The Nigerian and German Governments have begun discussions with a view to signing an agreement on the return of Benin’s looted artefacts.
As part of the discussion, the Nigerian government has proposed a one-year time limit for the full return of its artefacts from Germany, which has agreed to repatriate hundreds of antiquities that were looted from the Bini Kingdom in 1897.
Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed made the proposal during a round-table with German Museum Directors and government officials in Berlin, Germany.
The Minister, who is leading a Nigerian government delegation for high-level talks with German government officials on the repatriation of the artefacts, said the agreement for the repatriation of the Benin Bronzes from Germany must be signed by December 2021.
”For us, the most important issue in the road map is the signing of the agreement and the date of return. We won’t move forward if we don’t have a clear date for signing and return. The full return should be completed in a year’s time, not beyond August 2022,” he told participants at the round-table.
Mohammed said Nigerians are eagerly awaiting the return of the 1,130 Benin Bronzes, which are being held by various museums in Germany.
Speaking at the roundtable, the Secretary of State in the German President’s office, Mr Stephen Steinlein, said; “The President is happy
with the progress made so far on the planned repatriation of the artefacts.”
He described the planned return of the artefacts as ”A lighthouse project” and assured the delegation that the President would continue to follow the process keenly.
The German Federal Government is coordinating the return of the Benin Bronzes, which are mostly held by state and private museums, meanwhile, of the 6,600 museums in Germany, less than five per cent are owned by the Federal Government.
Work is set to begin on the building of a museum, tagged Edo Museum of West African Art (EMOWAA), in Benin city that would display the artefacts when they are repatriated.
The Governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki, who is also part of the Nigerian delegation, told the roundtable that the museum is part of a transformation project being planned to make Benin city a cultural hub.
The architect handling the museum project, David Adjaye, made a presentation to the roundtable, during which he said the project would fuse the technology of ancient Benin Kingdom to that of the 21st century to get an organic pavilion that will boast of an auditorium, storage as well as exhibition space, among other facilities.
The Nigerian delegation met with representatives of Ethnologisches Museum Berlin-Dahlem, where a select number of Benin Bronzes, some of them dating back to the 16th century, were on display.
Other members of the Nigerian delegation include the Nigerian Ambassador to Germany, Mr Yusuf Tuggar; the Director-General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Prof. Abba Tijani; Benin Crown Prince Ezelekhae Ewuare and Mr Phillip Ihenacho, Director of the Board. Legacy Restoration Trust.
PIAK
