Nigeria Gets Back Artifacts That Was Stolen in the 1897

How Germany Leads the Reparation Process to Nigeria Given Back What Rightfully Belongs to Nigeria

This news is music to many ears and the benefactors in Africa must be celebrating with the delight from the hills to the heavens. Many are aware and too many are unaware that Africa has been one of the most raped continent of its riches by the British, Germans, and other ethnicities.

Today, learning that the artworks maybe returned to its rightful owner or the heir of the rightful owners or the Country’s museum is the best way to right a wrong. The likelihood of all artifacts being returned is not realistic just hopeful. However, some or most returns is better than none returned.

Thus far six sculptures and possible 19 were stolen during the 1897 massacre by British colonists in Africa, that eventually landed in two Los Angeles art museum collections for the last half-century. Did the curators know the truth before now?

The Royal Palace in Benin city, located in modern day southern Nigeria, where thousands of objects were looted from is due its day of reckoning with what had been stolen by the British invasion along with their confiscating Niger’s natural resources, rubber and palm oil, etc. How much more was taken? Willing to bet anything of value found its way into the hands of the Nigerian’s invaders.

Due to demands for repatriation from major museums in London and Berlin, has thrust attention toward capitals of countries directly engaged in African colonization toward the end of the 19th century, to return what was stolen. Thanks to an awakening of the heart, Germany’s Foreign Ministry initiated making a wrong right by negotiating the return to Nigeria what is rightfully theirs. Notably, there are 250 Benin sculptures located in state museums. There are 161 worldwide museums and an unknown number of private collections contain sacred plaques, carved ivory tusks, royal body ornaments and other collectible objects. Particularly, over 124 years, the Benin collection has been scattered to every corner of the world with its value soaring into the millions.

Nigeria’s artwork has been scattered worldwide and to America’s 38 museums, most notable are New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, the Field Museum in Chicago and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles possesses a modest number of artifacts, UCLA’s Fowler Museum holds the largest number of them, to name a few. Small or large consumptions of these stolen artifacts is not the issue but the issue is returning all to its rightful owners.

These many artifacts have probably changed ownership over the many decades worldwide. The process of collecting and returning probably will take longer than when they were possessed illegally. The best part about this returning to Nigeria equation, is that many worldwide museums are actively in negotiations retuning the stolen artifacts, aka process of repatriation of the stolen art.

Thrilled to see words and action joining with Nigeria, a Legacy Restoration Trust, to received these artifacts back to Benin City in Edo State. While this process has been slow in years past, it is currently taking on more steam to right the wrong. In 2017, French President Emmanuel Macron recognized European restitution of the stolen artifacts as the moral thing to do. This was followed by the British Museums to release their long standing consumption of these artifacts, Benin art.

In conclusion, Nigeria has been stripped by so many invasions of their natural resources and artifacts for decades, but the day of awakening has started to right a wrong and this is a huge step for humanity, globally, in doing the moral thing.

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