Oba Ewuare II Floors Governor Obaseki
OpenLife Nigeria reports that Oba of Benin, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo Ewuare II, may have finally floored Governor Godwin Obaseki in the Benin Artefacts war that has persisted over a reasonable length of time given a presidential disposition to where the returned stolen cast plaques should be warehoused.
While the eventual return of the stolen artefacts elicited joy in Benin including the governor’s and Oba’s enclaves, who should take custody of the returned metal carvings became the bone of contention between the Palace and Government House.
Beginning of Controversy
OpenLife Nigeria had reported that there were controversies on the return of artifacts stolen from Benin Kingdom by British administrators who invaded Nigeria centuries ago.
For many years, successive Obas of Benin made frantic efforts to get the stolen treasures returned to the ancient city.
The tempo got accentuated during the reign of Oba Erediauwa, 39th Benin monarch who ruled for 37 years from 1979 to 2016.
Oba Erediauwa, father of current Oba Ewuare II, deployed both local and international persuasions to get the metal, ivory sculptures and carvings looted by British soldiers from the palace of the Oba of Benin in 1897 returned.
About same time, he advised the son, Oba Ewuare II, who was then serving as Nigerian Ambassador to many African and European countries, to key into the struggle as it remains the Benin Kingdom’s “Sacred mandate.”
To achieve this, Oba Ewuare II, on ascending the throne, decided to elevate the diplomatic persuasions of the return of the stolen historical signage through different channels.
While the process was on, given the acceptance by France, Germany and other countries to return many (about 580 Benin artworks scattered in Berlin museums), serious contention emerged at the home front between Oba Ewuare II and Governor Obaseki regarding the issue of ownership and where the returned artifacts will be domiciled.
To take custody, Obaseki created Edo Museum of West African Art (EMOWAA) in the state capital while Oba Ewuare II contended that only a museum domiciled within the palace from where the artefacts were looted, will serve the end of justice.
But that contrasted the thinking of governor Obaseki who pointed out that a Benin Dialogue Group- made up of curators of major European museums and representative of the palace of the Oba of Benin- had been meeting for decades without much success until he became governor.
Obaseki explained that he discovered that three main problems were inhibiting progress in the effort to return the artefacts.
The first, according to the governor, has to do with the lack of advanced museum storage and display infrastructure in Benin.
“Having had these works in their custody for almost a century, the international museums argued that artifacts of this importance need to be stored in an environment that possess adequate climatic controls regulating humidity, temperature and other conditions, as well as advanced security systems that operate on a 24/7 basis.
To preserve these artifacts, they argue that this infrastructure does not exist in Nigeria today, and are expensive to build and maintain,” Obaseki stated, stressing that the need to respond to this challenge led him to launch the Edo Museum of West African Art (EMOWAA) project which he said, “will provide a comprehensive, world-class set of infrastructure for the storage, research and display of objects not just for Benin artifacts, but for artifacts and art from all West Africa spanning the influence of Great Benin empire.”
But Oba Ewuare II clarified the situation in a letter dated 10th March 2021 signed by Mr Dennis I. Osaretin, executive assistant to the Palace on legal & corporate affairs and directed to all foreign missions and embassies in Nigeria, the European Union Commission Office, the British Museum, Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Information and Culture and the Director General, National Museum Commission.
In the letter, Oba Ewuare II claimed that he is “from time immemorial, the sole authority and custodian of Benin traditional law and custom” and for that reason “all Edo traditional and cultural rites, citizen interests and proprietary rights over collective intellectual property as well as landed, movable, non-moveable property within the premises of the Palace of the Oba” are vested in him.
Same with “dealings in any artifact of historical, ancestral, spiritual, cultural or native religious rites’ of significance and value, pertaining to the great Benin kingdom and her heritage,” also vested solely in him or persons or groups so delegated by him.
Then the kernel of the message: “Particular mention is made here of extensive property seized or stolen from the palace, during the reign of Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi, Oba of Benin Kingdom, (1888 to 1897) the great, great grandfather and direct bloodline ancestor of Oba Ewuare II, in the wake of an invasion by British Forces in the year 1897, during which the Oba’s palace was burglarized, vandalized and items looted by aliens; a calamity that seriously impacted the over 1,000 years old Benin civilization in a destructive manner.
By that expedition, the history, cultural identity and dignity of Benin people were injured, when priceless ancient heirlooms, the expressions of their history, heritage, and values, were forcefully appropriated and exported by aliens, only to be found in museums around the world.”
The monarch then put it on record that neither the Benin royal family nor the board of trustees of the ‘Oba Ewuare II Foundation’, at any point in time, whether verbally or in written form, waived their “proprietary rights of custody of ancient Benin Palace and religious cult artifacts, nor appointed agents or intermediaries to act for, or on behalf of the Palace for this purpose or on any such other business.”
Following what analyst described as a smart move by governor Obaseki to outsmart the Palace in the artefact custody war, the federal government in July 2021, through former Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, added a new twist to the controversy by claiming to take possession of the artworks.
Lai Mohammed stated that the tenets of international law, as well as the UNESCO Convention, confers on the federal government the sole authority to the artefacts.
“Let me state clearly here that, in line with international best practice and the operative conventions and laws, the return of the artefacts is being negotiated bilaterally between the national governments of Nigeria and Germany,” said Mr Mohammed.
“Nigeria is the entity recognised by international law as the authority in control of antiquities originating from Nigeria. The relevant international Conventions treat heritage properties as properties belonging to the nation and not to individuals or groups. ”
That declaration appeared to be the seal on where the artefacts would be warehoused.
In July 2022, governor Obaseki, while addressing participants at a stakeholders’ engagement unveiled the Phase one of EMOWAA in Benin City, a development that spoke volume of his determination to ensure that the Oba does not warehouse the looted treasures. He however stated that there was no dispute between the state government and the Palace on the issue of artefacts.
Villa Intervention
But just yesterday, July 13, Oba Ewuare II personally took the matter to the Presidential Villa in Abuja where he secured what is obviously a final statement on the controversy from President Bola Tinubu.
During the meeting, Tinubu pledged to protect Benin artefacts which were returned to the country from different parts of the world as a way of archiving the history of the people. He further assured that his administration would support the Benin Royal Council in its bid to establish a museum that will house the artefacts.
The President congratulated the Benin monarch for the retrieval of the stolen artefacts, commending his effort in ensuring that a befitting museum is built to archive the rich history and traditions of the Benin Kingdom.
President Tinubu in a statement by Dele Alake, his Special Adviser on Special Duties, communications and Strategy, was quoted as saying, “We are glad to have them back, and we are glad you are happy. They are in protective custody. It is a matter of history, over a hundred years. We will work on the museum.”
How The items Were Looted
In the late 19th century, what is now the Edo state capital had a strong kingdom that survived the British expedition and the 1885 Berlin Conference where Africa was partitioned and shared among European powers at the time.
In the last decade of that century, James Phillips, the British Consul General for Niger Coast Protectorate (the present-day South-South zone) found the Benin Kingdom too independent and sought to neutralise the powers of the Oba on the pretext that the palace was engaged in human sacrifices. He therefore requested permission from London to invade the city, depose the Oba and replace him with a Native Council.
“I have reason to hope that sufficient ivory would be found in the King’s house to pay the expenses incurred in removing the King from his stool,” Phillips wrote in his December 1896 letter to Lord Salisbury, then Foreign Secretary.
Without waiting for a response from London, Phillips sent a request to the Benin palace to expect a delegation from him. Despite the plea from the Oba of Benin that he could not at the period receive visitors, Philips nonetheless sent a military contingent on a supposedly peaceful mission.
But knowing the history of the British, particularly in their dealings with King Jaja of Opobo, the suspicious chiefs decided to confront the British troops. In the aftermath, only two members of the contingent survived to tell the tale of what became known in British history as the ‘Benin Massacre.’
In retaliation, Rear-Admiral Harry Rawson, a Naval commander was appointed to lead as many as 1,200 Royal Marines for the 9th February 1897 invasion of Benin, capture the Oba and destroy the city, in an operation codenamed ‘The Benin Punitive Expedition.’
It took just weeks after that invasion for the looted Benin artefacts to find their way to museums and private collections around the world; either as gifts or through purchases.
The first public auction reportedly took place in May 1897, following advertisement in the ‘Times’ newspaper for the sale of “several carved tusks and other trophies from Benin city collected by naval officers in the recent expedition.”
About Author
