Germany Returns Benin Bronzes to Nigeria

Facts

• Germany has returned 20 Benin Bronzes from its museums to Nigeria, as part of a larger effort of Western nations to repatriate stolen artifacts from Africa. The Benin Bronzes are plaques and sculptures that were looted in 1897 from the ancient Kingdom of Benin — which is now southern Nigeria and not the modern nation-state of Benin — by British military personnel.
• Earlier this year, Germany signed an agreement with Nigeria to release all 1,130 Benin Bronzes in German public museums.
• Nigeria has called this agreement the first of its kind, with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock saying it was part of an effort for Germany to deal with its "dark colonial history."
• Nigerian authorities estimate more than 5K artifacts were stolen from Nigeria by England when it was the country’s colonizer. Most of the treasures were stolen from the Kingdom of Benin, and some ended up in the custody of other foreign governments such as Germany.
• Nigeria will celebrate the return of the first bronzes with an exhibition featuring the artifacts in early 2023.
• Germany's returns are likely to increase pressure on the British Museum in London, which holds the largest collection of Benin Bronzes. Nigeria's information minister called on the British Museum to release the 900 Benin Bronzes it has.

Sources: NPR Online News, CNN, BBC News, Al Jazeera, DW, and Reuters.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by Al Jazeera. The return of these artifacts is long overdue. It is significant that Germany is making efforts to deal with its colonial past, and it is time that other Western nations follow suit. Artifacts stolen during colonial times should be repatriated to their countries of origin.
• Right narrative, as provided by Guardian. Western museums serve a nuanced purpose and should not just automatically bow to calls to return artworks acquired during a colonial past. Current discourses on decolonizing museums speak in absolutes of good and bad instead of looking at the subtle histories of empires beyond a focus on colonial violence. To decolonize museums is to decontextualize museums, and remove the multicultural histories of western nations.