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The Federal Government has said the 1,130 stolen Benin bronzes and other artefacts to be repatriated to Nigeria would make a tour of schools and the country as a whole.
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said this in Abuja when he inspected the Millennium Tower and Cultural Centre (MTCC) under construction, with his counterpart Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Mohammed Bello.
Government is seeking 400 million dollars private investment to complete the MTCC, a national monument and multifunctional edifice with facilities for cultural exposition, including four museums.
Mohammed said when the artefacts arrived the country, besides the tour of schools, they would be available to the entire public to view for people to reconnect with their past and history.
“The artefacts serve many purposes, some of them can be used as calendar to mark the date when significant events happened. Some have spiritual significance and on the whole, they make the people proud as a nation with rich history, culture and civilisation.Those who said they brought civilisation to Nigeria, you begin to ask them, when were these artefacts made by Nigerians, was it before or after they came? The very fact of these artefacts are with us revealed that we are people endowed with rich culture, science and civilisation ever before the western incursion,’’ he said.
