A Public Letter.

The statement below is quoted in current news media as coming directly from Mr. Abba Isa Tijani of National Commission for Museums and Monuments:  

“One of the NCMM's concerns is that President Buhari has, inadvertently, undermined the rationale for any national collection. If the Oba's ownership of the Bronzes moves beyond the theoretical to the practical, does this not mean that every Nigerian traditional ruler or community is in charge of the treasures made by their ancestors?” 05/10/23

The above statement has to be the most illiterate conclusion from Mr. Tijani. Mr Tijani appears to be deliberately playing the fool for reasons best known to himself. 

The fact is the Benin situation is unique history of direct, open warfare looting by the British. The British did not go with their best weapons by declaration of ‘expedition’ to loot the traditional works of any other place in Nigeria. Rather, unlike Benin, most of the works from other groups across Nigeria were taken from West Africa after the foreign ‘British colonial rule’ had established itself, including as well from sales or such agreement, however paltry and dishonest, between local folks and the various ‘whites’ seeking their arts and crafts.

Whereas with the sacred works of the Edo-speaking people, ie Benin Kingdom, the looted objects were and are not ‘arts and crafts’ and never intended for sale. But more to the point, the UK monarch—govt entered with its best force the city of Benin (Ugbini) which was the administrative centre of the sovereign nation of Benin Kingdom. With their best weapons of the day, the British forces began burning and killing as they headed straight to the palace, into private chambers of members of the royal family, into the private shrines within these chambers where the sacred objects had for centuries stood. The British stole what they couldn’t destroy. They did not find the gold statues as they had long imagined was within the palace. But what they found they looted.

What they found and looted were not only sacred objects but as well documents — essentially documents, in the form of sculpted bronzes and ivory and wall reliefs, of history and myths and lineage present and ancient, that the Edo Kingdom for centuries created to aid the telling of its history.  

It is not for nothing that the FGN’s recent gazette very clearly describes the #BeninBronzes in question as “looted”.  

Shame on Mr. Tijani for trying to create a self-serving, questionable ‘confusion’ when in fact he should be providing knowledge and clarity.

Architecture of Unforgetting