…Obaseki, Oba Ewuare II, others excited
It was cheering news last week as Edo State/Benin Kingdom received two of the artefacts looted in 1897 during the British invasion. The infamous Benin Expedition was regarded as a penal expedition by British forces.
The bronze artefact, Cockerel known as Okukor, was returned to the kingdom by Jesus College of the Cambridge University, England.
A decision for it to be returned was said to have been made in 2019 after students campaigned, following which the statue was removed from display at the college in 2016.
The bronze work was recently handed over to the National Commission for Museum and Monument led by Professor Abba Issa Tijani and delegates from Edo State. The ceremony announced the beginning of the process to bring back the over 3000 artefacts taken away over 124 years ago from the Benin Kingdom.
The Palace of the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, has hailed the development. It’s noteworthy that efforts in the past led to the return of two other artefacts to Oba Erediauwa in 2014 by the grandchildren of British soldiers whose parents took part in the looting of 1897.
The Oba of Benin noted last week Wednesday that Cambridge University in the United Kingdom which his father, Oba Erediauwa, attended, would soon return some artefacts from Benin in its custody. When the news of the release of the Okukor broke, it was received with joy.
Master of Jesus College, Sonita Alleyne, said, “This is a massively significant and momentous occasion. Returning the artefact was the right thing to do as the bronze piece is of cultural and spiritual significance to the people of Nigeria.”
In a similar manner, 124 years after thousands of Benin bronze artefacts were looted from the Oba of Benin’s Court in the ancient Benin Kingdom, the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom, handed over one of them to Benin. The sculpture, depicting the head of an Oba, is one of the several in many places across the world and only the second to make a return to Nigeria in over 100 years. The University of Aberdeen purchased the bronze piece at an auction in 1957. Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen, Professor George Boyne, said that returning the bronze work was only the right and just thing to do.
He said, “Over the last 40 years, the Benin Bronzes have become important symbols of injustice. It would not have been right to have retained an item of such great cultural significance that was acquired in such reprehensible circumstances.’’ Meanwhile, the Oba of Benin has expressed excitement over the return of the bronze.
He thanked the student body of Cambridge for bringing to light the historical significance of the revered piece of the royal court of Benin. The Oba of Benin added, “We are indeed very pleased and commend Jesus College for taking this lead in making restitution for the plunder that occurred in Benin in 1897. We truly hope that others will expedite the return of our artworks which in many cases are of religious importance to us.’’
Speaking about the development, Crusoe Osagie, the Special Adviser on Media Project to Governor Godwin Obaseki, lauded the return of the artefacts, noting that the efforts to bring back the items had started yielding results.
He said, “It is heart-warming to note that the items are being returned. Once this government got into office in 2016, Governor Godwin Obaseki working with the international institutions and the traditional institutions in the state made it a point of duty to ensure that we begin to take back our heritage that was taken from us by different European countries, especially the British over 100 years ago. Several organisations were involved and a lot of effort was put into it. The governor did not relent. He continued to partner with several power blocks. And we can say that evidently these efforts have yielded result and the artefacts are being returned to Benin where they were taken from many years ago.’’
Osagie noted that everyone worked hard towards the return of the artefacts, stating that differences were not an obstacle but helped in realising the dream
He said, “When something as important as this is happening, everyone who means well will want to play a role and in every human endeavour when everyone is trying to play a role concerning a particular issue, there will always be some misunderstanding. But for us in government, all that does not bother us as the prime objective is to get the artefacts back. Whatever misunderstanding that happened to arrive at this outcome has been settled to a large extent so there are no issues any longer. Every grey area is ironed out. We are in agreement on the return of the artefacts, all other details if remaining, will be fine-tuned.
“The fact is that the aim is to get these artefacts returned to us and everyone understands that. There is no real problem among the interested parties such as the Edo State Government, the traditional institution and the Federal Government. We are all united on getting the artefacts back. So where they will be housed are details that would be ironed out.”
While expressing government’s joy over the return of the artefacts, he stated that the government would not drum roll in line with its policy of prudence.
“If you know the government well, it is prudent with resources. It would have loved to drum roll but that would put pressure on scarce resources. But we will make an announcement to let the people know that efforts have started yielding results since the government came as well as efforts made before then,’’ he stated.
Also, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, University of Benin, Prof. Austin Moye, said the return of the artefacts was commendable but insignificant.
Moye said, “Well, this may be the first step towards restitution which is a battle that has been on for a long time, which is, asking the British government to restitute some of the evil they did in the past. Returning the Bronze cockerel is commendable but very insignificant. We may not have the correct figure of artefacts looted from the Benin Kingdom but from oral estimation, they run into thousands so that is why it is commendable but insignificant. Perhaps we can take it as a first step towards the eventual return of those things that were stolen from the kingdom.
“It is good that the artefacts are being returned to Benin. They were stolen from the Benin Kingdom and must domicile there. They are relics of the tradition of Benin people. Though it may also represent Nigeria in a way, it is typical of Benin and it was documented that they were stolen from Benin. They were also made by the people of Benin. So returning them to the palace is the appropriate thing to do. What we can do now is to encourage the palace to build a proper sanctuary for such things where researchers and tourists can come to look at them.
“Also, they can be used to generate funds and that is why they need to build a sanctuary that will be fascinating. The palace should engage experts that can sell the potential of the site to the world and also engage historians to do research so that it will not just serve as a museum but a research centre for the customs and tradition of the people.
“Part of the British colonial prejudice is that Africans had no culture, science and had nothing. But we now know that with such things done over many decades ago, it couldn’t have been anything other than science. So it also shows that the prejudice of the colonial era was to give a dog a bad name to hang him.
On his part, a culture expert, Aiko Obobaifo, said the return of the artefacts was significant in the expectation that other stolen artefacts would be returned.
He said, “The return is significant in our expectation that other stolen artefacts would eventually be returned. Most of the works expected to be returned are in other parts of Europe whereas the British are employing delay tactics. I think we don’t have a choice than to use diplomacy to get the artefacts from them. “They have a stronghold over these things so we need diplomacy to get them. At the end of the day, I think we shall triumph and other artefacts will be returned to their rightful place. The people championing the cause have to demonstrate courage.’ Punch’
