Benin museum comes alive with repatriated artefacts

The National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), Benin City, located at Ring Road and Oba Ovonramwen Square, officially opened in 1973.

Weekend Trust recalls that the museum began as a small antiquities collection hub within the palace of the king during the reign of Oba Akenzua II. It was solely for the preservation of sacred relics and artefacts that survived or were discovered during royal construction.

Back then, it functioned as the chief custodian of the deep cultural heritage of the Bini Kingdom, ancient brass-casting traditions and royal artefacts of the historical Benin Empire.

The museum also features foundational relics of the Benin Empire, including the cast of a historic gunpowder keg and weapons used during the Ida war, and representations of the iconic Queen Idia.

Crafted local items, sculptures from Benin City and its neighbouring ancient communities are on display at the museum

It also holds important archaeological and historical treasures representing diverse cultures across all the regions of Nigeria.

The acting curator, Benin NCMM, Gertrude Wasa, described the museum as something special – conveying history and traditions that have spiritual relevance to the people and their monarchy.

The two-storey museum has three galleries where items and objects are displayed for visitors and tourists.

The ground floor gallery houses the repatriated artefacts returned from Germany, Netherland and the United States of America.

The first floor hosts a gallery of S.O. Alonge, the palace photographer’s exhibition photos of past monarchs and their queens, as well as the royal household. The second floor gallery, christened Unity in Diversity, houses different objects and statues from different states of the country.

The acting curator said the museum resonated with Benin Kingdom, which has direct social and cultural connections with the objects that abound in the facility.

The objects exhibited in the gallery are for people to connect to and deepen their relevance.

Gertrude Wasa said Benin arts all over the world were priceless, and the attraction for the general public and visitors to the museum was overwhelming.

According to her, the museum is open to tourists and visitors between 8am and 4 pm daily. She noted that the peak of visitation mostly happens during festive periods and when schools are in session.

“The museum is a recreational, research and educational centre. For that, we have interactive programmes for schools that come in to see the objects. Our education officers are always on ground to explain the relevance of the artefacts,” she said.

She explained that to ensure that every visitor explores the environment and has a feel of it, the museum has a kitchen that prepares and serves local and international dishes.

“We also have a sports centre to ensure that the recreational purpose is achieved,” she added.

The acting curator also noted that the museum attracted tourists from all over the world as it now houses repatriated artefacts from Germany, Netherland and the United States of America.

“These artefacts have pulled in lots of crowds to the museum within and outside the country,” she noted, saying that with the assistance of the NCMM and the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture and Tourism, the objects are well taken care of and in good condition.

Challenges

Wasa noted that one of the major challenges in the museum was accessibility due to its location.

“It is located inside a ring road, so it is always difficult crossing to the museum due to the influx of vehicles.

“We need government’s collaboration and cooperation to ensure that people coming to the museum can access the building using an overhead bridge to avoid the danger faced by visitors in crossing the road to the museum,” she said.

She also identified inadequate funding as a challenge, noting, however, that the federal government has been strengthening the museum with funding.

Weekend Trust notes that the artefacts were looted from the palace of the Oba of Benin during the British invasion of the Benin Kingdom in 1897. During the invasion, Benin City was burnt, thousands of sacred artefacts looted and Oba Ovonramwen sent on exile. One historical account had it that during the invasion, between 3,000 and 5,000 priceless brass, ivory and wood artefacts were looted by the British forces led by Admiral (Sir) Harry Rawson.

The artefacts, also known as Benin bronzes, were looted from the Benin palace and shrines and shipped to European countries.

Speaking on the returned artefacts, Chief Omo-Osagie Utetenegiabi, the Obadolagboyi of Benin Kingdom, said the artefacts were not just artwork but had spiritual relevance and served as a medium of preserving Benin history.

“It is our way of keeping history,” he said, adding that the artefacts have been a medium of reminding generations to come of what happened before now.

“They are spiritual and have always served as a medium of intercession between the living and the dead”, he added.

How artefacts were looted

Omo-Osagie alleged that the artefacts were looted after the British tried to visit Oba Ovonramwen in their normal oppressive manner, but were told that they could not see him at that time because he was in the middle of a particular festival called Ague. The festival normally takes place in January after the celebration of Igué.

“So they invaded the palace, desecrated the shrines and looted the artefacts,” he noted.

He alleged that the invasion was planned because a letter was subsequently written by one of the explorers to the king of England, stating that there were so many things to take away.

Omo-Osagie said the fight for the return of the looted artefacts started during the reign of Oba Akenzua II, on September 15, 1945, when he received the beaded crown worn during a coronation from Britain.

According to him, because the artefacts are spiritual materials, they could not stay where they were not meant to be. He added they would keep coming back till the very last one.

“Oba Erediawa also received a few of the items, such as an ivory gong,” he also said.

He commended Oba Ewuare II for fighting hard for the return of the artefacts, which he said were very dear to the Bini people.

A former chief press secretary to a Benin monarch, Dr Desmond Agbama, also noted that the artefacts were very dear to Edo people, especially Bini, because they are their symbols and tradition, more so that various traditional rulers are identified through them.

According to Agbama, to the average Benin man, “The artefacts speak volumes of their cultural tradition and identity. They also remind them of their past.”

Agbama, who is the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Communication and Strategy said, “The Bini appreciate the return of the artefacts because it reminds us of our glorious day and heroes past, coupled with the fact that spirituality is also attached to those objects,” adding that seeing them returned would give them the motivation and encouragement to do more artworks.

“I will appeal to European countries to return the original artefacts to the palace because we heard that they had gone to duplicate the items and keep the original ones they stole from the Benin palace during the invasion.”

Tourists’ views

Mr John Ezekiel described the Benin Museum as a place to connect with history and culture.

“I am here to see the artefacts that were repatriated. We only read about the loot during the British invasion of the palace, and sometimes see them in newspapers.

“When I heard that some of the artefacts had been returned, I decided to visit the place to feed my eyes and see them for myself,” Ezekiel said.

He told Weekend Trust that he was not disappointed because the museum also contains historical items and relics of Benin and other cultures.

He added, “It is a place for fun. You see different costumes and ornaments of different tribes in the country. It is really a place of culture. Seeing the returned artefacts also satisfies my curiosity.”

Mr Peter Omoze also said, “I visit the museum not only to see the returned artefacts and other objects that abound in it but also because of its restaurant so as to quench my hunger for taste for local and international dishes. It is always fun going there for sightseeing.”

Speaking in the same vein, Christopher Umogbai, a retired Director of Research, Planning and Publication, National Museum for Monument, said the museum was very important to Benin people, not just because it houses the artifacts but it represents their people, culture, art and tradition.

“These objects on display at the gallery communicate how important our culture and tradition are to the people,” he noted.

Umogbai, a former curator of the Benin Museum, said a visit to the facility would remind one of the past, the art and tradition of the Benin Kingdom, as well as other cultures.

Noting that the museum also helps to fill the historical vacuum created by the removal of the artefacts, especially for the young ones, he said, “The museum is there for people to come and see what we looked like in those days, how the Oba of Benin not only controlled the government but the people before the invasion of the kingdom.

“When school children visit the museum, they are exposed to those things that are only told in history, which is no longer taught in schools.”

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