Buhari humbles Obaseki, as FG takes custody of returning Benin artefacts

President Muhammadu Buhari has humbled Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State over the controversy on the return of Benin artefacts from Germany looted during the colonial era from the Benin kingdom. Accordingly, the federal government has taken the mandate to keep custody of the Benin artefacts when returned which would be later handed over to the Benin traditional institution when demanded.

Governor Obaseki has fought many political battles in Edo State over the years, including his re-election in 2020 and has no limit to conflicts.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, at a press conference in Lagos on Saturday revealed that the Federal Government will be taking possession of the 1,130 Benin bronzes to be returned the Benin kingdom by Germany. The minister had acknowledged the controversy the returning artefacts have generated in Edo State. According to Lai Mohammed, “The Federal Government is aware of the widely reported controversy on who will take possession of the Benin bronzes when they are returned from Germany.”

The Oba of Benin had requested the federal government to take interim custody of the returning artefacts till the Benin Royal Museum is ready to commence operations.

Lai Mohammed recalled that at a press conference in Lagos that on November 28th, 2019, he announced federal government’s launch of Campaign For The Return and Restitution of Nigeria’s Looted/Smuggled Artifacts from around the world. “…With the launch, we are putting on notice all those who are holding on to Nigeria’s cultural property anywhere in the world that we are coming for them, using all legal and diplomatic instruments available.

“Less than two years after that announcement, I can report back to Nigerians that our efforts at repatriating Nigeria’s looted artefacts are achieving positive results,” Lai Mohammed had stated.

Governor Obaseki had insisted that the looted artefacts by Britain from the Benin kingdom in the 19th century, when returned, would be kept in “a transformational museum to be built in Benin City”, on the framework of Legacy Trust Foundation. The Oba of Benin, His Royal Majesty, Oba Ewuare II, noted that the returning artefacts were looted from the Benin Kingdom and should be returned to the original source of theft, which is the Palace of Oba. Thus, the royal father had proposed that the artefacts be returned to the Benin Royal Museum, to be built within the precincts of the Palace.

Lai Mohammed had emphasized that the Federal Government would take possession of the artefacts but must respect the culture where the art originated from.

According to the minister, “Let me state clearly that, in line with international best practices and the operative conventions and laws, the return of the artefacts is being negotiated bilaterally between the national governments of Nigeria and Germany.

“What we are saying in essence is that the Federal Government will take possession of these antiquities because it is its duty to do so, in line with extant laws.

“But we have always exercised this right in cognizance of that culture that produced the art works.”

The Information and Culture Minister revealed that the agreement will be signed by December 2021 with repatriation to be concluded by August 2022.

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Lai Mohammed highlighted: “We agreed to have a definite timeline for the repatriation of the artefacts because Nigeria is tired of an indefinite timeline.

“Thereafter, it was resolved that the agreement on the repatriation should be signed latest by December this year and that the repatriation should be concluded by August 2022.

“We made our Germany counterparts realise that Nigeria is averse to attaching preconditions to repatriating the Benin bronzes. We made it clear that these are our properties, and it is not proper to give us conditions for releasing them.

“We, therefore, agreed that the release will be unconditional, neither will it be staggered.

“We have decided that the repatriation of the artefacts should not be the end of an era but rather the beginning of a new vista of stronger relations, pivoted by cultural diplomacy, between Nigeria and Germany.”

Lai Mohammed had noted: “These artefacts are so cherished all over the world and we realize that if they are returned to Nigeria and properly exhibited within and outside the country under our control, they stand to increase the influx of tourists to our nation and earn us good money.

“Of course, these timeless and priceless pieces of work are an important part of our past, our history, our heritage resource, and allowing them to sit in the museums of other nations robs us of our history.”