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From Tony Osauzo, Benin
The Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, has formally welcomed 18 Benin artefacts that had been in the custody of the Swiss government for the past 125 years.
The Oba, while receiving the artefacts from a Swiss delegation led by the Director-General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), Olugbile Holloway, on Thursday evening at his palace in Benin City, stressed that the cultural and royal objects are not mere curiosities but represent the governance, spirituality and artistic heritage of the Edo people, taken away by force.
The objects include an ancestral head of a Benin Oba looted during the 1897 British punitive expedition against the Benin Kingdom.
The elated monarch expressed gratitude to the Swiss government, President Bola Tinubu, NCMM Director-General Olugbile Holloway and his team, Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State and other stakeholders for their roles in the restitution process that led to the recovery of the priceless treasures.
“The Benin Bronzes are not curiosities. They are records of governance, spirituality and the artistry of the Edo people taken by force. To delay their return is to continue dispossession by other means,” he said.
The Oba also disclosed that the Benin Royal Court has received more than 150 original looted Benin artefacts since he ascended the throne.
He traced the restitution campaign to the reign of his grandfather, Oba Akenzua II, recalling that his father received the first batch of repatriated artefacts after Oba Eweka II rebuilt the Benin Royal Palace, destroyed during the British invasion.
He urged the German government to honour the 2022 agreement with Nigeria by concluding arrangements for the return of more than 1,000 Benin artworks.
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Oba Ewuare II also appealed to museums across the world still holding looted Benin artefacts to address the colonial injustice done to the cultural identity of the Benin people.
In a rare display of excitement, the Oba danced around the returned objects, saying: “I commend the National Commission for Museums and Monuments and its Director-General, Mr Olugbile Holloway, for their steadfastness in securing the return of the looted artefacts.”
Earlier, Holloway congratulated the Oba and praised Switzerland for its transparency throughout the restitution process.
“I must say that the Swiss were extremely cooperative and transparent throughout the process. Today, we have brought 18 objects, and we remain committed to ensuring these artefacts remain where they truly belong,” he said.
Also speaking, the Consul-General of the Swiss Embassy in Nigeria, Conny Camenzind, described the return as a historic milestone and a symbol of stronger relations between both countries.
A director from one of the Swiss museums, Prof. Alice Hertzog, commended the Oba for setting the restitution process in motion in 2021.
Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Blessing Agbebaku, who joined Secretary to the State Government Musa Ikhilor and members of the State Executive Council to receive the artefacts, described the occasion as a homecoming.
She added that the state would continue advocating the return of more Benin treasures.
