Nigeria's stunning new West African Art Museum (Mowaa) has landed in the crosshairs of local power politics during the period it was supposed to – but did not manage – to welcome visitors to the public for the first time.
The Ambitious Project
The 15-acre campus is located in the core of Benin City, capital of the southern state of Edo – and features an archaeological dig and facilities planned by celebrated dual heritage architect Sir David Adjaye, most famous 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 honor both the heritage and the present of artistic expression in the locale famous for the Benin Bronzes, cultural objects stolen from the royal palace by British soldiers in the 1800s.
Preparation and Promise
It is notable – and ahead of the planned opening, Mowaa was active with staff resolved to prove it is a place that can compete with established art institutions in the Western world.
Within conservators meticulously opened cultural items from secure wrapping, inspecting each artifact and taking meticulous documentation before placing them on walls and stands.
Specialists fine-tuned temperature regulation systems. In the materials science laboratory, personnel calibrated equipment intended to preserve ancient artefacts.
Investment and Economic Plans
The initiative has been the brainchild of businessman Phillip Ihenacho – currently Mowaa's managing director.
"I want us to have a substantial financial effect on area populations in the vicinity," he stated to journalists, noting that he wanted to make Benin City "a cultural destination."
Mowaa, a non-profit Nigerian institution, aims at generating more than 30,000 direct and indirect jobs and providing more than $80m each year to the regional creative economy through partnerships and activities.
Investment and Administrative Problems
It has taken $25m to reach this point – funds collected from different donors, such as the French and German governments, the UK museum and the regional authorities.
But now the state authorities has revoked permission from below it – terminating the occupancy of the property on which the museum was built.
An government communicator clarified this was because in the original paperwork it had referred to itself as Edo Museum of West African Art – and it had later dropped "the regional name" from its designation.
Demonstrations and Government Action
This announcement was preceded by demonstrations on the weekend, when people invaded the campus demanding it be designated the Royal Benin Museum.
A disruptive group harassed overseas dignitaries at the museum ahead of the opening – forcing them to be escorted out under security protection.
President Bola Tinubu has even intervened to work to address the tensions, setting up a presidential committee to do some damage control.
Governance Issues
But how has this become so politicised – and such a PR disaster?
Much of it comes down to internal conflicts at a local state level, as it was the ex-administrator Godwin Obaseki – whose governance finished last year – who was a key supporter of the museum.
And it looks like the government of the recently elected official, a strong supporter of the regional monarch, called the royal figure, may seek increased control in the project. The activists on the weekend, for example, were insisting that the institution be placed under the control of the royal leader.
The Benin Bronzes Controversy
This emphasizes the contentious issue of the Benin Bronzes, one of the continent's most famous artistic heritage.
Because even if the institution does finally welcome visitors, these objects will be clearly not present.
They are metal, ivory and wooden sculptures that once decorated the king's residence of the Benin Kingdom before colonial troops stole them in the colonial era during a punitive expedition.
Today, many remain scattered across galleries in Europe and North America -- including the London museum, European center and the New York institution.
Repatriation Campaigns
Their homecoming has become one of the most debated discussions in the international art community. Approximately 150 have presently been returned – and additional are scheduled to be repatriated.
When plans for the institution in the urban center were first announced in 2019, the influential figures on the national arts community hoped it would become their ideal location – a state-of-the-art facility to show them off to the world.
But the situation became complicated some time back after the federal government announced that the traditional ruler would be the rightful owner of returned objects – and the monarch's court pushed for a museum under the royal family's direct control, against the preferences of the former governor.
Strategic Positioning
This left Mowaa in a difficult situation: expressing a clear stance on return while remaining diplomatic on ownership – and emphasising its broader vision, which led to|c
