Oba owns MOWAA, committee declears

Special Committee on the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA), chaired by former Edo State Governor and Senator representing Edo North, Comrade Adams Aliu Oshiomhole, has recommended that the management of the museum be handed over to the Oba of Benin, insisting that the revered monarch remains the most appropriate custodian of the Benin artefacts.

Presenting the committee’s report to Governor Monday Okpebholo on Thursday in Benin City, Oshiomhole said the committee’s investigation established that the administration of former Governor Godwin Obaseki expended about N3.8 billion of public funds on the museum project while altering its original concept and identity.

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According to him, the agitation by the Oba of Benin for the repatriation of the looted Benin artefacts culminated in international agreements for their return and the decision to establish a royal museum to preserve the treasured objects.

Oshiomhole recalled that the Edo State Government had initially undertaken to finance the construction of the proposed Benin Royal Museum on land provided by the Oba of Benin.

He, however, alleged that the previous administration later changed the museum’s identity from the proposed Benin Royal Museum to the Edo Museum of West African Art (EMOWAA) and subsequently to the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA).

The committee chairman further stated that, beyond government funding, the project also attracted donations from international partners, including €4 million from the German Government and $1.5 million from the Leventis Foundation, among other contributions.

He added that the committee was informed that MOWAA had also received more than 18 million dollars from donors for the project.

Among its key recommendations, the committee advised that the existing museum facility should be retained but renamed to reflect its original purpose and ownership.

Oshiomhole said the committee recommended that the museum be renamed Benin Royal Museum of African Art.

He stressed that the committee’s most significant recommendation was that the museum should be placed under the management of the Oba of Benin.

“The museum should be returned to the Oba of Benin to manage it henceforth, as the government comes and goes but the Benin Monarch remains and the artifacts can be protected better by the institutions that own it,” Oshiomhole said.

Receiving the report, Governor Monday Okpebholo commended the committee for what he described as a thorough and objective assignment.

“I thank the committee for an excellent job and a comprehensive report submitted today. The quality of the job shows the fairness and seriousness of the work,” the governor said.

Okpebholo disclosed that the state government would constitute another committee to prepare a White Paper on the report in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice.

“At this point, I will set up another committee to enable us to have a White Paper on the issue, and the committee will liaise with the Ministry of Justice so that the recommendations will be turned into a White Paper,” he said.

The governor also recalled watching a video in which former Governor Obaseki announced plans to build a royal museum in honour of the Oba of Benin before the project’s name was later changed.

Present at the presentation were Deputy Governor Dennis Idahosa, Secretary to the State Government Umar Musa Ikhilor, Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Prof. Roland Otaru, and other top government officials.