Guardian

IT is very unfortunate that a sizeable number of Nigeria’s priceless artifacts have been looted over time for sale in the international market, mostly in Europe and the United States. Today such great works of art adorn private homes, galleries, public museums and universities in other countries, all to the detriment of the country of origin. Worse still, recovery efforts have been largely futile. Also, whenever the works are traced to a location, no apologies or reparations are offered for such brazen theft of a people’s history and culture. The recent disclosure, therefore, that more than 60 such artifacts from museums in France, Canada, South Africa, Switzerland and the U.S. have been recovered is a welcome development.

In fact, efforts of collaborating countries’ agencies like the French Customs Service that resulted in the seizure of five highly valued Nok Terracotta figures “found in the personal luggage of a traveler” in August 2010 should be acknowledged for future assistance.

An advantage of keeping the treasures, for instance, is the prestige it confers on towns and villages where the treasures originated from. For example, Nok is a little town in Plateau State. (Records show that Nok arts came to light in 1928 when a certain Co. J Dent Young found a small terracotta head amongst the gravel from tin mining operations near the village of Nok and since then, these cultural materials were named after the village. Nigerian towns and villages need more of such global exposures.

However, it is worrisome that more than a century after the British attack on the kingdom of Benin, which occasioned the carting away or the destruction of many of the art gems, pieces of cultural heritage of the country are still being allowed to be stolen. At least 28 bronze and six ivory pieces are believed to have been traced to the U.S Museum of Fine Arts in Boston (although about 10 Nok statues and one carved tusk were once legally returned by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement to the Nigerian Consulate). Of course, the continued theft of Nigerian artifacts gives the country away as careless with its valuable resources and history.

The country has had enough of senseless exploitation. A situation where its artifacts are floating everywhere or sold for virtually nothing to other cultural milieus that far appreciate the worth of antiquities is not acceptable. Again, it is a statement on the wrong attitude of government and its officials like museum managers and security operatives to public trusts.

It is encouraging that Yusuf Abdullah Usman of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) has raised hopes of a process of restitution and total recovery of the cultural goods from France and the U.S, citing the support of the two in particular. The authorities should seize the window of opportunity offered by the collaborative diplomatic efforts to ensure the protection, restoration and development of the people’s cultural heritage. This diplomatic engagement must, however, be in accordance with international laws and should certainly not be to the disadvantage of the country.

It is not enough for the NCMM to threaten individuals, organisations and state governments setting up museums “without the necessary and statutory supervision, regulation and approval” contrary to Act of Parliament CAP 242 of 2000 because it has powers to approve and withdraw such endorsement. The NCMM will do well to step up its oversight functions to encourage compliance and enhance holistic protective measures in the overall interest of the country. All affected museums should also follow due process and regularise whatever anomalies there are in the running or management of the treasure houses. NCMM’s capacity for preservation, documentation exhibition, heritage and management should be strengthened further while collaborating with other museums through bilateral relations beyond the present level.

Nigeria has so much to gain from preservation of its artifacts. The treasures would always be a tourist attraction, especially by art connoisseurs from all over the world. Government should jettison official tardiness and corruption and push the frontiers of development of the tourism industry, which, in spite of huge potentials, is far from being appropriately exploited.

Nigeria could even push for the exhibition of the stolen artifacts in those places where they are currently located for a period and for a fee until they are eventually returned. In the light of the appreciation of Nigerian artifacts out there, local anthropologists should be proud to search for and unearth more.