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The nation's impressive new Museum of West African Art (Mowaa) has landed in the center of area political conflicts during the week it was scheduled to – but did not manage – to welcome visitors to the public for the very first time.

The Major Initiative

The six-hectare complex sits in the heart of Benin City, administrative center of the southern region of Edo – and contains an archaeological dig and structures planned by high-profile Ghanaian-British architect Sir David Adjaye, particularly noted for the National Museum of African American History and Culture that opened in Washington in 2016.

It has been five years in the creation – and is envisioned to showcase both the history and the present of artistic expression in the locale known for the Benin Bronzes, artworks taken from the royal palace by British soldiers in the 19th Century.

Readiness and Potential

It is remarkable – and ahead of the scheduled opening, Mowaa was buzzing with employees committed to prove it is a place that can rival well-known art institutions in the West.

Internally conservators meticulously unwrapped art pieces from safety materials, checking each item and taking thorough documentation before placing them on display surfaces and bases.

Specialists adjusted temperature regulation systems. In the scientific facility, officers adjusted devices designed to conserve historical objects.

Investment and Economic Plans

The project has been the idea of entrepreneur Phillip Ihenacho – now Mowaa's chief executive.

"I want us to have a significant financial effect on local residents in the vicinity," he stated to journalists, mentioning that he wanted to make the city "an arts hub."

Mowaa, a charitable Nigerian institution, aims at generating more than 30,000 direct and indirect jobs and contributing over $80m per year to the area arts sector through partnerships and events.

Investment and Administrative Problems

It has taken $25m to achieve this stage – money gathered from various donors, featuring the French and German governments, the London institution and the Edo state government.

But at present the local government has revoked permission from below it – revoking the utilization of the property on which the building was erected.

An government communicator stated this was because in the early agreements it had identified as Edo Museum of West African Art – and it had subsequently dropped "the state identifier" from its name.

Protests and Political Intervention

This declaration came after protests on the weekend, when protesters stormed the campus calling for it be named the Museum of the Benin Kingdom.

A rowdy assembly confronted international visitors at the facility before the opening – requiring them to be hurried away under police escort.

National leader Bola Tinubu has also intervened to try and resolve the dispute, establishing a special task force to address the controversy.

Administrative Challenges

But in what way has this become so divisive – and such a public relations crisis?

Much of it results from local power struggles at a area administrative level, as it was the former state leader Godwin Obaseki – whose term in office finished recently – who was a major backer of the initiative.

And it seems the administration of the recently elected official, a close ally of the area king, known as the Oba, may want increased control in the project. The activists on Sunday, for instance, were insisting that the facility be put under the supervision of Oba Ewuare II.

The Benin Bronzes Controversy

This brings into focus the controversial matter of the historical artworks, one of the region's most renowned historical legacy.

Because though the facility does ultimately open, these bronzes will be conspicuously absent.

They are brass, elephant tusk and wooden artworks that once decorated the monarch's home of the ancient kingdom before British soldiers looted them in the late nineteenth century during a punitive expedition.

Nowadays, many remain scattered across institutions in the West -- featuring the British Museum, German museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Return Initiatives

Their repatriation has become one of the most disputed debates in the worldwide cultural sector. Roughly 150 have now come back – and more are due to follow.

When plans for the museum in the city were first announced in the pre-pandemic era, the movers and shakers on the country's cultural sector anticipated it would become their natural home – a modern campus to exhibit them to the global audience.

But the issues became confused some time back after the national authorities announced that the Oba would be the proper guardian of repatriated artifacts – and the royal household advocated for a facility under the monarch's supervision, contrary to the desires of the former governor.

Strategic Positioning

This left Mowaa in a delicate position: maintaining a specific viewpoint on repatriation while being careful on custodianship – and emphasising its larger purpose, which led to|c