Minister Of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has implored other nations, institutions, museums and private collectors still holding on to Nigerian antiquities to release them.
He specifically told the British Museum to release the more than 900 Benin Bronzes in its custody.
He said :”A year has rolled by since Nigeria
submitted an official letter to the British Museum demanding the return of Nigerian antiquities in this museum. Yet there has been no reply of any kind”.
He, however, announced that Nigeria is not only seeking the return of Benin Bronzes but all Nigerian antiquities that were illegally or illicitly exported.
Mohammed spoke at the official handover of 22 repatriated Benin Bronzes by Germany to Nigeria in Abuja.
He said: “I visited in July this year hoping that the success recorded with the Germans will nudge the British Museum to do what is right. But I met a brick wall. The British Museum and all those holding on to our artefacts must understand that repatriation is a cause which time has come. They must also understand that many of these cultural objects are not mere art to us but the true essence of our being. They are not mere decorative works but our culture and heritage. They belong here, not anywhere else!
“A moment comes in the history of mankind that we are beckoned upon to do what is right. This moment beckoned and Germany seized it. Forever, Nigeria, Africa and indeed all of humanity, will remember and always cherish this period in human history when Germany stood by us.
“When Germany mooted and announced the idea of returning Nigerian Benin Bronzes, the entire globe treated the news with disbelief. However, Germany did not stop at a mere announcement but
followed up with a visit to Nigeria by high ranking officials in March 2021 to further assure us.Because of what Germany has done, negotiations with other nations, institutions and museums for repatriation of the Benin Bronzes in their possession became swifter.
“Subsequent meetings by Nigeria with Germany were on modalities, and the Germans were gracious throughout. Finally, on July 7, 2022,with the eyes of the whole world glued to their television screens,Germany signed the declaration with Nigeria to release all 1,130 Benin Bronzes in Germany public museums.
“I want to seize the opportunity provided by this epochal event to thank the Netherlands, which in October 2020 returned a 600-year-old Ife Terracotta; the University of Aberdeen, and Jesus College of the University of Cambridge, for returning the Benin Bronzes in their holding; the Metropolitan Museum in New York which returned Ife and Benin Bronzes; the Horniman Museums and Gardens in London which inOctober, 2022 signed the legal transfer of 72 Benin Bronzes. I also want to thank the Smithsonian in Washington, the National Gallery of Art of the United States and the Rhodes Island School of Design for releasing the Benin Bronzes in their holdings.
Speaking,the Minister of Foreign Affairs the Federal Republic of Germany, Annalena Baerbock,emphasized her country’s desire to return the Bronze to Nigeria.
She said:”We are here to right the wrong. It was a wrong to have taken them and it is wrong to have kept them for this long, our country is here to right the wrong”
She said her country still has more than 500 artifacts and they are ready to return them in phases.
Besides, the Minister of State for Culture, the Federal Republic of Germany, Claudia Roth said they have closed their eyes for too long , refusing to release them is an art of injustice, we are making history today, every one has the right to experience their heritage from generation to generation.
She added that, this is the first phase of and other phases will follow , saying, it is still possible to displace these Benin Bronzes on loan in German Museum.
Earlier, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama said 300 million people lives have been impacted with the kind gesture by the German government, saying, they have set the space for other to follow.