MOWAA: Oshiomhole-Led Panel Recommends Return of Museum to Oba of Benin

By Rosemary Okoduwa

The Special Committee on the Museum for West Africa Art (MOWAA), chaired by former Edo State Governor and Senator Adams Aliu Oshiomhole, has submitted its report on the ownership, funding and status of the museum project to the Edo State Government.

According to a statement signed by Dr. Patrick Akhere Ebojele, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Oshiomhole, while presenting the report on Thursday, said the committee established that the previous Edo State Government under former Governor Godwin Obaseki committed N3.8 billion in public funds to the project.

Oshiomhole said the project was initially conceived as a Benin Royal Museum to house repatriated Benin artefacts, following sustained efforts by the Oba of Benin for their return. He said the Obaseki administration later demolished the Central Hospital site and changed the museum’s name, first to the Edo Museum of West African Art (EMOWA) and subsequently to MOWAA.

He disclosed that the state government provided N800 million as seed funding, while additional donations included €4 million from the German Government and $1.5 million from the Leventis Foundation. He added that N1 billion was approved and released five days before the expiration of the Obaseki administration, bringing the state’s total expenditure to N3.8 billion.

According to him, the committee also examined claims by MOWAA management that it had received more than $18 million for land acquisition and archaeological excavation, but found the claims unsupported.

The committee recommended that the facility should not be demolished but retained and properly named Benin Royal Museum of African Art. It further recommended that ownership and management of the museum be returned to the Oba of Benin, noting that the traditional institution would provide continuity in preserving the kingdom’s cultural heritage and artefacts.

Receiving the report, Governor Monday Okpebholo commended the committee for what he described as a comprehensive and fair job.
The Governor said he would constitute another committee, in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice, to study the report and produce a White Paper on its recommendations.

He recalled that former Governor Obaseki had initially promised to build a Royal Museum before the project was subsequently renamed MOWAA, adding that the committee had done a great service to the state and its heritage.

The Deputy Governor, Rt. Hon. Dennis Idahosa, Secretary to the State Government, Umar Musa Ikhilor, Esq., Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Roland Otaru, and other senior government officials attended the presentation.