Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki has said that the proposed Edo Museum for West Africa Arts (EMOWAA) would be a home for the comprehensive display of Benin collections to the world.
The governor added that the construction of the museum would create a cultural district in Benin City and would represent the influence of the Benin Empire on West Africa.
Speaking at the 2021 National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) retreat for management staff and curators held in Benin City, Obaseki called on Nigerians to rally and speak with a unifying voice, noting that a dissenting tone may send a wrong signal to those in custody of the artifacts.
According to him, museums should not only be about outdated objects but it should be about current and future objects. EMOWAA will be part of the National museum complex. It is going to be the home for the collective display of Benin collection to the world.
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“We want all of us to speak as one; the world is waiting to see that the blacks cannot organize themselves or agree and take it as an excuse not to return the works. I don’t think we should allow that happen.
“All of us must rally round, come together and speak with one voice let the world give us our objects. When the world gives Nigeria the objects, whatever reservations we have, we will address it at home.
“But to take a position and show to outsiders that we are fighting over nothing, should not be accepted or tolerated. We want our works back home. Let us not give them the excuse.”
According to him, “We are committed because we know the impact and importance of the museum but we have to start with the architecture, infrastructure to ensure that it is iconic, it is different.
“By the last quarter of this year, we expect to start the first phase of this project. It will be the pavilion which will host the original works when it comes.
“Interestingly, the British museum has made resources available for us to undertake archeological studies. So, whatever we find, need to be stored somewhere and that will be the pavilion. The pavilion will also be a home for educational research.”
“I am calling on you, curators, because you are the authorities in these works to join hands with all of us to make sure that as soon as possible, what we have been yearning for almost a century, happens in your time,” he further said.
Earlier, Abba Tijani, director-general of National Commission for Museum and Monuments (NCMM) tasked all the curators in the country to support the proposed Edo Museum for West African Arts (EMOWAA).
“We want you to be part of our national development. We want all the Curators to participate and support this project. All those that will participate in this project will be trained by all the curators,” he said.
The proposed EMOWAA project is a specialist museum for the comprehensive collection of artifacts from both home and abroad.
