🔗 Share this article

Nigeria's remarkable new West African Art Museum (Mowaa) has landed in the crosshairs of local power politics during the week it was expected to – but did not manage – to open its doors to the general public for the very first time.

The Grand Vision

The six-hectare facility stands in the core of Benin City, administrative center of the southern state of Edo – and features an archaeological dig and buildings created by celebrated British-Ghanaian architect Sir David Adjaye, particularly noted for the Washington African American Museum that was inaugurated in Washington in 2016.

It has been five years in the creation – and is designed to showcase both the past and the present of cultural innovation in the region known for the Benin Bronzes, historical pieces taken from the city's royal palace by British troops in the nineteenth century.

Preparation and Promise

It is remarkable – and before the anticipated opening, Mowaa was buzzing with staff determined to prove it is a institution that can rival established art institutions in the Western world.

Inside conservators precisely unwrapped art pieces from protective packaging, checking each item and taking meticulous documentation before positioning them on walls and plinths.

Specialists calibrated environmental controls. In the research lab, staff members calibrated instruments meant to conserve ancient objects.

Financial Backing and Economic Vision

The project has been the idea of investor Phillip Ihenacho – presently Mowaa's chief executive.

"I want us to have a major financial effect on area populations around here," he told journalists, adding that he hoped to make the city "an arts hub."

Mowaa, a not-for-profit Nigerian institution, sees itself generating over 30,000 direct and indirect jobs and contributing more than $80m per year to the regional creative economy through alliances and activities.

Financial Support and Government Issues

It has needed $25m to reach this point – money collected from different donors, such as the European governments, the British Museum and the Edo state government.

But at present the state authorities has withdrawn support from beneath it – terminating the occupancy of the property on which the museum was built.

An official representative explained this was because in the early agreements it had called itself the Edo-named institution – and it had later removed "Edo" from its title.

Demonstrations and Government Action

This declaration came after protests on Sunday, when people invaded the campus demanding it be called the Benin Royal Museum.

A disruptive group insulted international visitors at the facility before the launch – requiring them to be hurried away under security protection.

Head of state Bola Tinubu has even stepped in to try and resolve the tensions, setting up a special task force to manage the situation.

Governance Issues

But why has this become so controversial – and such a PR disaster?

Much of it results from local power struggles at a area administrative level, as it was the ex-administrator Godwin Obaseki – whose governance ended recently – who was a major backer of the museum.

And it looks like the leadership of the recently elected official, a strong supporter of the regional monarch, called the traditional leader, may seek increased control in the project. The activists on Sunday, for case, were demanding that the institution be positioned under the supervision of the royal leader.

The Cultural Artifacts Debate

This emphasizes the disputed topic of the cultural artifacts, one of Africa's most celebrated cultural treasures.

Because even if the museum does eventually begin operations, these bronzes will be conspicuously absent.

They are brass, elephant tusk and wooden sculptures that once adorned the king's residence of the ancient kingdom before British soldiers looted them in the late nineteenth century during a colonial invasion.

Today, numerous stay spread across museums in the West -- such as the UK institution, European center and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Repatriation Campaigns

Their return has become one of the most contested conversations in the worldwide cultural sector. About 150 have currently made their way home – and further are expected to return.

When plans for the institution in the city were first announced in recent years, the key players on the country's cultural sector hoped it would become their ideal location – a state-of-the-art facility to display them to the international community.

But the situation became complicated two years ago after the federal government declared that the royal leader would be the proper guardian of any returned bronzes – and the royal household advocated for a institution under the monarch's supervision, contrary to the wishes of the ex-leader.

Political Navigation

This placed Mowaa in a difficult situation: asserting a specific viewpoint on repatriation while remaining diplomatic on ownership – and highlighting its broader vision, which led to|c