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Nigeria's impressive new Museum of West African Art (Mowaa) has found itself in the middle of regional political struggles during the week it was scheduled to – but did not manage – to begin operations to the visitors for the initial occasion.

The Ambitious Project

The six-hectare facility is located in the heart of Benin's urban center, main city of the southern area of Edo – and features an historical dig and structures planned by celebrated dual heritage architect Sir David Adjaye, most famous for the Smithsonian African American Museum that began operations in the US capital in 2016.

It has been half a decade in the making – and is planned to showcase both the past and the modern times of creativity in the area famous for the cultural artifacts, historical pieces taken from the king's palace by UK forces in the nineteenth century.

Preparation and Promise

It is notable – and prior to the anticipated opening, Mowaa was active with employees determined to show it is a institution that can match well-known art institutions in the Europe and America.

Within art restorers carefully revealed art pieces from safety materials, checking each artifact and taking meticulous records before positioning them on display surfaces and bases.

Specialists adjusted environmental controls. In the materials science laboratory, officers calibrated equipment intended to maintain centuries-old objects.

Funding and Economic Goals

The project has been the concept of businessman Phillip Ihenacho – currently Mowaa's managing director.

"I want us to have a major financial effect on local residents around here," he stated to journalists, noting that he hoped to make the city "a cultural destination."

Mowaa, a charitable national foundation, envisions itself generating more than 30,000 direct and indirect jobs and adding over $80m per year to the area arts sector through collaborations and activities.

Investment and Administrative Problems

It has required $25m to reach this point – funds collected from different donors, featuring the French and German governments, the British Museum and the Edo state government.

But now the local government has pulled the rug from beneath it – terminating the use of the land on which the facility was constructed.

An government communicator stated this was because in the original paperwork it had identified as EMOWAA – and it had subsequently dropped "the state identifier" from its title.

Demonstrations and Government Action

This announcement came after demonstrations on the weekend, when protesters stormed the facility insisting it be called the Royal Benin Museum.

A disruptive group harassed foreign guests at the museum before the inauguration – requiring them to be escorted out under police escort.

Head of state Bola Tinubu has also stepped in to work to address the dispute, setting up a special task force to manage the situation.

Administrative Challenges

But in what way has this evolved into so politicised – and such a reputation problem?

A great deal of it stems from internal conflicts at a regional government level, as it was the former state leader Godwin Obaseki – whose administration finished recently – who was a major backer of the project.

And it appears the government of the new governor, a close ally of the regional monarch, referred to as the Oba, may want increased control in the project. The demonstrators on the weekend, for example, were calling for that the museum be positioned under the authority of Oba Ewuare II.

The Cultural Artifacts Debate

This highlights the disputed topic of the cultural artifacts, one of the region's most celebrated historical legacy.

Because even if the museum does finally welcome visitors, these artifacts will be noticeably missing.

They are brass, elephant tusk and timber artworks that once embellished the monarch's home of the ancient kingdom before colonial troops looted them in the late nineteenth century during a punitive expedition.

Currently, many continue to be spread across galleries in Western nations -- including the London museum, German museum and the American museum.

Restitution Efforts

Their return has become one of the most disputed conversations in the international art community. Roughly 150 have now been returned – and more are due to follow.

When proposals for the museum in the urban center were originally proposed in recent years, the movers and shakers on the country's cultural sector hoped it would become their perfect venue – a state-of-the-art campus to show them off to the world.

But the waters were muddied some time back after the national authorities declared that the Oba would be the proper guardian of repatriated artifacts – and the monarch's court advocated for a facility under the royal family's direct control, opposing the desires of the former governor.

Diplomatic Challenges

This left Mowaa in a challenging circumstance: expressing a specific viewpoint on restitution while remaining diplomatic on custodianship – and highlighting its larger purpose, which led to|c