🔗 Share this article

The nation's impressive new West African Art Museum (Mowaa) has found itself in the center of regional political struggles during the week it was scheduled to – but failed – to welcome visitors to the general public for the very first time.

The Ambitious Project

The 15-acre campus sits in the core of Benin City, administrative center of the southern area of Edo – and features an excavation site and structures planned by high-profile Ghanaian-British architect Sir David Adjaye, best known for the National Museum of African American History and Culture that opened in Washington DC in 2016.

It has been 60 months in the making – and is designed to honor both the heritage and the modern times of creativity in the locale famous for the Benin Bronzes, artworks stolen from the city's royal palace by British soldiers in the nineteenth century.

Readiness and Potential

It is impressive – and ahead of the anticipated opening, Mowaa was energetic with workers determined to show it is a institution that can match renowned art institutions in the West.

Within art restorers carefully opened cultural items from safety materials, checking each item and taking detailed documentation before positioning them on exhibition areas and stands.

Experts adjusted climate control systems. In the scientific facility, officers set up devices designed to maintain centuries-old artefacts.

Financial Backing and Economic Vision

The project has been the concept of entrepreneur Phillip Ihenacho – currently Mowaa's executive director.

"I aim us to have a significant economic benefit on local residents in this region," he explained to journalists, noting that he hoped to make Benin City "an arts hub."

Mowaa, a non-profit Nigerian institution, aims at creating in excess of 30,000 direct and indirect jobs and adding more than $80m each year to the area arts sector through partnerships and programming.

Financial Support and Government Issues

It has taken $25m to reach this point – capital collected from different donors, including the European governments, the UK museum and the local administration.

But at present the local government has pulled the rug from below it – terminating the utilization of the site on which the facility was constructed.

An official representative clarified this was because in the initial documents it had identified as the Edo-named institution – and it had later eliminated "Edo" from its designation.

Unrest and Official Response

This statement was preceded by rallies on the weekend, when protesters entered the complex calling for it be named the Museum of the Benin Kingdom.

A rowdy crowd confronted overseas dignitaries at the venue before the inauguration – requiring them to be quickly removed under police escort.

National leader Bola Tinubu has also intervened to try and resolve the tensions, creating a special task force to manage the situation.

Political Complexities

But how has this evolved into so politicised – and such a reputation problem?

A great deal of it comes down to local power struggles at a area administrative level, as it was the former state leader Godwin Obaseki – whose administration finished last year – who was a major backer of the initiative.

And it looks like the government of the current leader, a strong supporter of the local traditional ruler, referred to as the royal figure, may desire more of a stake in the initiative. The demonstrators on Sunday, for example, were insisting that the museum be placed under the authority of the current Oba.

The Historical Objects Discussion

This highlights the contentious issue of the historical artworks, one of Africa's most renowned historical legacy.

Because even if the facility does ultimately open, these objects will be noticeably missing.

They are metal, ivory and wooden carvings that once adorned the monarch's home of the Benin Kingdom before colonial troops took them in the colonial era during a punitive expedition.

Nowadays, thousands stay distributed across galleries in the West -- featuring the UK institution, European center and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Return Initiatives

Their repatriation has become one of the most contested debates in the worldwide cultural sector. Roughly 150 have now been returned – and additional are scheduled to be repatriated.

When ideas for the museum in the city were initially revealed in 2019, the key players on Nigeria's art scene anticipated it would become their ideal location – a modern facility to exhibit them to the global audience.

But the issues became confused some time back after the federal government stated that the Oba would be the legal custodian of returned objects – and the royal household campaigned for a institution under the royal family's direct control, against the wishes of Obaseki.

Political Navigation

This placed Mowaa in a challenging circumstance: expressing a clear stance on return while remaining diplomatic on custodianship – and emphasising its broader vision, which led to|c