One of the countries he points to is Ghana. Ghana was at the forefront of African demands for restitution and reparation since its Independence in 1957.
However, the debate has weakened in the last decades. Like other countries, Ghana has set up a restitution and reparation committee.
With it, the discussion might at least revive the demands for the return of the Asante gold treasures stolen by the British in 1874 (now in the British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, and Wallace Collection).
In 1974, on the centenary of the looting, the Asante King Otumfuo Nana Opoku Ware II asked for the items taken to be returned, an act that was met with ridicule when it was presented to British Parliament.
The Ghana Government supported these demands initiated by the late Asantehene Nana Otumfou Opoku Ware II that were stated in a government publication, The Call for the Return of the Asante Regalia,1974.
The present Asantehene, Nana Osei Tutu II, endorsed his illustrious predecessor’s demands.
Comment Nana Oforiatta Ayim:
Western voices are still the most dominant in the discourse around restitution, whether they are directors, academics or curators.
The voices of those from whom the objects were taken are rarely heard. When they are present, it is as a background chorus to that of their western colleagues.
As a result, the restitution efforts that should be the foundation for undoing harmful hierarchies, end up enforcing the colonial dynamics they are purporting to undo.
