31/03/2021
Nigeria | Benin Bronzes and Restitution, the Journey so far
Blog /
By
His Excellency Yusuf M Tuggar, Nigerian Ambassador to Germany
Germany made a first step. However, ‘we need to break down the institutional inertia’, the Nigerian Ambassador to the country argues.
Much has been written and said of late about the Benin Bronzes and Africa’s struggle for restitution of its stolen cultural properties in general. As one of the interlocutors who has helped to revitalise this longstanding issue that continues to trigger curiosity and capture public attention, I feel obliged to share my perspective on the long struggle for the restitution of these priceless cultural assets and take stock of the journey thus far. At the centre of this global debate are the Benin Bronzes, an open-and-shut case of theft, murder and racism that transpired in 1897 and, for that reason, the