🔗 Share this article

The nation's remarkable new Art Museum of West Africa (Mowaa) has found itself in the middle of local power politics during the week it was scheduled to – but failed – to welcome visitors to the general public for the very first time.

The Ambitious Project

The six-hectare facility stands in the heart of the Edo state capital, administrative center of the southern region of Edo – and contains an excavation site and structures created by high-profile dual heritage architect Sir David Adjaye, best known for the Smithsonian African American Museum that was inaugurated in Washington in 2016.

It has been five years in the making – and is designed to showcase both the history and the present of creativity in the area known for the historic artworks, artworks looted from the royal palace by British troops in the 1800s.

Setup and Prospects

It is remarkable – and ahead of the anticipated opening, Mowaa was active with workers resolved to show it is a institution that can rival well-known art institutions in the Europe and America.

Within art restorers carefully revealed artworks from safety materials, inspecting each piece and taking detailed notes before placing them on walls and stands.

Experts fine-tuned environmental controls. In the scientific facility, officers set up equipment intended to preserve historical artefacts.

Investment and Economic Plans

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

"I aim us to have a major economic benefit on local residents in this region," he stated to journalists, noting that he aspired to make the city "a tourism center."

Mowaa, a charitable national foundation, envisions itself generating in excess of 30,000 direct and indirect jobs and providing over $80m per year to the regional creative economy through partnerships and programming.

Funding Sources and Political Challenges

It has required $25m to get here – capital gathered from multiple contributors, such as the French and German governments, the British Museum and the regional authorities.

But at present the state authorities has revoked permission from beneath it – canceling the use of the site on which the museum was built.

An Edo state spokesperson clarified this was because in the initial documents it had referred to itself as the Edo-named institution – and it had subsequently dropped "the regional name" from its name.

Protests and Political Intervention

This declaration came after rallies on recently, when people stormed the complex demanding it be called the Museum of the Benin Kingdom.

A rowdy assembly confronted foreign guests at the museum before the launch – forcing them to be hurried away under official guard.

Head of state Bola Tinubu has additionally intervened to work to address the tensions, creating a high-level committee to address the controversy.

Political Complexities

But how has this turned into so controversial – and such a public relations crisis?

Much of it comes down to local power struggles at a area administrative level, as it was Edo's previous governor Godwin Obaseki – whose governance ended recently – who was a key supporter of the initiative.

And it looks like the government of the new governor, a strong supporter of the regional monarch, called the royal figure, may seek more of a stake in the venture. The demonstrators on Sunday, for case, were insisting that the institution be positioned under the control of Oba Ewuare II.

The Benin Bronzes Controversy

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

Because although the museum does eventually open, these bronzes will be conspicuously absent.

They are brass, ivory and timber sculptures that once adorned the king's residence of the ancient kingdom before British soldiers took them in the colonial era during a military operation.

Nowadays, numerous stay distributed across museums in the West -- including the British Museum, Berlin's Humboldt Forum and the New York institution.

Return Initiatives

Their homecoming has become one of the most debated debates in the international art community. Roughly 150 have presently made their way home – and more are scheduled to be repatriated.

When proposals for the institution in the urban center were first announced in the pre-pandemic era, the movers and shakers on the country's cultural sector hoped it would become their ideal location – a state-of-the-art complex to exhibit them to the world.

But the issues became confused some time back after the central administration declared that the traditional ruler would be the rightful owner of repatriated artifacts – and the monarch's court pushed for a facility under the royal family's direct control, opposing the desires of the former governor.

Strategic Positioning

This left Mowaa in a delicate position: asserting a clear stance on repatriation while remaining diplomatic on guardianship – and highlighting its larger purpose, which led to|c