Nigeria's impressive new Art Museum of West Africa (Mowaa) has ended up in the center of regional political struggles during the period it was expected to – but was unable – to welcome visitors to the general public for the very first time.
The Ambitious Project
The six-hectare campus sits in the core of Benin's urban center, main city of the southern state of Edo – and includes an excavation site and facilities designed by renowned dual heritage architect Sir David Adjaye, best known for the Washington African American Museum that began operations in the US capital in 2016.
It has been 60 months in the creation – and is envisioned to showcase both the history and the present of cultural innovation in the region famous for the Benin Bronzes, cultural objects stolen from the city's royal palace by British troops in the nineteenth century.
Readiness and Potential
It is notable – and before the scheduled opening, Mowaa was buzzing with workers determined to prove it is a venue that can compete with well-known cultural centers in the Western world.
Inside conservators precisely revealed artworks from secure wrapping, checking each piece and taking detailed records before placing them on exhibition areas and plinths.
Specialists calibrated environmental controls. In the research lab, personnel calibrated instruments designed to maintain historical objects.
Investment and Economic Plans
The venture has been the idea of entrepreneur Phillip Ihenacho – presently Mowaa's chief executive.
"I want us to have a significant financial effect on local residents in the vicinity," he stated to journalists, adding that he hoped to make the city "a tourism center."
Mowaa, a non-profit national foundation, sees itself creating more than 30,000 employment opportunities and providing more than $80m per year to the regional creative economy through collaborations and programming.
Investment and Administrative Problems
It has needed $25m to reach this point – funds raised from different donors, including the European governments, the UK museum and the local administration.
But at present the regional administration has revoked permission from under it – canceling the occupancy of the land on which the facility was constructed.
An government communicator explained this was because in the original paperwork it had called itself the Edo-named institution – and it had since eliminated "Edo" from its name.
Protests and Political Intervention
This announcement was preceded by protests on recently, when people stormed the campus calling for it be called the Museum of the Benin Kingdom.
A boisterous crowd harassed overseas dignitaries at the venue before the inauguration – requiring them to be hurried away under police escort.
National leader Bola Tinubu has also become involved to try and resolve the tensions, establishing a special task force to address the controversy.
Administrative Challenges
But why has this turned into so politicised – and such a PR disaster?
Much of it results from internal conflicts at a area administrative level, as it was Edo's previous governor Godwin Obaseki – whose term in office finished recently – who was a primary advocate of the initiative.
And it looks like the administration of the new governor, a strong supporter of the local traditional ruler, known as the traditional leader, may want greater involvement in the venture. The protesters on that day, for case, were calling for that the museum be put under the supervision of Oba Ewuare II.
The Historical Objects Discussion
This brings into focus the controversial matter of the historical artworks, one of the continent's most renowned historical legacy.
Because although the facility does ultimately begin operations, these objects will be noticeably missing.
They are metal, ivory and wooden sculptures that once adorned the king's residence of the historical empire before colonial troops looted them in the colonial era during a punitive expedition.
Today, thousands stay scattered across institutions in Western nations -- including the London museum, German museum and the American museum.
Repatriation Campaigns
Their repatriation has become one of the most debated conversations in the global art world. Roughly 150 have currently made their way home – and further are expected to return.
When proposals for the facility in the city were first announced in the pre-pandemic era, the movers and shakers on Nigeria's art scene expected it would become their perfect venue – a state-of-the-art complex to exhibit them to the international community.
But the situation became complicated some time back after the central administration declared that the royal leader would be the legal custodian of any returned bronzes – and the palace pushed for a museum under the monarch's supervision, opposing the wishes of the former governor.
Political Navigation
This left Mowaa in a difficult situation: maintaining a definite position on repatriation while staying tactful on ownership – and emphasising its broader vision, which led to|c
