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The nation's impressive new West African Art Museum (Mowaa) has ended up in the middle of regional political struggles during the week it was supposed to – but failed – to open its doors to the public for the very first time.

The Ambitious Project

The six-hectare complex is located in the center of Benin City, administrative center of the southern area of Edo – and includes an archaeological dig and facilities designed by celebrated British-Ghanaian architect Sir David Adjaye, most famous for the Washington African American Museum that was inaugurated in Washington in 2016.

It has been five years in the creation – and is designed to celebrate both the heritage and the current era of cultural innovation in the area famous for the historic artworks, artworks looted from the city's royal palace by British soldiers in the 1800s.

Preparation and Promise

It is notable – and prior to the anticipated opening, Mowaa was active with staff resolved to prove it is a institution that can rival well-known museums and galleries in the Western world.

Within conservators precisely revealed cultural items from protective packaging, checking each item and taking meticulous records before placing them on walls and stands.

Technicians calibrated climate control systems. In the scientific facility, staff members calibrated devices designed to preserve historical objects.

Financial Backing and Economic Vision

The project has been the idea of businessman Phillip Ihenacho – presently Mowaa's chief executive.

"I want us to have a major economic benefit on local residents around here," he told the press, adding that he wanted to make the city "a tourism center."

Mowaa, a charitable local organization, envisions itself generating more than 30,000 work positions and providing more than $80m each year to the area arts sector through alliances and events.

Funding Sources and Political Challenges

It has taken $25m to achieve this stage – funds collected from different supporters, including the French and German governments, the London institution and the local administration.

But at present the local government has pulled the rug from below it – revoking the occupancy of the land on which the facility was constructed.

An government communicator clarified this was because in the original paperwork it had referred to itself as the Edo-named institution – and it had later dropped "Edo" from its name.

Protests and Political Intervention

This declaration followed rallies on the weekend, when people stormed the campus calling for it be named the Royal Benin Museum.

A rowdy group harassed overseas dignitaries at the facility before the launch – compelling them to be hurried away under police escort.

Head of state Bola Tinubu has even intervened to attempt to settle the tensions, setting up a high-level committee to manage the situation.

Administrative Challenges

But why has this turned into so divisive – and such a PR disaster?

Much of it comes down to local power struggles at a local state level, as it was the former state leader Godwin Obaseki – whose term in office concluded recently – who was a primary advocate of the initiative.

And it looks like the leadership of the new governor, a close ally of the local traditional ruler, called the royal figure, may want increased control in the initiative. The activists on Sunday, for example, were demanding that the institution be placed under the control of the current Oba.

The Cultural Artifacts Debate

This highlights the disputed topic of the historical artworks, one of the region's most renowned artistic heritage.

Because although the museum does ultimately open, these bronzes will be clearly not present.

They are brass, elephant tusk and wooden artworks that once adorned the monarch's home of the Benin Kingdom before British soldiers stole them in 1897 during a military operation.

Today, many continue to be scattered across galleries in Europe and North America -- featuring the UK institution, Berlin's Humboldt Forum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Restitution Efforts

Their repatriation has become one of the most disputed conversations in the international art community. About 150 have presently been returned – and more are scheduled to be repatriated.

When plans for the facility in the urban center were first announced in 2019, the influential figures on the country's cultural sector anticipated it would become their ideal location – a modern complex to display them to the world.

But the waters were muddied recently after the central administration declared that the Oba would be the proper guardian of any returned bronzes – and the palace pushed for a facility under the royal family's direct control, opposing the wishes of Obaseki.

Strategic Positioning

This placed Mowaa in a delicate position: maintaining a specific viewpoint on restitution while remaining diplomatic on custodianship – and emphasising its larger purpose, which led to|c