By Ghazali Ibrahim
After more than a century in foreign museums, over 100 Benin Bronzes finally returned to Nigeria but their homecoming has triggered fresh global debate as Western institutions express concern over the condition and politics surrounding their new environment, BlackBox Nigeria has learnt.
BlackBox Nigeria discovered that treasured artefacts, looted by British forces during the 1897 invasion of the Benin Kingdom, went on display last month at the Benin City National Museum.
Bronze plaques, royal heads, carved elephant tusks and ornate statues once admired under controlled lighting and climate systems in Europe and North America now sit behind simple glass cases, labelled with printed sheets taped to walls.
The contrast has raised eyebrows abroad.
Western museums that spent years negotiating their return, and millions supporting the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) project in Benin City, are now watching nervously as Nigeria struggles with infighting, limited funding and shifting political authority over the bronzes.
The tensions heightened in March 2023 when Nigeria’s president transferred ownership of all returned Benin Bronzes to Oba Ewuare II, descendant of the royal family from whom the artefacts were stolen. The move derailed plans for MOWAA, which the oba dismissed as an attempt to “re-loot” his ancestors’ treasures. The museum built with significant Western support is now pivoting to contemporary art instead.
In November, its attempted opening was disrupted by protesters loyal to the oba, forcing dignitaries to flee and leaving the building shuttered weeks later. Meanwhile, Nigeria and the royal palace are moving to create a new “Royal Museum” inside a dilapidated former theatre, a project that may cost over ₦4 billion. Funding, however, remains a major obstacle.
According to reports, “We want a spectacular museum like a cinema, like a theatre,” Oba Ewuare II said. And he believes Western governments should pay, arguing that funds previously given to MOWAA “were meant for us.”
Western donors, however, quietly worry about the state of storage facilities. A recent visit to the Oba Ovonramwen Storage Facility in Benin City found empty metal shelves in sweltering rooms where air conditioners are still being installed. Some curators abroad fear the bronzes, which once sat in climate-controlled vaults, may face deterioration.
But Nigerian officials reject foreign criticism.
“No one has a right to tell us what to do with our heritage,” said Olugbile Holloway, head of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments. “If we decide to smelt them and bury them, that’s our prerogative.”
Still, Holloway acknowledges Nigeria’s uphill task. While some bronzes are being showcased in Lagos and Benin City, many Nigerians remain indifferent, struggling with economic hardship and lacking emotional ties to Benin history.
“There’s a saying: a corpse that is not yours is like a log of wood,” artist Victor Ehikhamenor said. “For many people, the bronzes are a log of wood.”
Yet, when visitors do arrive, the artefacts spark deep emotions. At the Benin City exhibition, teacher Queen Igninomwanhia shook her head in disgust at photos of the British 1897 raid. Her son Max on his first museum visit took pictures eagerly.
“If more bronzes return, there will be more to see,” he said.
As hundreds more artefacts are expected back in 2026 from museums in Britain, Germany and Sweden, Nigeria faces its biggest challenge yet: turning a historic victory into a functional, unified cultural system and proving to the world that the bronzes are truly home.
