The University of Aberdeen, Scotland has finally returned an ancient Benin City bronze sculpture, ‘head of an Oba (King)’ to Benin City, Edo state, Nigeria.
The gesture is coming after about 124 years when several Benin bronze artefacts were looted from the Oba of Benin’s Court.
The sculpture, depicting the head of an Oba, was returned to Benin City at an event which held in Aberdeen on Thursday and handed over to a Nigerian team led by Oba of Benin represented by his younger brother, Prince Aghatise Erediauwa; Malam Suleiman Sani, the Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria in UK and the Director-General of NCMM, Prof. Abba Tijani.
Speaking during the event, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen, Professor George Boyne, explained that the University purchased the bronze piece at an auction in 1957. He also explained that returning the bronze work was only the right and just thing to do.
“Over the last 40 years, the Benin Bronzes have become important symbols of injustice. It would not have been right to have retained an item of such great cultural significance that was acquired in such reprehensible circumstances,” Boyne said.
In his reaction, His Royal Majesty, Oba of Benin, Ewuare II, who was represented by Prince Erediauwa applauded the University for taking a bold step by returning the stolen artefact to the rightful owner. According to him, the repatriation of the bronze sculpture was a step in the right direction.
The monarch also urged other institutions to follow the University of Aberdeen by returning all looted African artefacts.
In his words, “Much has been said about the significance of heritage art and, in spite of the occasional attempts in some quarters to downplay their cultural and religious relevance, these works are often imbued with the spirit of the people from whom they were taken.
“Regardless of the resistance in some quarters, the return of stolen art is the right thing to do. Some say that they acquired their own collections. This is like saying, ‘well, I know this item was originally stolen but because I bought it somewhere, then I’m okay.’ That notion is completely wrong and unfortunate. In any event, we thank the University of Aberdeen for this noble act of returning our bronze work. We hope that other institutions worldwide will see the injustice when they insist on holding on to items which in fact should be a reminder to them of the great injustice that was inflicted on a people so far away and so long ago.”
