The construction of the Edo Museum of West African Art (EMOWAA) in Benin City, Nigeria, is well underway. The museum will display artwork from the former Kingdom of Benin, which is now part of Nigeria, that is now held in worldwide collections. The museum will also look at the eventful history surrounding these relics when they return to Nigeria, as well as their travels around the world.
The EMOWAA is expected to do much more for Nigerians than simply organize an exhibition of returned plundered art from around the world: The museum’s opening will bring an end to more than a century of the fight for the return of these historical artefacts and electioneering the logistics of returning Nigerian art treasures from various German collections.
The team, which included Nigerian Minister of Culture, Lai Mohammed alongside Tijani who is the director of the Nigerian Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) met with the German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, German Foreign Office Director Andreas Görgen, Minister of State for Culture Monika Grütters, and Hermann Parzinger, Director of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation in Berlin
According to Abba Isa Tijani, Director of the Nigerian Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), it would also signify the reclaiming of Nigeria’s cultural identity: “Many Nigerians, especially those from Edo, who live near these things, have never seen them in their lives.” It’s a huge accomplishment for them to have actual access to these artefacts and to be able to see them.
The focus of the discussions was on the possibility of returning the so-called Benin bronzes. These are world-famous bronze and brass sculptures that were removed from Benin City’s palace during a British Empire punitive expedition in 1897. They eventually made their way to Germany at the turn of the century through a series of London auctions. Inadvertently, Germany secured the world’s second-largest collection of bronzes.
Aside from the fact that the artefacts were stolen by force, European colonial powers have no doubt shed blood as part of the colonial backdrop of injustice, museum specialists and politicians have concluded that the stolen artefacts must be returned to their original nation.
The former Kingdom of Benin had made official petitions for restitution as early as the beginning of the twentieth century – but to no avail. In the 1970s, African intellectuals resurrected the fight, but their demands fell on deaf ears in Europe. In 2018, French President Emmanuel Macron paid a historic visit to Burkina Faso, announcing that France would repatriate its colonial art treasures. This caused shudders throughout Germany, as the Humboldt Forum in Berlin came under fire for originally planning to display some of the Benin bronzes at the exhibition’s launch.
In June 2021, the German federal government announced an online portal on which all objects from Germany’s collections would be gradually computerized, in order to assure future transparency in the process. Since demands for return must be made by verbal note, this is viewed as a vital step in allowing proper restitution to take place.
In these documents, the location and exhibit must be clearly identified. However, because the large proportion of the more than 1,000 exhibits have never been seen by the public, this has proven to be a near-impossible challenge for Nigerian cultural institutions.
The delegation agreed in Berlin that the Bronzes should be returned piece by piece beginning from next year. The Nigerian delegation showed a lot of understanding based on the process that will be used to return the artworks. They said they want to develop a kind of partnership with the German and Nigerian Museum, so they are being careful so that the artefacts movement will not affect either community.
Director Tijani of the National Museum Commission said the people in Germany have developed love and aspirations for the artefacts and taking them all at once will create a vacuum in them and that is what they are avoiding. The Benin bronzes have become worldwide artefacts, and many people have strong feelings about them,” Tijani continued. That is why, according to the Nigerian director, a solid relationship is being sought so that Germany “would not be left behind without access to these relics.
Although the eastern section of the Humboldt Forum, which was supposed to house the Benin bronzes, isn’t anticipated to open until springtime 2022. “That gives us enough time,” Hermann Parzinger, director of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, which houses Germany’s largest bronze collection said. Nevertheless, no matter the timing, both parties have come to an understanding that the artefacts will be returned starting from next year.
Meanwhile, the British-Ghanaian architect David Adjaye’s EMOWAA museum in Benin City would not be finished by then. However, by the autumn of 2022, a big structure that will function as storage is planned to be completed. It will also provide visitors with a view of the artworks that will have been returned by then, thanks to its transparent structure.
According to Abba Isa Tijani of the Nigerian Museum Commission, the new structures are designed to mix in with traditional African architectural styles and would encourage visitors to interact with the artefacts. It will have an educational centre where families may come in and interact with the things, touching and feeling them while learning about their history and gaining a sense of belonging.
The German government is funding €4.5 million ($5.34 million) to the project’s construction, hoping that it would serve a function other than restitution and inspire additional research: The construction project will be tied to an archaeological excavation effort at the site in addition to the museum.
The museum and pavilion will be built atop the ruins of the original royal palace in Benin City, adding to the historic value of the location.
