The controversy surrounding the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) in Benin City has taken a fresh turn, with a committee led by former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole recommending that the facility be returned to the Oba of Benin for management.
The six-member committee, established by Governor Monday Okpebholo to examine the museum’s ownership, funding and governance, submitted its report to the governor on Thursday. The panel also proposed renaming the facility the Benin Royal Museum of African Art.
Presenting the report, Oshiomhole said the project was initially conceived as a royal museum to accommodate Benin artefacts expected to be returned from overseas. He said the project later underwent changes in its name and structure under the administration of former Governor Godwin Obaseki.
The committee reported that the Edo State Government committed about N3.8 billion in public funds to the project. It also noted that external contributions included €4 million from the German government and $1.5 million from the Leventis Foundation.
Oshiomhole argued that the existing structure should be preserved rather than demolished and recommended that its ownership and management be placed with the Benin Palace.
“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,” he said.
The recommendation is significant because the MOWAA project has been the subject of debate over public funding, ownership and the role of the Benin traditional institution in preserving the kingdom’s cultural heritage.
Receiving the report, Governor Okpebholo praised the committee and said his administration would establish another panel, working with the Ministry of Justice, to prepare a White Paper on the recommendations.
The museum debate is closely connected to the campaign for the return of Benin artefacts looted during the 1897 British invasion. The committee’s recommendations could now influence how the facility is managed and how returned artefacts are preserved and displayed in Edo State.
