The Return of Benin Bronzes Could Change How Young Nigerians Engage With History
Art practitioners and curators believe these returns are especially important at a time when young Nigerians have few means of engaging with the country’s rich history.
Some of the Benin Bronzes at the official return ceremony in February 19, 2025.
The story of the Benin Bronzes and their eventual looting is a part of Nigerian history that still immensely impacts everyday life. For years, it has formed a hole in the country's history, splitting timelines between when these prized artifacts were an existing part of our culture and after they were looted by the British and sold to private collectors worldwide. This has resulted in generations deprived of the chance to grow up next to their historical artifacts.
In recent years, individuals and groups have been fighting for these bronzes to be returned to reenter Nigerian history, especially when young Nigerians have so few means of learning about them.
While the efforts have been sluggish, the British Museum, for instance, refuses to relinquish control of the looted artifacts based on a 1963 permanent removal policy, but other headways have been made. This February, the Netherlands agreed to return 113 Benin Bronzes looted from Nigeria by the British troops in the late 19th century.
It's the largest return so far and the most significant. While commenting on this landmark return in an interview with BellaNaija, Olugbile Holloway, the director-general of Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), says, "A lot of these pieces serve a spiritual purpose because they tell the story and history of the Benin Kingdom and the lineage of the Oba. For example, the elephant tusks narrate past Obas' stories, which can be read from top to bottom by Benin historians. The bronze cocks are symbols of royalty and divinity."
This is a crucial time for these bronzes to be returned; with a growing youth population, many without formal historical education, these returns could open a pathway toward historical education and preservation.
As Chinyere Obieze, a curator and art practitioner, tells OkayAfrica, "I am excited for the Benin people. The lore is magnificent; having the physical evidence of a way of life with the right storytelling would do wonders for decoloniality." Obieze added, "It is an opportunity for them to rediscover foundations for new metaphors for their individuality and contribution to the multicultural landscape of Nigeria."
Informing the present
In recent years, much of the thesis behind contemporary Nigerian art has been a practice in sankofa, reaching back to the past to make sense of the present. In more ways than one, Nigerian artists have been engaging with the past, looking to it to inform their present, contextualize identity, and reframe perceptions of the future. At Nigeria Pavilion during the 2024 Venice Biennale curated by Aindrea Emelife, for example, much of the sensibility around the pavilion, from the theme "Nigeria Imaginary" to some of the works exhibited, was in conversation with history, both static and in flux.
Yinka Shonibare's work Monument to the Restitution of the Mind and Soul was noteworthy, as it replicated 153 artifacts looted from the Benin Kingdom by the British Forces in 1897. The replicated artifacts, mainly crafted from clay, "contemplate one of the greatest thefts of heritage and cultural memory through the looting of thousands of valuable spiritual and cultural artifacts from the kingdom of Benin (Nigeria)," according to the installation statement.
And so, this latest return is complementary to the historical work that is already underway. "It's encouraging to see the attitude towards restitution and returns changing today. It means we as Africans can begin or continue the long journey of reclaiming lost cultural memory occasioned by European imperialism," Tobi Idowu, a curator and arts program manager, tells OkayAfrica. "It means we can begin to truly honor the memory of our ancestors and the civilization they built before it got violently disrupted. It presents a new opportunity to reckon with what our ancestors passed down to us culturally and in other ways: technologically and scientifically."
Obieze posits that away from looking at the past, these returns and the programming around them could shape ideas for the future. "It is important that we are not trapped in permanent nostalgia for a past that cannot be returned to, but use these materials to build new metaphors and ideas for our present and future."
Fixing a history gap
In 2007, the Nigerian government officially announced abolishing history as a subject in the basic education curriculum. The ripple effect of that decision has been dire, leaving many young Nigerians without a full and nuanced grasp of the country's multi-faceted heritage. "The loss of history had economic, democratic, and ethnic repercussions, impacting tourism, government accountability, and transparency. Historical scholarship declined, and alternative subjects (social studies, civic and government) failed to foster national identity," notes a research paper analyzing the aftermath of this abolishment.
Art has proven to be a window to the past that many can easily understand. Still, whether this history will be accessible to all remains. "The location is a factor, but I don't believe it is a catastrophe. For me, an Igbo person, it is an opportunity to travel to Benin to experience a new culture without leaving the country," Obieze says. "It brings in revenue to the state long term and adds to the color of the country. The works are under the care of the NCMM, if there is a chance that these works can travel to other museums in the country, that would be fantastic."
Idowu also agrees that at the heart of the conversation is a golden opportunity to revitalize history for young Nigerians. But for this to happen, the custodians must consciously include and engage young people. "Beyond the heated debates, people get to learn about vital history, some for the first time. So I'm all for increased visibility and sensitization,” he says.
