbo-Ukwu, but to expand how far back, and how sophisticated, African technological knowledge truly runs,” the Centre for Memories’s director explained.