Nigeria Hopeful of Return of 96 Benin Artefacts from Cologne

Nigeria’s Ambassador to Germany, Mr. Yusuf Tuggar has said the federal government was confident that 96 Benin artefacts looted by the British Colonial masters about 125 years ago, and domiciled in Cologne, Germany would be returned to the country.

Tuggar, gave the assurance at the, ‘I Miss You Exhibition’ at Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum, Cologne attended by the city’s Deputy Mayor, Andreas Wolter, the Director of the museum, Nannete Snoep, the Chairman Edo United, Cologne, Samuel Egharevba and art historian Professor Peju Layiwola.

He said the raison d’etre of the Benin artefacts could only be fully appreciated if they are returned to their source of origin for better understanding.

The Nigerian ambassador said the return of the Benin Bronzes would catalyse the colonial healing process like no other before, because of the exceptional nature of how the cultural items were looted.

“Now imagine, if you will, that the Reliquary of the Three Magi were to be stolen at gunpoint and the emptiness that would be created in the soul of this proud city.

“Make no mistake, the traditions and ceremonies in which many of the Benin objects played a central role have continued without them, often with poor substitutes. And this, answers one of the questions posed in the invitation: Who Misses Them?” he said.

He derided the colonial government for using weapons to sack and pillage Benin, killing its citizens and even taking pictures with the looted items, comparing the action to modern equivalent of sending a postcard back home.

“Even the Oba of Benin was not spared; he was taken away the same way the Bronzes were. It is our fervent hope, that the return would also become a salubrious genesis for a re-examination of the teleology of museums as a whole, particularly ethnological and archaeological museums that could do with ontological adjustments in the 21st century,” he said.

 

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

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