🔗 Share this article

Nigeria's remarkable new West African Art Museum (Mowaa) has ended up in the center of local power politics during the time it was supposed to – but was unable – to welcome visitors to the general public for the first time.

The Grand Vision

The large-scale complex sits in the core of Benin City, main city of the southern region of Edo – and includes an archaeological dig and structures designed by high-profile dual heritage architect Sir David Adjaye, particularly noted for the Washington African American Museum that opened in Washington DC in 2016.

It has been five years in the creation – and is designed to celebrate both the history and the present of cultural innovation in the area famous for the Benin Bronzes, cultural objects taken from the city's royal palace by British troops in the 1800s.

Setup and Prospects

It is remarkable – and before the anticipated opening, Mowaa was buzzing with staff committed to prove it is a place that can compete with established cultural centers in the Europe and America.

Inside art restorers meticulously unwrapped artworks from protective packaging, examining each piece and taking thorough documentation before placing them on exhibition areas and bases.

Specialists calibrated environmental controls. In the materials science laboratory, staff members adjusted devices intended to conserve ancient objects.

Funding and Economic Goals

The venture has been the concept of entrepreneur Phillip Ihenacho – presently Mowaa's executive director.

"I hope us to have a substantial economic impact on communities in this region," he explained to the press, noting that he aspired to make the city "a tourism center."

Mowaa, a charitable Nigerian institution, aims at creating in excess of 30,000 direct and indirect jobs and providing above $80m annually to the regional creative economy through alliances and activities.

Funding Sources and Political Challenges

It has required $25m to reach this point – capital collected from different donors, such as the European governments, the British Museum and the regional authorities.

But currently the state authorities has revoked permission from beneath it – terminating the occupancy of the land on which the museum was built.

An Edo state spokesperson explained this was because in the original paperwork it had identified as the Edo-named institution – and it had later removed "the regional name" from its designation.

Protests and Political Intervention

This declaration came after demonstrations on recently, when activists stormed the campus insisting it be named the Benin Royal Museum.

A disruptive assembly insulted international visitors at the museum prior to the inauguration – requiring them to be quickly removed under security protection.

Head of state Bola Tinubu has even stepped in to work to address the dispute, creating a presidential committee to do some damage control.

Political Complexities

But why has this turned into so controversial – and such a reputation problem?

A great deal of it results from local power struggles at a area administrative level, as it was Edo's previous governor Godwin Obaseki – whose term in office finished last year – who was a key supporter of the project.

And it looks like the leadership of the new governor, a close ally of the regional monarch, known as the royal figure, may desire more of a stake in the initiative. The protesters on the weekend, for case, were demanding that the facility be placed under the authority of Oba Ewuare II.

The Benin Bronzes Controversy

This emphasizes the contentious issue of the historical artworks, one of the continent's most famous cultural treasures.

Because even if the museum does eventually welcome visitors, these artifacts will be conspicuously absent.

They are brass, ivory and wooden sculptures that once embellished the king's residence of the historical empire before colonial troops took them in the colonial era during a punitive expedition.

Today, thousands continue to be spread across institutions in Europe and North America -- such as the London museum, Berlin's Humboldt Forum and the American museum.

Return Initiatives

Their homecoming has become one of the most debated conversations in the global art world. Approximately 150 have now been returned – and further are scheduled to be repatriated.

When proposals for the facility in the urban center were originally proposed in recent years, the key players on Nigeria's art scene expected it would become their ideal location – a state-of-the-art complex to exhibit them to the international community.

But the waters were muddied two years ago after the federal government announced that the royal leader would be the proper guardian of returned objects – and the monarch's court pushed for a museum under the royal family's direct control, contrary to the preferences of Obaseki.

Strategic Positioning

This left Mowaa in a difficult situation: asserting a clear stance on restitution while staying tactful on ownership – and stressing its broader vision, which led to|c