🔗 Share this article

Nigeria's stunning new Art Museum of West Africa (Mowaa) has ended up in the center of regional political struggles during the time it was expected to – but failed – to welcome visitors to the public for the very first time.

The Ambitious Project

The six-hectare complex stands in the center of Benin's urban center, administrative center of the southern region of Edo – and includes an excavation site and facilities created by celebrated dual heritage architect Sir David Adjaye, most famous for the Washington African American Museum that opened in Washington DC in 2016.

It has been 60 months in the creation – and is designed to showcase both the heritage and the modern times of creativity in the region famous for the Benin Bronzes, cultural objects looted from the city's royal palace by British soldiers in the nineteenth century.

Setup and Prospects

It is impressive – and before the planned opening, Mowaa was active with workers resolved to demonstrate it is a venue that can compete with established cultural centers in the Western world.

Inside conservators precisely revealed artworks from secure wrapping, inspecting each piece and taking thorough documentation before placing them on display surfaces and stands.

Technicians calibrated temperature regulation systems. In the research lab, officers calibrated devices intended to conserve ancient artefacts.

Funding and Economic Goals

The project has been the idea of businessman Phillip Ihenacho – now Mowaa's managing director.

"I aim us to have a significant economic benefit on communities in this region," he explained to journalists, noting that he aspired to make this urban center "a tourism center."

Mowaa, a not-for-profit Nigerian institution, aims at creating in excess of 30,000 direct and indirect jobs and adding over $80m annually to the area arts sector through collaborations and programming.

Funding Sources and Political Challenges

It has required $25m to achieve this stage – money gathered from various donors, featuring the European governments, the London institution and the Edo state government.

But now the state authorities has revoked permission from below it – terminating the use of the land on which the museum was built.

An government communicator clarified this was because in the early agreements it had called itself the Edo-named institution – and it had subsequently dropped "the state identifier" from its designation.

Protests and Political Intervention

This announcement was preceded by rallies on recently, when activists entered the complex calling for it be called the Benin Royal Museum.

A rowdy assembly insulted overseas dignitaries at the museum before the launch – compelling them to be quickly removed under official guard.

National leader Bola Tinubu has even intervened to try and resolve the tensions, setting up a high-level committee to address the controversy.

Governance Issues

But in what way has this become so divisive – and such a PR disaster?

The majority of it stems from internal conflicts at a local state level, as it was the ex-administrator Godwin Obaseki – whose governance concluded last year – who was a key supporter of the project.

And it appears the administration of the current leader, a key associate of the area king, called the Oba, may want greater involvement in the venture. The activists on that day, for example, were insisting that the museum be put under the authority of the current Oba.

The Historical Objects Discussion

This brings into focus the controversial matter of the cultural artifacts, one of Africa's most celebrated cultural treasures.

Because though the facility does finally open, these objects will be conspicuously absent.

They are brass, ivory and wooden carvings that once embellished the royal palace of the ancient kingdom before British soldiers looted them in 1897 during a punitive expedition.

Currently, many stay spread across galleries in Europe and North America -- such as the London museum, Berlin's Humboldt Forum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Restitution Efforts

Their homecoming has become one of the most disputed discussions in the international art community. Roughly 150 have presently made their way home – and additional are expected to return.

When plans for the museum in Benin City were first announced in the pre-pandemic era, the movers and shakers on Nigeria's art scene expected it would become their ideal location – a modern campus to show them off to the world.

But the situation became complicated recently after the central administration declared that the traditional ruler would be the legal custodian of any returned bronzes – and the monarch's court pushed for a facility under the royal family's direct control, contrary to the desires of Obaseki.

Strategic Positioning

This placed Mowaa in a difficult situation: asserting a clear stance on restitution while being careful on guardianship – and stressing its larger purpose, which led to|c