BENIN CITY, Nigeria — The Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, has vowed to resist any attempt to undermine the rights of the Benin Kingdom over its ancestral artefacts, declaring that he would not allow “history to repeat itself.”
The monarch made the remarks on Monday, November 10, 2025, at his palace in Benin City while receiving Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo, who led a delegation that included the European Union Ambassador to Nigeria, Gautier Mignot, and the German Ambassador, Dr. Annett Günther.
The visit came a day after protesters disrupted a preview exhibition at the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA), forcing the evacuation of guests and the cancellation of subsequent events.
The unrest followed renewed tensions over the ownership and control of the museum — a multi-million-dollar cultural project originally conceived as a home for the returned Benin Bronzes.
Oba Ewuare II drew a direct link between the present-day conflict and the 1897 British invasion of Benin, when thousands of cultural treasures were looted.
“It is like history wanting to repeat itself,” he said.
“My forefathers suffered during the British invasion of 1897, and it is not fair that this is happening again. The documents they brought for me to sign would have taken away our rights to these artefacts, and I refused.”
The Oba accused former Edo governor Godwin Obaseki of attempting to “mortgage the rights of the Benin people” through the manner in which the MOWAA project was executed.
Governor Okpebholo expressed shock over the European envoys’ unannounced visit linked to the museum, describing it as another example of “secrecy and lack of transparency” that had plagued the project since its inception.
“I had no prior knowledge of the foreign visit; it is another case of secrecy and lack of transparency that has dogged the MOWAA project from the inception,” the governor said.
“Honestly, I was not aware that such a gathering was going to take place. However, we have spoken with His Majesty and gotten his side of the story.”
The governor said his administration had constituted a committee to investigate the museum’s establishment and transactions, noting that the project’s name had been altered multiple times — from the Benin Royal Museum to the Edo Museum of West African Art (EMOWAA) and finally to MOWAA — without the knowledge or approval of the Benin Palace.
Speaking after the meeting, EU Ambassador Mignot said the envoys’ visit was to pay homage to the Benin throne and to strengthen diplomatic ties with Edo State.
“We discussed the MOWAA project and the recent misunderstandings. We shared views in a spirit of dialogue and partnership,” Mignot said.
He clarified that while the European Union has no direct investment in the museum, Germany and other member states are involved in cultural cooperation projects, including the return of over 1,200 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria.
“Our cooperation extends to the return of over 1,200 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria. But MOWAA can only thrive in a peaceful and transparent environment,” Günther added.
In a separate statement, the management of MOWAA said former Governor Obaseki has no financial or institutional stake in the museum.
“We wish to emphasise that MOWAA is an independent, non-profit institution of which the former governor has no interest financially or otherwise,” the statement read.
