🔗 Share this article

The nation's impressive new West African Art Museum (Mowaa) has ended up in the middle of local power politics during the week it was supposed to – but was unable – to open its doors to the visitors for the first time.

The Ambitious Project

The large-scale complex sits in the core of Benin City, main city of the southern region of Edo – and contains an historical dig and facilities designed by renowned Ghanaian-British architect Sir David Adjaye, particularly noted for the National Museum of African American History and Culture that opened in the US capital in 2016.

It has been half a decade in the development – and is planned to showcase both the past and the current era of artistic expression in the locale famous for the historic artworks, artworks looted from the royal palace by British soldiers in the 1800s.

Readiness and Potential

It is notable – and before the scheduled opening, Mowaa was buzzing with employees committed to show it is a venue that can compete with established cultural centers in the Europe and America.

Within art restorers meticulously revealed artworks from safety materials, inspecting each piece and taking meticulous notes before arranging them on walls and plinths.

Experts calibrated environmental controls. In the research lab, officers calibrated equipment designed to conserve centuries-old artefacts.

Funding and Economic Goals

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

"I aim us to have a major economic impact on local residents in this region," he explained to the press, mentioning that he aspired to make the city "a tourism center."

Mowaa, a not-for-profit local organization, aims at generating more than 30,000 work positions and contributing more than $80m each year to the regional creative economy through alliances and programming.

Financial Support and Government Issues

It has needed $25m to get here – money gathered from different supporters, featuring the European governments, the British Museum and the Edo state government.

But currently the local government has withdrawn support from below it – terminating the use of the site on which the facility was constructed.

An government communicator clarified this was because in the original paperwork it had called itself EMOWAA – and it had later removed "the state identifier" from its name.

Unrest and Official Response

This announcement was preceded by demonstrations on Sunday, when activists invaded the complex insisting it be called the Royal Benin Museum.

A rowdy crowd harassed foreign guests at the venue before the launch – requiring them to be quickly removed under security protection.

Head of state Bola Tinubu has also stepped in to attempt to settle the tensions, establishing a high-level committee to address the controversy.

Administrative Challenges

But in what way has this turned into so controversial – and such a reputation problem?

Much of it results from internecine rivalries at a local state level, as it was the former state leader Godwin Obaseki – whose governance finished last year – who was a primary advocate of the museum.

And it seems the government of the new governor, a close ally of the area king, called the royal figure, may seek more of a stake in the project. The protesters on the weekend, for case, were calling for that the facility be placed under the supervision of Oba Ewuare II.

The Benin Bronzes Controversy

This brings into focus the disputed topic of the cultural artifacts, one of the region's most famous historical legacy.

Because although the facility does finally welcome visitors, these objects will be conspicuously absent.

They are brass, elephant tusk and wooden sculptures that once adorned the monarch's home of the Benin Kingdom before British soldiers took them in the late nineteenth century during a colonial invasion.

Nowadays, thousands continue to be spread across institutions in the West -- featuring the UK institution, Berlin's Humboldt Forum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Return Initiatives

Their repatriation has become one of the most disputed conversations in the international art community. Approximately 150 have currently come back – and further are due to follow.

When ideas for the museum in Benin City were first announced in the pre-pandemic era, the movers and shakers on the country's cultural sector anticipated it would become their perfect venue – a modern facility to exhibit them to the global audience.

But the situation became complicated two years ago after the central administration announced that the traditional ruler would be the proper guardian of any returned bronzes – and the monarch's court pushed for a museum under the royal family's direct control, contrary to the desires of the former governor.

Strategic Positioning

This placed Mowaa in a delicate position: asserting a clear stance on restitution while remaining diplomatic on custodianship – and emphasising its larger purpose, which led to|c