🔗 Share this article

Nigeria's remarkable new West African Art Museum (Mowaa) has found itself in the middle of regional political struggles during the time it was supposed to – but failed – to begin operations to the public for the initial occasion.

The Major Initiative

The six-hectare complex stands in the heart of the Edo state capital, main city of the southern state of Edo – and includes an excavation site and buildings planned by high-profile Ghanaian-British architect Sir David Adjaye, most famous for the Smithsonian African American Museum that began operations in the US capital in 2016.

It has been five years in the development – and is designed to honor both the past and the present of creativity in the locale renowned for the cultural artifacts, artworks taken from the royal palace by UK forces in the 19th Century.

Preparation and Promise

It is remarkable – and ahead of the scheduled opening, Mowaa was active with staff resolved to demonstrate it is a institution that can rival renowned museums and galleries in the Europe and America.

Inside art restorers meticulously revealed artworks from safety materials, inspecting each piece and taking meticulous notes before positioning them on walls and bases.

Technicians calibrated climate control systems. In the scientific facility, officers calibrated instruments intended to conserve ancient items.

Financial Backing and Economic Vision

The initiative has been the idea of investor Phillip Ihenacho – presently Mowaa's executive director.

"I hope us to have a major economic impact on local residents in the vicinity," he told media outlets, adding that he wanted to make the city "a tourism center."

Mowaa, a not-for-profit Nigerian institution, sees itself generating over 30,000 employment opportunities and adding more than $80m per year to the area arts sector through alliances and programming.

Investment and Administrative Problems

It has needed $25m to achieve this stage – money gathered from multiple contributors, including the French and German governments, the London institution and the regional authorities.

But now the local government has pulled the rug from beneath it – revoking the occupancy of the property on which the museum was built.

An official representative stated this was because in the original paperwork it had identified as EMOWAA – and it had subsequently dropped "the state identifier" from its name.

Demonstrations and Government Action

This announcement was preceded by demonstrations on the weekend, when people entered the campus calling for it be called the Benin Royal Museum.

A boisterous assembly confronted international visitors at the venue prior to the launch – forcing them to be hurried away under official guard.

Head of state Bola Tinubu has also become involved to try and resolve the dispute, creating a special task force to address the controversy.

Governance Issues

But why has this become so divisive – and such a reputation problem?

A great deal of it comes down to internal conflicts at a local state level, as it was the ex-administrator Godwin Obaseki – whose administration concluded the previous year – who was a key supporter of the museum.

And it seems the leadership of the new governor, a close ally of the area king, referred to as the Oba, may want more of a stake in the initiative. The activists on Sunday, for example, were calling for that the museum be positioned under the supervision of the royal leader.

The Benin Bronzes Controversy

This highlights the controversial matter of the cultural artifacts, one of Africa's most famous artistic heritage.

Because even if the facility does ultimately open, these artifacts will be conspicuously absent.

They are brass, ivory and wooden artworks that once embellished the monarch's home of the Benin Kingdom before British soldiers took them in 1897 during a military operation.

Currently, numerous stay scattered across museums in the West -- such as the UK institution, Berlin's Humboldt Forum and the American museum.

Restitution Efforts

Their repatriation has become one of the most contested conversations in the global art world. About 150 have now come back – and more are scheduled to be repatriated.

When plans for the facility in Benin City were first announced in 2019, the influential figures on the country's cultural sector expected it would become their perfect venue – a state-of-the-art complex to show them off to the global audience.

But the waters were muddied two years ago after the federal government declared that the royal leader would be the legal custodian of repatriated artifacts – and the monarch's court campaigned for a museum under the royal family's direct control, opposing the desires of the ex-leader.

Political Navigation

This left Mowaa in a delicate position: asserting a clear stance on restitution while staying tactful on custodianship – and stressing its broader vision, which led to|c