Recently, the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Cambridge UK loaned 39 objects, ranging from regalia to pottery and taken in the colonial days, to Uganda.
The loan is renewable and allows for the possibility of a permanent loan and perhaps local ownership. Opoku criticizes loans not only of their because of their short duration but also because they are about collections that have been claimed since many years.
The essence is that western museums tries to remain in control of this sort of collections.
An example is the museum in Cambridge and its counterpart in Oxford’s agreement with Nigeria to return Benin objects, while they are delaying the returns because they take issue with Nigeria’s decision to make the Oba of Benin the owner and guardian of these objects.
