‘Colonising’ British Museum told to return Benin bronzes
THE British Museum must pull the plug on its Benin bronzes project in Nigeria or face protests, Benin cultural leaders have warned, in a row over repatriation.
Institutions including Oxford and Cambridge have pledged to return their Benin bronzes, artworks looted from Benin City (now in Nigeria), and a new Edo Museum of West African Art (EMOWAA) has been proposed to house them in the city safely on their return.
The British Museum pledged support and helped raise £3million for the scheme hailed as a major boost for repatriation, but senior Benin cultural leaders have branded the project an “infiltrator” and demanded that it be shut down or face protests.
Senior Benin chiefs said that only their king or “Oba” has the right to bronzes taken from his ancestors 130 years ago, and warned that any organisation trying to take control of the artefacts is “criminally” trying to profit from the monarch’s birthright.
Chief Stanley Omoregie Obamwonyi said: “The Emowaa is trying to reap what it did not sow. It is an infiltrator. We do not recognise it.”
Osazee Amas-Edobor, convenor of the Coalition of Benin Socio-cultural Organisations, warned that protests would “shut down the state” if the British Museum and the Emowaa continued their work.
He added: “They are like a foreign country colonising. We will not allow this to happen. The artefacts are the property of the Oba and must be returned to the Oba. King Charles would not be asked to share his Crown Jewels.”
Sam Igbe, the “Isaye” or prime minister to the Oba, said the British Museum should drop its support for the Emowaa and divert any financial and technical support to a “Benin Royal Museum” proposed by the monarch.
A museum spokesman said: “The British Museum is working with a range of stakeholders and partners in Nigeria.
“We actively engage with partners through the Benin Dialogue Group and the Digital Benin Initiative, while research and cultural exchange initiatives are also key priorities that we deliver.”