Cultural heritage legislation and management commenced in Nigeria seventy years ago. Nonetheless, the Nigerian commission for museums and monuments remains a marginal institution without adequate resources to manage and protect the country's cultural heritage. The consolidating legislation of 1979 was hurriedly enacted and has many defects. The sanctions and protective measures enshrined in the Act are now hopelessly inadequate. In short, the legislation is in need of urgent revision and re-enactment. The cultural heritage managers need to evince a greater commitment and a higher sense of probity than hitherto in order to have a comprehensive cultural heritage management programme for the country. Cultural heritage management in Nigeria today is neither well organized nor co-ordinated. The authorities must appreciate that cultural heritage management has an ideological basis, which is sustaining the cultural identity of a people.