By Osa Amadi

The Federal Government of Nigeria, FGN, has asserted itself as the rightful entity to take possession of the returned and yet-to-be returned stolen Benin artifacts and others. Other contestants for the custody of the artworks are the Edo State Government and the Palace of the Oba of Benin, from where the artworks and artifacts were looted in 1897 by the invading British Army.    

The assertion by the FGN was made yesterday by the Minister of Information and Culture at a press conference in Lagos. The minister said the return of the artifacts is being negotiated bilaterally between the national governments of Nigeria and Germany, and that Nigeria is the entity recognised by international law as the authority in control of antiquities originating from Nigeria.

Alhaji Lai Mohammed said: “The Federal Government is aware of the widely-reported controversy on who will take possession of the Benin Bronzes when they are returned from Germany. Let me state clearly here that, in line with international best practices and the operative Conventions and laws, the return of the artifacts is being negotiated bilaterally between the national governments of Nigeria and Germany. Nigeria is the entity recognised by international law as the authority in control of antiquities originating from Nigeria.”

The minister said that the relevant international Conventions treat heritage properties as properties belonging to the nation and not to individuals or subnational groups. “For example,” he said, “the 1970 UNESCO Convention, in its article 1, defines cultural property as property specifically designated by that nation. This allows individual nations to determine what it regards as its cultural property.”

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Alhaji Mohammed said regardless of the right the FG has over the custody of the looted artifacts, the Nigerian state – through the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture and the National Commission for Museums and Monuments – has in working assiduously over the past years to repatriate Nigeria’s looted artifacts, carried along with the traditional institutions and state governments.

“What I am saying, in essence, is that the Federal government will take possession of these antiquities, because it is its duty to do so, in line with the extant laws,” Lai Mohammed said, noting that the Federal Government has always exercised this right in cognizance of the culture that produced the artworks.

“That is why the Ministry of Information and Culture and the National Commission for Museums and Monuments have always involved both the Edo State government and the Royal Benin Palace in discussions and negotiations that have now resulted in the impending return of these antiquities,” the minister said.

He also revealed that the Federal Government is not just involved in the repatriation of Benin artifacts, but also working on repatriating Ife Bronzes and Terracotta, Nok Terracotta, Owo Terracotta, the arts of the Benue River Valley, the Igbo Ukwu, the arts of Bida, the arts of Igala, Jukun, etc.

He spoke about the efforts of the Federal Government over the Igbo statues that were auctioned at Christie’s in the Year 2020, and how the Federal Government of Nigeria took the British and Belgian authorities to ICPRCP in 2019 over an Ife object.

The minister said the press conference was organised to update Nigerians on the efforts being made by the Federal Government to repatriate looted and smuggled Nigerian artifacts from around the world: “Recall, gentlemen, that on 28 November 2019, I announced at a press conference here in Lagos, the launch of the campaign for the return and restitution of Nigeria’s looted and smuggled artifacts from around the world. I said that with the launch, we are putting on notice all those who are holding on to Nigeria’s cultural property anywhere in the world, that we are coming for them, using all legal and diplomatic instruments available.

“Less than two years after that announcement, I can report back to Nigerians that our efforts at repatriating Nigeria’s looted artifacts are achieving positive results. The work ahead remains tough and daunting, but we will not relent until we have repatriated all our stolen and smuggled antiquities.

Speaking on the values of the looted artworks and artifacts and the benefits accruable to Nigeria, the minister said “these artifacts are so cherished all over the world… If they are returned to Nigeria and properly exhibited within and outside the country under our control, they stand to increase the influx of tourists to our nation and earn us good money. Of course, these timeless and priceless pieces of work are an important part of our past, our history and our heritage resource. Allowing them to sit in the museums of other nations robs us of our history.”

The minister also revealed that not all who are in possession of these artifacts are willing to return them, but the Federal Government remains undeterred and has deployed all legal and diplomatic means for their repatriation.

The minister listed some of the successes recorded so far: “In October 2020, the Netherlands returned a highly-valued 600-year-old Ife Terracotta. In March 2021, the University of Aberdeen in Scotland agreed to return a Benin Bronze from its collections. We shall take possession of this in October this year. And in April 2021, we received a bronze piece from Mexico.

Other milestones of achievements by the FG include the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom agreeing to return a disputed Benin artifact, of which the FG will soon commence the procedure for the repatriation of this highly-valued piece. The minister also revealed that Nigeria has secured a date in October 2021 for the repatriation of antiquities from the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

“These antiquities,” Lai Mohammed said, “consist of two important Benin Bronzes and an exquisite Ife Bronze head. We are currently before the Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to it Countries of Origin or its Restitution in case of Illicit Appropriation (ICPRCP) in Paris, where we have instituted a claim against a Belgian who wanted to auction an Ife Bronze head valued at $5 million, at least.”

He said the Ife Bronze antiquity has been seized by the London Metropolitan Police, pending the decision on who the true owner is. “Of course, we all know that the true owner is Nigeria.”

The minister praised the German government, saying the Nigerian government’s most remarkable progress in the quest to repatriate its looted artifacts has been recorded in Germany, which is currently working with FGN for the repatriation of 1,130 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria.

“As you are aware, I recently led a high-level Nigerian delegation to Berlin, Germany, to iron out the modalities for the repatriation. During the trip, our delegation met with Prof. Monika Grutters, the German Minister of State for Culture, who has responsibility for antiquities; the German Foreign Minister, Mr. Heiko Maas, the Secretary of State in the German President’s office, Mr. Stephen Steinlein, and Harmann Parzinger, President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, which is the centre of the German culture establishment, and his team,

The minister said he also met with the Directors of at least 20 major museums. “The negotiations were tough but fruitful. We have agreed that there is no going back on the issue of returning the Benin Bronzes.

“At the meetings in Germany, I insisted, and it was resolved that provenance research on the Benin Bronzes cannot and must not delay their return, since the origin of Benin objects is not a subject of dispute as such objects are only associated with the Benin Kingdom.

“On the German authorities’ proposal to return a ‘substantial part’ of the Benin Bronzes, I have asserted the stand of the Nigerian government by demanding full and unconditional release of the artifacts. Concerning recording the artifacts in 3D formats for posterity and academic sake under the ‘digitalbenin’ project, of which we are a part, I have told the Germans that this work of digitalizing the Benin Bronzes must not delay the return of the artifacts and that issues related to copyrights ownership and other rights over the digitalized objects will be discussed soon.

“We agreed to have a definitive timeline for the repatriation of the artifacts because Nigeria is tired of an indefinite timeline. Therefore, we resolved that the agreement on the repatriation should be signed in December 2021 and the repatriation should be concluded by August 2022. I told the Germans that Nigeria is averse to attaching pre-conditions to repatriating the Benin Bronzes. These are our properties, do not give us conditions for releasing them. We, therefore, agreed that the release will be unconditional, neither will it be staggered.”

According to the minister, the meetings in Germany were not only about repatriating these objects. “We have decided that the repatriation of the artifacts should not be the end of an era but the beginning of a new vista of stronger relations, pivoted by cultural diplomacy, between Nigeria and Germany. In this regard, there are other benefits accruing to Nigeria from the ongoing talks. There will be archaeological training for Nigerians. The Nigerian side and the German side agreed to Nigeria’s proposal to use the repatriated artifacts and other works of art to inspire Nigeria’s Creative Industry towards realizing its high potential. For this and other purposes, it was agreed that the Germans will facilitate the establishment of an academy in Nigeria,” Lai Mohammed said.

The minister commended the Government of Germany for taking the lead in the global efforts to repatriate all artifacts that were looted from Nigeria and indeed from the African continent: “As I said during the meetings in Berlin, we see Germany as a leader in the efforts to take practical steps to repatriate our stolen artifacts, and we hope Germany will sustain that lead.

“I also want to thank Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, who was with us all through the tough negotiations in Berlin, and His Royal Majesty the Oba of Benin, who sent the Benin Crown Prince, His Royal Highness Ezelekhae Ewuare, to be a part of the Nigerian delegation to Berlin. We thank all Nigerians, especially the media, for their support for our efforts to repatriate all our looted artifacts,” the minister said.

Vanguard News Nigeria