A Cambridge University College has handed back a stolen
bronze cockerel named ‘Okukur’ to Nigeria.
Okukur was taken by British colonial forces in 1897 and
given to Jesus College in 1905 by the father of a student.
BBC reports that the decision to return it was made in 2019
after a spirited campaign by students.
“It’s massively significant. It’s a momentous occasion”,
said Sonita Alleyne, master of Jesus College.
The official stressed that returning the artefact was the
“right thing to do”.
Okukur is a piece of “cultural and spiritual significance to
the people of Nigeria. It’s part of their ancestral heritage”, Alleyne added.
The Nigerian government would decide how and when to move
Okukur removed from display at the college in 2016.
The bronze statue will be given to National Commission for
Museums and Monuments (NCMM).
In 2019, the college’s Legacy of Slavery Working Party
agreed that the cockerel “belongs with the current Oba at the Court of Benin”.
The incumbent, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ewuare II,
expressed hope that countries and institutions would give back artefacts taken
from Benin.
The monarch urged them to “expedite the return of our
artworks, which in many cases are of religious importance to us”.
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