reflections on the cancellation of the queen - Afrikanet.info

“The essence of this letter is to request that the British Museum, safely
return/hand over the original 16 th century Ivory Mask which was last worn by
King Ovoramwen Nogbasi of the ancient Benin Empire before he was exiled by
Britain.
The Ivory Mask is the official Emblem for FESTAC AND A UNIFICATION
SYMBOL FOR Nigerians and Black people worldwide. The mask is also of great
significance to us as Africans.”
MacGregor’s reply to Babawale does not address the main issue of the return of
the mask which was said to be the essence of his letter. Instead, he writes:
“Let me assure you that the British Museum appreciates the significance of the
Benin material in the collections for Nigeria, Africa and the world, and wishes
to make it better understood and more accessible in Africa and worldwide. To
this end, we are currently engaged in a new dialogue with the National
Commission on Museums and Monuments in Nigeria”.
Both letters of Babawale and MacGregor are reproduced in Annex V below. It is
remarkable that the British Museum denies to Nigeria and Africa the
stolen/looted Benin mask in order “to make it better understood and made
accessible in Africa and worldwide.” The reader must judge for himself or
herself the value of such reasoning which flies in the face of truth and common
sense,
In 2008, a formal request was sent on behalf of the Benin Royal Family to the
Art Institute of Chicago and the Field Museum, Chicago for the return of some
of the Benin Bronzes but to no avail. Not even a letter of acknowledgement was
sent by the venerable institutions to the Benin Royal Family. There are people
who praise the artistry of Benin but do not even feel obliged to extend the most
elementary courtesy to the Benin Monarchy the presence of which generated the
looted artefacts they are detaining.
The United Nations, UNESCO and ICOM (International Council of Museums)
as well as several international conferences have urged the holders of artefacts
such as the Benin Bronzes to return some to their countries of origin but with no
success.
It is thus clear that there is a long history of protest and opposition to the holding
of “blood artefacts” which were obtained at the cost of loss of several lives.
Sotheby’s and the consignors could therefore not have been totally surprised at
the protest. However, they might have been overwhelmed by the extent of the
world-wide protests. Westerners have been misled by many false prophets
proclaiming the right and duty of the West to hold on to the blood artefacts. This
has led to turning a deaf ear to requests for restitution and to non-consideration
4