On the 9th of February 1897, British forces commenced a fierce military expedition to invade Benin Kingdom, now Benin city, capital of Edo state, Nigeria. They invaded the kingdom with the most sophisticated British war Marines as well as the Niger Coast Protectorate Forces led by Rear-Admiral Harry Rawson.
The military onslaught on the pre-colonial empire according to Britain was in retaliation to the killing of Acting Consul General, Captain James Philips and his men by messengers of the then Oba of Benin, Oba Ovoramwen N’ogbaisi at Ugbine village near Ughoton, along the Benin River.
Philips’ party had ignored warnings by the Oba’s men not to violate the kingdom’s sovereignty as the Monarch would not be able to meet with them due to ongoing traditional Igue festival. Philip needed a flimsy excuse to annex Benin, hence he provoked an attack on his party by engaging on a heated argument with the Oba’s men led by Ologbosere who killed all but two men dead.
The retaliatory operation, code named ‘the punitive expedition of Benin’ was seen as a decisive victory for the British which has an ‘already-made’ plan on how to annex the Kingdom before the invasion that led to the bombardment and razing down of the once independent empire within 9Days.
However, after the capture of the kingdom on February 18 1897, the expeditionary troops ransacked the houses of prominent chiefs, Oba’s palace, stole treasured artefacts including about 4,000 bronze pieces, and then sent Oba Ovoramwen N’ogbaisi on exile along with his wives, Queen Aighobahi and Queen Egbe to Calabar.
The troops relocated the objects to the British museum; the second largest collection of artworks from the kingdom after the Ethnological Museum in Berlin Germany that bought a large part of the loot.
Apparently, with the more than 800 of these stolen artefacts (that also include clay, ivory, iron and wooden objects produced over decades by skilled inhabitants), the British Museum prides itself as the ‘museum of the world for the world’ even with well documented evidence that the objects were plundered. from a people that is famous not only for construction of ramparts and huge city walls but also for its extraordinary bronze casting.
The bronze works however became synonymous with the ancient kingdom due to early encounter with the Europeans merchants around the 15th Century. They are made of brass that were often used by the Portuguese in exchange for local goods like pepper, palm oil and slaves. The brass (manillas) were melted down by the crafty inhabitants that are also members of the Benin Bronze Guild to produce Bronze plaques and other artworks that were used to decorate the city’s palaces.
According to a German Journalist, Dr Lutz Mükke who had visited UK, America and other parts of the world for the ‘Benin Bronze Project’, the walls of the British Museum in London is filled from top to bottom with these prized treasures. The journalist explained that the audio guide in the bronze section announces that the British troops discovered almost a thousand of these relics hidden away in a storeroom upon arrival in the pre-colonial empire in 1897. If these treasures were hidden as claimed now, was the royal and sacred store rooms opened for the expeditionary forces upon arrival in Benin? Were these treasures offered to them on friendly grounds?
If the answers to the aforementioned questions were yes, there would be no need for the argument about the objects repatriation, but with empirical evidence, it was obvious they were outrightly looted and some sold off to art collectors from across the world — amounts to make up for expenses incurred in the course of the 9Day war between both empires.
Notable among them is the ivory pendant of Idia mask, an exquisite carving of the head of the first queen mother of the ancient kingdom (Idia-ni yesigie). The replica of this mask was re – produced by the commission of HRM, Oba Akenzua II and used as the official logo of the second Pan-African Festival of Black & African Arts & Culture (FESTAC) held in Lagos in 1977.
CALL FOR THEIR RETURN
However, the Campaign for the restitution of these bronzes have been on ever since Nigeria gained independence in 1960, with the Nigerian authorities mounting pressure on Western governments, museums, individuals and institutions across the world holding these treasured arts to return them back to their original home.
But, the curators had at various occasion argued that keeping the artefacts was best for the preservation of the more than a 100 years old loot, as there were no safe place in Africa to hold them especially Nigeria where they hold the view that it is incapable to receive and keep the artworks due to corruption and unprofessional standards of museums management that may see the treasures get into wrong hands.
The argument was further buttressed by Richard Lander Society, an organisation that campaigns for the return of the looted Benin artworks.
According to the society, the British Museum has provided a secure environment for over a century and it is the actual security of these Bronzes in Nigeria which has been the main reason for not returning them. Another reason for the British Museum’s refusal to release these items, is that any move to return them to Nigeria, precisely the Oba Palace in Benin could theoretically give way to other countries in Africa to also seek for a restitution of their own looted pieces.
The Nigerian government had in the year before the famous FESTAC 77 pleaded with the British authorities for the return of the Idia mask to be used as the insignia of the Pan-African cultural festival (and to be returned after use) but they refused. This prompted the Federal Government to request for a replica of the mask which was commissioned by Oba (Akenzua II) as stated earlier, and was crafted by Erhabor Emokpae.
This has raised questions as to why will any nation which forcefully collects what belongs to others, would refuse to return them after decades of appeal and lobbying for the restitution of these prized treasures though the campaign has gathered momentum but has not won unanimous support in the country.
Championing the course is the Benin Dialogue Group, a museum consortium which consists of representatives from Germany, Austria, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Sweden, with key representatives from Nigeria are putting heads together to set up a framework for the Western partners to work in synergy to facilitate the permanent return cum display of the artworks in the Edo state capital.
The group, formed in 2007, is a major partner in the clamour for the artefacts restitution. The Benin Group which has been on the campaign since 2010 is also championing the construction and management of a museum to hold the artefacts; which repatriation status (permanent or temporary basis) is yet to be agreed.
The group in partnership with Richard Lander Society facilitated the return of the two of the stolen pieces back to their rightful owners. In 2014, Mark Walker, grandson of Herbert Walker who was part of the Benin punitive expedition came down to Benin city to return a diary and two sculptures made of bronze to Oba Erediauwa (1979-2016). The returned sculptures depicts a ninth-century head of the Oba, and Sixteenth-Century plaques of life in the palace.
Also in 2016, Students of Jesus College in Cambridge during a protest against celebration of colonialism called for the return of a looted Benin bronze work. The artwork in shape of a cockerel, the students body declared in a motion that it should be returned to it original home due to the manner at which it was taken away.
The bronze statue which was hanging on the dining hall wall of the college was later removed from display, but was not returned as expected. And though the college sees the permanent removal of the cockerel sculpture (okhokho) from its dining hall as a perfect response to its students protest, it had also expressed willingness to negotiate the future and repatriation of the artefact.
The emergence of Emmanuel Macron as French President has taken the campaign for their repatriation to another level — a ‘blessing in disguise’ to Nigeria and other African nations (especially Benin Republic) whose artefacts were plundered during the colonial era. Macron, while on a visit to Burkina Faso (a former French colony) in November 2017 said he would ensure Africans have access to their objects, assuring of a new intellectual connection between France and Africa.
“I cannot accept that a large part of cultural heritage from several African countries is in France” Macron told a gathering of students in Ouagadougou.
The French President said he would ensure the return of looted cultural artefacts to Africa without delay, despite France’s law forbids the ceding of any of its property irrespective of a documented cases of plundering, a move analyst say would put pressure on western nations to return all looted artworks to their owners.
French authorities had in 2017 agreed to return back 26 mainly royal artworks carted away by its troops during a battle in 1892 from Palaces in Abomey (former capital of the kingdom of Dahomey) to Paris, and Macron proposed gathering European and African partners in the French capital early this 2019 to work out a plan for an exchange policy for the African objects.
TO BE RETURN, BUT ON LOAN
While the French President hope that there are consideration for possible circulation of these treasures to their owners, the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II has already put plans in place to facilitate the reception and exhibition of the artworks many see as chapters of the history book of the Benins.
Oba Ewuare II explains during an interview with Dr Lutz Mükke at his palace that, “the looted artefacts are very very important to us (Benin Kingdom); they are of deeply religious importance to the place and to my people.”
Oba Ewuare II, a former Nigerian ambassador to Italy and Sweden told Lutz that the palace deliberately want some of the looted objects back even if not all as they have become ambassadors of Benin culture around the world. The Oba explained that the palace would prefer the looted artefacts come back to the owners — Binis, saying, “We are planning a palace museum, where the pieces that come back to us will be very safe and accessible to visitors”.
According to a CNN report, the Benin Dialogue Group had in October 2018 struck a deal to have some of the more than 1,000 iconic pieces of the looted bronzes held at European museums and the British Museum returned to the country. The British Museum which hold the most valuable collection has agreed to loan the bronze plaques back to a yet to be built Benin Royal Museum in Benin for an exhibition within a space of three years.
The Museum Spokesman in the report said the key agenda item at the October meeting was how partners can work together to establish a museum in Benin City with a rotation of Benin works of art from a consortium of European museums.
“The museums in attendance have all agreed to lend artefacts to the Benin Royal Museum on a rotating basis, to provide advice as requested on building and exhibition design, and to cooperate with the Nigerian partners in developing training, funding, and a legal framework for the display in a new planned museum”, The Spokesperson told CNN
With this deal, The Benin Bronzes have eventually joined Elgin Marbles and Ethiopia’s Maqdala treasures in being Africa’s works of art whose permanent repatriation was resisted by the British authorities (on the grounds of legislation). Ethiopia and Greece as well as other governments rejected the idea of loans and demanded a full return of their artworks.
While it is clear that Nigeria has finally accepted the loan option for their looted treasures, a move seen as highly controversial, it is a breakthrough for the Benin Dialogue Group that has been making frantic efforts to loan the looted pieces back to Nigeria.
Edo State governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki who is working in collaboration with the Benin Monarch to retrieve the stolen bronzes, while presenting the 2019 appropriation bill before a session of the House of Assembly said his administration planned to construct a N500 million Benin Royal Museum to hold the artefacts when returned.
Governor Obaseki said: “To fulfil our commitment towards making Edo the culture capital of West Africa, we have earmarked N500 million in 2019 proposed Budget, to commence the development and construction of the Benin Royal Museum. This will be done in collaboration with the Palace of His Royal Majesty, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II, Ogidigan.”
The idea to construct a museum in Benin city is a right step in the actualisation of the planned return of the plundered objects, though temporarily. But with the price of constructing a modern museum at almost thrice the amount proposed by Obaseki and beaurocratic bottlenecks associated with governance in Nigeria, the much talked about museum may not be ready in the next 2decades.
However, lovers of arts and culture in the country would want to see these treasures back home whether on temporary or permanent basis.
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This article is part of the Benin-Bronze-Project, a collaboration between German newspapers Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Leipziger Volkszeitung and Code for Nigeria. Other contributors include John Eromosele, Emmanuel Ikhenebome and Maria Wiesner. It was financed by the German journalist Association and its Carthographer-Mercator-Programme for Journalists.
