Germany will soon return o1,130 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria, 125 years after they were looted from the ancient Benin Kingdom during the Benin Expedition of 1897.
Nigeria and Germany had signed historic declaration that will facilitate the return of the artefacts.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Zubairu Dada, signed for Nigeria, while the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany, Ms Annalena Baerbock, and the Minister of State for Culture and the Media, Ms. Claudia Roth, signed for Germany.
Speaking before the signing, Alhaji Mohammed commended the government and people of Germany for the ”single largest repatriation of artefacts anywhere in the world”.
”We also want to most sincerely thank the authorities of the various German regions, cities, museums and institutions that have been working in concert to ensure the manifestation of the history-making event that we are witnessing today. By this singular
action, Germany has taken the lead in correcting the wrongs of the past,” he said.
According to him, Germany did not colonize Nigeria and was not part of the looting of the artefacts, adding that many of the Benin Bronzes in German public institutions got there through trade and donations.
”Yet, Germany and the great people of this nation decided it is better to shape the future by correcting the ills of the past. I have
no doubt in my mind that this pace-setting action by the Federal Government of Germany will become a harbinger of more repatriation of cultural property to their place of origin, as other museums and institutions are expected to take a cue from what Germany has done.
”Germany has gained more friends in Nigeria and all over the world by returning to Nigeria what rightfully belongs to it,” he said.
In his remarks, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Zubairu Dada, described Germany the ‘champion of justice and fairness’.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany, Ms. Baerbock, said: ”It was wrong to take the (Benin) bronzes. It was wrong to keep them for (125 years). This is the beginning to right the wrong.”
Two of the Benin Bronzes were handed over to Nigeria at the signing ceremony in a symbolic gesture signifying the impending return of the artefacts.