In March 2002, the Benin Royal Palace and Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Information and Culture formally requested that “all the cultural property belonging to the Oba of Benin illegally taken away by the British in 1897 should be returned to the rightful owner, the Oba of Benin”.
Although UNESCO has declared that “no culture is a hermetically sealed entity”, it assists states in repatriating cultural property because “the men and women of these countries have the right to recover these cultural assets which are part of their being.”
However, notwithstanding recognising the illegality of past actions, many Western nations still believe they can preserve these artefacts better than their rightful owners, justifying their continued retention in Western museums.
The current piecemeal approach raises critical questions about the sincerity and commitment of Western institutions to addressing historical injustices fully. If these artefacts are widely acknowledged to belong to Nigeria, why are returns happening in bits and pieces?
