Much Ado About Germany And Return of stolen Benin Bronzes.

By Ferdinand Olise

The Benin Bronzes are priceless Artifacts which depict long age history imbedded in cultural heritages, which are cherished, held in high esteem, kept and guarded to illustrate cultural values from generation to generation.

Sadly, the Benin Bronzes were looted in a violent raid more than a century ago.

In 1897, a group of British soldiers invaded Benin Nigeria, and made away with all of the artworks from the palaces in the State.

The Art works from this horrific expedition were shipped all over the world, ending up in Museums all over the Western world, including the Harvard University, Germany.

Harvard University acknowledged this atrocious history. Meanwhile, the Harvard Art Museums’ website reads, “We acknowledge the violence and trauma of that expedition and understand how the presence of this cultural material in western museums is experienced as continued injustice by descendant communities.”

Despite this acknowledgment of harm,
The Benin Bronzes, even with their legacy of colonial violence and theft, remain in the University’s museums.

The Bronzes are beautiful, and historically important metal sculptures, ivory statues, and coral beads. However, the history of the works was marred by the atrocities, and cultural robbery that abused the value of these works being held in Museums like Harvard’s.

A lot of controversies have trailed the carting away, and the return of the Benin bronzes made away from Nigeria by Britain, which are finally coming home.

The Bronzes are part of Nigerian history, which Nigeria has more right to easy access to.
It is however sad that institutions like the Louvre, the British Museums, and the Harvard museums, allow a wide public to enjoy the masterpieces of Nigeria’s achievements, and selfish of those who claim that Western audiences, and tourists deserve access to these Artifacts more than Nigeria where the cultural artifacts were stolen from.

Meanwhile, the German Ambassador to Nigeria, Annet Günther while briefing Journalists in Abuja on the bilateral relation between German, and Nigeria, hinted on why the artifacts were not returned sooner than in 2022 when 20 of the Bronzes where returned to Nigeria by the German government.

“This was a long process, there have been discussions and negotiations between the German, and Nigerian governments.
The artifacts are in German museums, the German government works with the museums to convince them that that is the right thing to do, and it took quite a while.

“Agreement was signed in June 2022 between the two governments, and all the museums were on board and the process was clear, and the agreement was signed, and the ownership of the artifacts was returned to Nigerian government”, she said.

She said that, consequently, the Nigerian museum and monument said they have done the negotiation with the individual Museums about which of the bronzes would be returned, and which of them will stay as loans.

“Thereby the Museums and monuments have chosen 21 that would be returned first.
That was the agreement between the Museums and monuments on how they will proceed. This is between the museums now”, she said.

It would be recalled that the German government had in 2022 offered to assist Nigerian government in constructing a National Museum to house the artifacts

The German Ambassador said the Museum costs the German government five million Euros.

“Part of the discussions of many years was the development of the idea of a museum cooperation project.
That Museum in Benin and funded by the German government with five million Euros, (5,000,000Euros), as part of their cultural museum corporation project.

“The museum is also to include working spaces for Artists to work together, spaces for exchange”, she said.
She also noted that there will also be other activities at the Museum in which both countries will partake, and not only for museum, but also for the Museum Cultural Corporation Project.

In 2022, the German official, Annalena Baerbock, arrived Nigeria and handed over 20 of the stolen Benin Bronzes back to the Nigerian government, stating that “it was wrong to take the bronzes, and that it was wrong to keep them for for 120 years”.

Speaking on the return of the 20 Artifacts to Nigeria, the German Ambassador to Nigeria, said the German Government had decided to return them to Nigeria.

“The German government has long decided that all the Benin bronzes in German possession should be returned to their country of origin; Nigeria.
Therefore, the ownership of more than 1000 Benin Bronzes was transferred to Nigerian government in 2022.

“In December 2022, the German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock visited Nigeria, specifically to personally return 20 of the most valuable and beautiful bronzes.
This visit was one of the many high ranking visists between the two countries”, she said.

However, the handing over of the 20 Benin Bronzes back to Nigeria more than a century after they were looted by the British colonial masters, is a step that can spur other countries to return the stolen artifacts from Africa which are currently in their countries.

The return of the 20 Artifacts to Nigeria by the German government has opened up a new chapter in Germany having a deeper cooperation with Nigeria