University of Aberdeen to return stolen Benin bronze to Nigeria

 

The University of Aberdeen has agreed to return to Nigeria a Benin bronze looted by British soldiers in 1897.

The sculpture, a bronze head, which depicts the Oba of Benin, is part of several items looted when British forces ransacked the Benin kingdom in the present day Edo State.

Reports in the British media indicate that the University of Aberdeen had agreed to return the stolen sculpture after a review found the item had been acquired in an immoral manner. The development marks the first time an institution in Europe will commit to restore to Nigeria its stolen artefacts.

Equally important, the Federal Government has called on other British museums to reassess their collections; with a view to toeing the path of the University of Aberdeen.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the University of Aberdeen disclosed that it has had the bronze since 1957; even as it condemned the punitive expedition of 1897 and the looting of the royal palace of Benin embarked on by British authorities; as one of “the most notorious examples of the pillaging of cultural treasures associated with 19th-century European colonial expansion”.

Artefacts and other precious items looted from the palace were widely traded and acquired by museums across Europe; as well as in the US.

Neil Curtis, head of museums and special collections at the University of Aberdeen revealed that the institution had  contacted the Nigerian government.

‘‘Aberdeen’s sculpture of the head of an Oba (king) was acquired in a way that we now consider to have been extremely immoral. So, we took a proactive approach to identify the appropriate people to discuss what to do.’’

The university is already making arrangements for the return of the sculpture; which is set to arrive Nigeria in a few weeks. Thereafter, it will be housed in a new cultural complex designed by David Adjaye in Benin City, the statement said.

Prof George Boyne, principal and Vice-Chancellor of the university, said the decision was in line with Aberdeen’s “values as an international, inclusive university”. He added that keeping the sculpture would have been wrong because it was acquired under reprehensible circumstances.

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, hailed the University of Aberdeen; adding that its action was a step in the right direction. Also, he urged other illegal acquirers of Nigerian artefacts to borrow a leaf.

“Other holders of Nigerian antiquity ought to emulate this to bring fairness to the burning issue of repatriation,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Germany has also confirmed it would repatriate several bronzes that remain in its collections.

The UK Guardian reports that Berlin is negotiating the return of the 440 bronzes held at its Ethnological Museum; with the deal reportedly including the training of Nigerian museum staff, archaeological excavations; in addition to assisting with the construction of a new museum in Benin designed by the Ghanaian-British architect, Adjaye.

While Germany has committed to restitution, the British government, which led the looting of Nigerian artefacts as part of its colonial outreach, has remained opposed to it.

The British government has consistently refused to consider repatriation despite several decades of pressure; including a sustained campaign by the Labour MP Bernie Grant in the 1990s, reports the UK Guardian.

However, private individuals and other British institutions have committed to returning stolen bronzes. For instance, Jesus College in Cambridge said it would return a bronze cockerel taken by British colonial forces in 1897. The move came after a student-led campaign that started in 2016.