BENIN ARTEFACTS: Federal, State Govts Have No Rights To Keep The Artefacts, Says BSM

By The9JaTREND

Benin Solidarity Movement (BSM) Worldwide has reiterated the fact that the Benin artefacts were taken from the Palace of the Oba of Benin by the British Invaders and emphasized that the Federal and State governments do not have any rights or obligation to keep the Benin Artefacts but to return them to the rightful owner - Oba of Benin Kingdom.

President of the Movement, Comrade Curtis Eghosa Ugbo and the Acting Secretary General, Mrs. Esohe Adun, gave the advise while reacting to a newspaper publication dated 15th July, 2021 by a proxy group that goes by the name IGUN-IGBESANWAN-OWINA DESCENDANTS CULTURAL MOVEMENT OF EUROPE AND AMERICA and signed by Erhauyi Isokponwu and Adolor Oviasu-Oreoghene respectively claiming that 75 percent of the artefacts belong to them. 

The Movement doubt if the group is duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and also to know the identity of both individuals that signed the publication.

"We want to set the record straight for them to understand the history of the Great Benin Kingdom, which they seem not to be familiar with, according to their publication. 

"It is a known fact that the Benin Artefacts were taken from the Palace of the Oba of Benin by the British Invaders and not at IGUN, IGBESAMWAN and OWINA as claimed by the publication and it is also a known fact that those artefacts were not taken from their various homes because, according to the history told us by our grandparents, those artefacts (mainly Benin Bronzes) were made at various locations and were brought to the Oba Palace and they were paid for by the Oba of Benin, and they served various purposes while some were used to decorate the Palace. 

"It is also an obvious fact that if Benin Kingdom did not loss the battle, the British could have not been able to create the country Nigeria. 

"The Benin sovereignty spread from the Heart of Benin to Lagos, Dahomey now Republic of Benin even to part of Ghana, Ga tribe of Ghana are Benins. All Deltas are part of Benin so Benin was the only barrier for the British Invaders; The year 1914 that the exiled king of Benin join his ancestors that same year British amalgamated the South and North to form Nigeria publicly declare it is no longer the King of Benin that is the King but the white man. 

"The then first Governor General of the new country called Nigeria was Lord Lugard, his wife suggested the name Nigeria for the new country with a British flag and currency British Pounds. The British tried all their possible best to reduce the power of the Benin Kingdom to the North Hausa/Fulani and Yoruba that they trained and took along during their war with Benin Empire," the statement opined.