🔗 Share this article

Nigeria's impressive new Museum of West African Art (Mowaa) has found itself in the middle of area political conflicts during the week it was supposed to – but was unable – to open its doors to the general public for the first time.

The Ambitious Project

The six-hectare campus stands in the heart of the Edo state capital, main city of the southern area of Edo – and contains an excavation site and buildings planned by renowned Ghanaian-British architect Sir David Adjaye, best known for the National Museum of African American History and Culture that opened in Washington in 2016.

It has been five years in the creation – and is planned to honor both the heritage and the present of cultural innovation in the region renowned for the Benin Bronzes, artworks taken from the city's royal palace by UK forces in the 1800s.

Setup and Prospects

It is notable – and before the anticipated opening, Mowaa was energetic with staff determined to prove it is a venue that can compete with renowned museums and galleries in the Western world.

Internally art restorers precisely unwrapped cultural items from safety materials, examining each piece and taking meticulous records before placing them on exhibition areas and bases.

Experts calibrated climate control systems. In the materials science laboratory, staff members adjusted devices meant to maintain centuries-old artefacts.

Funding and Economic Goals

The initiative has been the brainchild of investor Phillip Ihenacho – currently Mowaa's executive director.

"I aim us to have a significant economic impact on communities in the vicinity," he explained to media outlets, noting that he aspired to make this urban center "a cultural destination."

Mowaa, a charitable national foundation, aims at creating more than 30,000 direct and indirect jobs and contributing over $80m per year to the regional creative economy through collaborations and events.

Funding Sources and Political Challenges

It has taken $25m to achieve this stage – capital gathered from different donors, such as the international partners, the British Museum and the Edo state government.

But now the regional administration has pulled the rug from below it – revoking the use of the site on which the facility was constructed.

An official representative clarified this was because in the initial documents it had referred to itself as EMOWAA – and it had subsequently removed "the state identifier" from its designation.

Demonstrations and Government Action

This statement came after protests on Sunday, when activists entered the campus demanding it be designated the Museum of the Benin Kingdom.

A boisterous crowd confronted overseas dignitaries at the facility before the opening – compelling them to be hurried away under official guard.

National leader Bola Tinubu has even intervened to try and resolve the dispute, establishing a high-level committee to manage the situation.

Governance Issues

But in what way has this become so divisive – and such a PR disaster?

A great deal of it results from internal conflicts at a regional government level, as it was Edo's previous governor Godwin Obaseki – whose administration ended the previous year – who was a primary advocate of the museum.

And it appears the government of the new governor, a strong supporter of the regional monarch, referred to as the traditional leader, may desire more of a stake in the initiative. The protesters on the weekend, for case, were insisting that the institution be put under the supervision of Oba Ewuare II.

The Cultural Artifacts Debate

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

Because though the institution does eventually open, these objects will be clearly not present.

They are metal, elephant tusk and wooden carvings that once decorated the royal palace of the Benin Kingdom before British soldiers looted them in 1897 during a punitive expedition.

Currently, many stay distributed across museums in Europe and North America -- such as the British Museum, Berlin's Humboldt Forum and the New York institution.

Repatriation Campaigns

Their repatriation has become one of the most debated debates in the global art world. About 150 have now come back – and more are expected to return.

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

But the waters were muddied some time back after the central administration announced that the traditional ruler would be the proper guardian of repatriated artifacts – and the palace pushed for a museum under the royal family's direct control, against the desires of the former governor.

Political Navigation

This placed Mowaa in a delicate position: maintaining a specific viewpoint on repatriation while remaining diplomatic on custodianship – and emphasising its larger purpose, which led to|c