Opposition mounts against Obaseki's plan to build museum for artifacts returned from Europe
There are strong indications that a plan by Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki to build a modern museum to house some of the stolen artifacts, recently returned to the state from Europe, might have met a brick wall as leaders and relevant state stakeholders opposed the idea in its entirety.
DAILY POST has gathered that the members of the coalition, under the auspices of the social cultural organizations of Benin, described the project as a white elephant project, which also goes against traditions, culture as well than the royalty of the Beninese kingdom.
So they vowed to resist the project just as they described the proposed Edo Museum of West African Arts (EMOWAA) as completely alien to Beninese race and culture.
The group went to a press conference in Benin city on Saturday to air their grievances, accusing Governor Obaseki of disrespecting and undermining the Oba of Benin, Omo N'Oba N'Edo Uku' Akpolokpolo Ewuare 11, especially in terms of housing artifacts.
They reminded him of his earlier pledge to support the idea of a Royal Benin Museum for artifacts.
According to the group, "Obaseki should be a man of his word because EMOWAA was not what he discussed with the Oba of Benin and other prominent Benin elders in 2018 and through his actions, the governor had reneged on his words and it amounts to betraying the public trust.”
The coalition also claimed that on the face of it, the proposed EMOWAA project does not belong to the Edo State government, but to Obaseki's private company called Legacy Restoration Trust Ltd.
>The group further stated, "The attention of the leaders and stakeholders of the Coalition of Socio-Cultural Organizations of Benin has been drawn to Governor Obaseki's statement in which he asserted that he was not in conflict with our revered monarch over his EMOWAA project." Sincerely, we were shocked that His Excellency, Godwin Obaseki affirmed that he had no problem or quarrel with our revered Oba of the Kingdom of Benin as he held a stakeholder engagement meeting regarding his proposal for phase 1 of EMOWAA, it did not involve our revered Palace.
"Your Excellency, you have not only had problems or conflicts with our revered monarch over your EMOWAA, you also have problems with all Beninese for always disrespecting and undermining our revered palace, throne and kingdom of Benin. For the avoidance of doubt, the word EMOWAA is foreign to us as the people of Benin. "They said the Coalition had been at the forefront" of defending and assisting our revered Palace, Throne and Kingdom of Benin to ensure that our stolen artifacts are returned to the Palace.”
Recall that the history of the Kingdom of Benin goes back a few centuries when the colonial masters came to Africa, dominating many territories and carrying away artifacts unique to Beninese.
However, the state and federal government worked together to cajole European museums where some of the artifacts were stored to return them to their original source.
Beyond the controversies the museum project has sparked, Benin is reportedly notorious for its high overseas human trafficking, a situation that the state government has stepped up advocacy to reduce.< /p>
There are strong indications that a plan by Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki to build a modern museum to house some of the stolen artifacts, recently returned to the state from Europe, might have met a brick wall as leaders and relevant state stakeholders opposed the idea in its entirety.
DAILY POST has gathered that the members of the coalition, under the auspices of the social cultural organizations of Benin, described the project as a white elephant project, which also goes against traditions, culture as well than the royalty of the Beninese kingdom.
So they vowed to resist the project just as they described the proposed Edo Museum of West African Arts (EMOWAA) as completely alien to Beninese race and culture.
The group went to a press conference in Benin city on Saturday to air their grievances, accusing Governor Obaseki of disrespecting and undermining the Oba of Benin, Omo N'Oba N'Edo Uku' Akpolokpolo Ewuare 11, especially in terms of housing artifacts.
They reminded him of his earlier pledge to support the idea of a Royal Benin Museum for artifacts.
According to the group, "Obaseki should be a man of his word because EMOWAA was not what he discussed with the Oba of Benin and other prominent Benin elders in 2018 and through his actions, the governor had reneged on his words and it amounts to betraying the public trust.”
The coalition also claimed that on the face of it, the proposed EMOWAA project does not belong to the Edo State government, but to Obaseki's private company called Legacy Restoration Trust Ltd.
>The group further stated, "The attention of the leaders and stakeholders of the Coalition of Socio-Cultural Organizations of Benin has been drawn to Governor Obaseki's statement in which he asserted that he was not in conflict with our revered monarch over his EMOWAA project." Sincerely, we were shocked that His Excellency, Godwin Obaseki affirmed that he had no problem or quarrel with our revered Oba of the Kingdom of Benin as he held a stakeholder engagement meeting regarding his proposal for phase 1 of EMOWAA, it did not involve our revered Palace.
"Your Excellency, you have not only had problems or conflicts with our revered monarch over your EMOWAA, you also have problems with all Beninese for always disrespecting and undermining our revered palace, throne and kingdom of Benin. For the avoidance of doubt, the word EMOWAA is foreign to us as the people of Benin. "They said the Coalition had been at the forefront" of defending and assisting our revered Palace, Throne and Kingdom of Benin to ensure that our stolen artifacts are returned to the Palace.”
Recall that the history of the Kingdom of Benin goes back a few centuries when the colonial masters came to Africa, dominating many territories and carrying away artifacts unique to Beninese.
However, the state and federal government worked together to cajole European museums where some of the artifacts were stored to return them to their original source.
Beyond the controversies the museum project has sparked, Benin is reportedly notorious for its high overseas human trafficking, a situation that the state government has stepped up advocacy to reduce.< /p>
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