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The nation's stunning new Art Museum of West Africa (Mowaa) has found itself in the center of local power politics during the week it was expected to – but did not manage – to open its doors to the general public for the first time.

The Grand Vision

The six-hectare campus stands in the center of Benin's urban center, main city of the southern region of Edo – and includes an excavation site and structures planned by renowned Ghanaian-British architect Sir David Adjaye, particularly noted for the Washington African American Museum that was inaugurated in Washington in 2016.

It has been five years in the making – and is planned to showcase both the history and the modern times of artistic expression in the locale renowned for the cultural artifacts, cultural objects looted from the city's royal palace by UK forces in the 1800s.

Preparation and Promise

It is remarkable – and prior to the anticipated opening, Mowaa was active with workers committed to prove it is a venue that can rival renowned cultural centers in the West.

Internally conservators meticulously revealed artworks from safety materials, examining each artifact and taking thorough records before positioning them on exhibition areas and plinths.

Specialists adjusted temperature regulation systems. In the research lab, personnel calibrated equipment intended to maintain historical items.

Financial Backing and Economic Vision

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

"I aim us to have a substantial financial effect on local residents in the vicinity," he explained to the press, mentioning that he hoped to make Benin City "an arts hub."

Mowaa, a charitable Nigerian institution, aims at creating in excess of 30,000 employment opportunities and providing above $80m per year to the local cultural industry through partnerships and activities.

Investment and Administrative Problems

It has needed $25m to reach this point – capital collected from various donors, including the international partners, the UK museum and the Edo state government.

But at present the local government has pulled the rug from beneath it – revoking the use of the property on which the museum was built.

An Edo state spokesperson stated this was because in the initial documents it had called itself the Edo-named institution – and it had later removed "the regional name" from its name.

Demonstrations and Government Action

This statement came after demonstrations on the weekend, when people stormed the facility demanding it be named the Royal Benin Museum.

A rowdy group harassed foreign guests at the museum ahead of the inauguration – forcing them to be hurried away under official guard.

National leader Bola Tinubu has also stepped in to attempt to settle the conflict, establishing a high-level committee to address the controversy.

Governance Issues

But how has this turned into so politicised – and such a reputation problem?

A great deal of it stems from internecine rivalries at a regional government level, as it was Edo's previous governor Godwin Obaseki – whose governance ended last year – who was a major backer of the museum.

And it looks like the government of the recently elected official, a close ally of the regional monarch, known as the Oba, may want greater involvement in the venture. The activists on Sunday, for example, were demanding that the institution be positioned under the supervision of the current Oba.

The Cultural Artifacts Debate

This brings into focus the contentious issue of the Benin Bronzes, one of the region's most celebrated artistic heritage.

Because although the museum does eventually open, these objects will be clearly not present.

They are brass, elephant tusk and timber sculptures that once adorned the royal palace of the Benin Kingdom before UK forces took them in 1897 during a military operation.

Nowadays, thousands stay spread across museums in Western nations -- such as the British Museum, Berlin's Humboldt Forum and the American museum.

Restitution Efforts

Their return has become one of the most debated debates in the international art community. Approximately 150 have currently made their way home – and further are scheduled to be repatriated.

When plans for the museum in the city were initially revealed in 2019, the movers and shakers on the national arts community anticipated it would become their natural home – a state-of-the-art campus to show them off to the international community.

But the situation became complicated some time back after the federal government stated that the royal leader would be the rightful owner of any returned bronzes – and the royal household pushed for a institution under the king's authority, opposing the desires of Obaseki.

Diplomatic Challenges

This placed Mowaa in a difficult situation: expressing a definite position on repatriation while remaining diplomatic on ownership – and highlighting its wider mission, which led to|c