Nigeria's remarkable new Museum of West African Art (Mowaa) has landed in the middle of local power politics during the week it was expected to – but did not manage – to begin operations to the general public for the very first time.
The Major Initiative
The six-hectare facility sits in the heart of Benin's urban center, administrative center of the southern area of Edo – and features an historical dig and structures designed by celebrated Ghanaian-British architect Sir David Adjaye, best known for the Washington African American Museum that opened in Washington in 2016.
It has been five years in the making – and is envisioned to celebrate both the past and the modern times of cultural innovation in the region famous for the Benin Bronzes, artworks looted from the king's palace by British soldiers in the 19th Century.
Preparation and Promise
It is impressive – and prior to the scheduled opening, Mowaa was energetic with staff committed to show it is a place that can compete with renowned art institutions in the Europe and America.
Internally conservators carefully opened art pieces from safety materials, examining each piece and taking detailed records before arranging them on display surfaces and plinths.
Technicians adjusted environmental controls. In the research lab, staff members calibrated equipment intended to maintain centuries-old artefacts.
Funding and Economic Goals
The venture has been the idea of entrepreneur Phillip Ihenacho – currently Mowaa's managing director.
"I want us to have a significant financial effect on area populations in the vicinity," he stated to journalists, noting that he aspired to make Benin City "an arts hub."
Mowaa, a charitable local organization, aims at generating over 30,000 employment opportunities and providing over $80m each year to the local cultural industry through alliances and activities.
Investment and Administrative Problems
It has taken $25m to reach this point – capital collected from different supporters, such as the French and German governments, the London institution and the regional authorities.
But currently the local government has pulled the rug from below it – revoking the utilization of the property on which the museum was built.
An official representative clarified this was because in the early agreements it had referred to itself as Edo Museum of West African Art – and it had subsequently dropped "the regional name" from its title.
Protests and Political Intervention
This announcement came after rallies on recently, when activists invaded the campus insisting it be designated the Benin Royal Museum.
A rowdy crowd confronted international visitors at the museum before the opening – compelling them to be hurried away under official guard.
President Bola Tinubu has also become involved to work to address the dispute, creating a special task force to manage the situation.
Administrative Challenges
But how has this turned into so politicised – and such a PR disaster?
A great deal of it results from internecine rivalries at a regional government level, as it was the former state leader Godwin Obaseki – whose term in office concluded the previous year – who was a major backer of the initiative.
And it looks like the government of the new governor, a close ally of the area king, known as the royal figure, may want increased control in the initiative. The activists on that day, for instance, were demanding that the museum be placed under the supervision of Oba Ewuare II.
The Benin Bronzes Controversy
This brings into focus the controversial matter of the Benin Bronzes, one of Africa's most famous cultural treasures.
Because even if the institution does finally begin operations, these objects will be conspicuously absent.
They are brass, ivory and wooden artworks that once adorned the king's residence of the ancient kingdom before colonial troops looted them in the colonial era during a punitive expedition.
Currently, numerous remain distributed across institutions in the West -- such as the London museum, Berlin's Humboldt Forum and the American museum.
Return Initiatives
Their return has become one of the most disputed discussions in the worldwide cultural sector. Approximately 150 have now been returned – and more are due to follow.
When ideas for the museum in the urban center were originally proposed in 2019, the movers and shakers on the national arts community anticipated it would become their natural home – a advanced facility to exhibit them to the international community.
But the situation became complicated recently after the federal government announced that the Oba would be the proper guardian of repatriated artifacts – and the royal household campaigned for a museum under the monarch's supervision, contrary to the desires of the former governor.
Political Navigation
This placed Mowaa in a difficult situation: expressing a specific viewpoint on repatriation while remaining diplomatic on custodianship – and stressing its larger purpose, which led to|c
