Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, has stepped up the
campaign for the return of prized Benin artefacts looted from the kingdom,
rallying the German Government to ensure their return and the realisation of
the proposed Edo Museum of West African Art.
The governor, during a meeting with top diplomats from the
German Foreign Office at the Government House, Benin City, advocated the
establishment of a trust fund to guarantee the completion of the project.
Obaseki stated, “As a government, we are preparing to launch
an independent trust, which will constitute the Royal Family, Edo State
Government, the Federal Government and international stakeholders.
“That trust should be transparently structured and properly
resourced to take a whole series of actions relating to those works and other
activities consequent there from.
“I am glad that we’ve been on that; we’ve set up the legacy
restoration trust. We want to also thank some of our donors, who are committed
to have a few more excavations under the aegis of the trust.”
He added, “As you know, culture is a living thing; the
artefacts that we are dealing with today are a repetition of our culture at a
certain point in time.
“We believe that our collaboration should transcend to not
only returning the works, but also understanding the significant and meaning of
those works from our history.
“There are many things that we share in common. Yes, the
objects are from Benin, but today, they are global. So, the idea of having a
universal display is something that we cannot run away from.”
Earlier, the Director-General, Culture and Communication,
German Government, Dr Andreas Gorgen, hailed the governor for setting up a
trust that was independent and open to international partners.
He pledged to collaborate with the state government to
organise joint skills programmes, explore archaeological sites and ensure the
retrieval of objects.
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