The Museum of West African Art in Benin City postpones opening after protesters armed with bats disrupted a private event, causing minor damage
BENIN CITY: The opening of a contested museum in Nigeria has been postponed indefinitely after protesters disrupted a private event on Sunday.
The Museum of West African Arts was scheduled to officially open on Tuesday but will now be delayed.
Around 20 men, some armed with wooden bats, stormed into the museum courtyard during a pre-opening event for donors and industry professionals.
Guests were forced to take refuge inside the building as the protesters caused minor damage in the courtyard.
“Protesters entered and began vandalising part of the reception pavilion, where we receive visitors, then they stormed inside the front section, where the exhibition area is located,” museum founder Phillip Ihenacho told AFP.
After approximately two hours, guests were escorted away in buses to a nearby hotel.
The museum has sparked political tensions between the former state governor and his successor, who is an ally of the city’s traditional ruler Oba Ewuare II.
The traditional ruler believes he should be in charge of the museum rather than the current management.
Ihenacho said he believed the protesters were “representatives from the palace” of Oba Ewuare II.
“We have never pretended to be anything other than the Museum of West African Art,” Ihenacho added.
Nigeria’s Culture Minister Hannatu Musa Musawa condemned the incident in a statement late Sunday.
“The reported disruption at MOWAA not only endangers a treasured cultural asset but also threatens the peaceful environment necessary for cultural exchange and the preservation of our artistic patrimony,” she said.
The museum was launched five years ago by Nigerian businessman Phillip Ihenacho with support from the former governor of Edo State.
It has received financing from the French and German governments, the British Museum, and private donors.
The institution is designed to house exhibition spaces and archives while hosting residencies for West African artists and craftspeople.
Benin has been working for years to recover artefacts seized during the colonial era, particularly the “Benin Bronzes” looted more than 120 years ago.
Most of the ornate bronzes were taken by British soldiers in a retaliatory raid and subsequently sold to museums across Europe and the United States.
The culture minister said authorities are consulting with the Edo State government and security agencies to establish the circumstances and ensure an appropriate response. – AFP
