Items such as the Benin Bronzes [1] were removed from Nigeria in dubious circumstances during the colonial period. In some cases though, work needs to be done to secure the remaining artefacts within the country rather than losing focus on them whilst those outside the country are the issue.
This does not of course take into account that there is no moral argument for their retention by an appointed party without any attempts to enter into dialogue with the rightful owners.
From:
allAfrica [2]
Nigeria: Safe-Guarding Our Treasures
Daily Trust (Abuja)
EDITORIAL
12 August 2008The original Benin bronze-head, the exquisite symbol of the creative ingenuity of the Bini, Nigerian and indeed African people still lies in some British museum where it is being kept, after having been stolen by the British colonialists.
Sporadic efforts at reclaiming it a few years ago became a court case and the British Court ruled that the bronze head may have originated from Nigeria but it is now a priceless world cultural heritage and therefore can be kept by any country, particularly when the country holding it would do a better job at its safe-keeping.
The bronze head is one of many Nigerian cultural artifacts stolen by the British during the colonial period. The pillaging however has not stopped. Whereas in colonial times, many of these artifacts were taken by force, these days the perpetrators are the researchers and tourists who talk Nigerians, particularly workers in museums, into parting with these artifacts for pittance.The result is that the nation’s museums have allegedly been swept clean of these important cultural possessions. The ministry of culture and tourism, apparently has defined its brief only as the promotion of tourism, it therefore hardly undertakes any audit of these artifacts; but where it remembers to do so, the outcome is left to gather dust, forgotten in some disused cupboard. Hence under our noses our priced cultural possessions are being carted away, albeit in a surreptitious manner. Thankfully, a group named Benin National Congress {BNC} has taken up the challenge.
Recently it instituted a case at the Federal High Court sitting in Benin City, against the Federal Government to conclude and publish its investigations on some missing national art works. The group joined as respondents the Attorney General of the Federation, the minister of Tourism and Culture, National Commission for Museums and Monuments and others. It is seeking an order to compel the release and publication of an “investigation into the allegation of theft, looting or disappearance of priceless Bini artifacts in the Benin Museum.” While we await the ruling of the court, similar investigations should be carried out into other museums across the country to ascertain what is remaining of the art works in their custody. The Benin museum’s case illustrates the sad circumstances that has befallen museums in the country where those employed to safe guard the artifacts are sometimes the same people that are stealing and selling them. A similar case of disappearance of archival materials from the ministry of information comprising of important historical photographs, which was retrieved from a retired staff of the ministry, is a case in point.
Before its retrieval, the ministry of information paid this former staff for documents he illegally took, whenever it needed to mount these pictures during official occasions. All this shows that due to lack of proper supervision and the needed, vigilance important national treasures are taken away and sold, invariably cheaply thereby depriving the nation of its historical and cultural assets.
Two challenges stare us in the face in the attempt to halt this pillage. First, the Federal Government urgently should constitute a committee or panel to undertake an immediate audit of what remains of the artifacts in order to know the scale of what have been lost. After this, it should find a way of re-possessing the lost items through whatever means, but more importantly through the threat of legal action, as being in possession of a stolen item makes one liable. Secondly, an urgent re- organization of bodies and structures charged with managing the nation’s arts and artifacts need to be undertaken to weed out thieves masquerading as workers. All said, nothing should stop any attempt at protecting what constitutes an important aspect of our cultural and historical heritage.