The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has used the opportunity of the International Museum Day 2021, to renew calls for the return of looted Nigerian Artefacts.
He also commended countries that have heeded the call.
Mohammed called on Nigerians too especially the elite to join the ongoing campaign to repatriate all looted Nigerian artefacts.
He however commended Individual Nigerians who have established private museums and others who support public museums with their resources.
The campaign for the return of looted artefacts was launched by the Federal Government in October 2019.
The Minister said ”the campaign so far has yielded positive results while thanking the German government and German museums, both according to him are at the forefront of repatriating Nigerian antiquities.”
Mohammed also listed the efforts being made by the Federal Government to recover looted artefacts.
He said ”Nigeria has caused a claim to be instituted before the UNESCO’s mediation body, the Inter-governmental Committee for the Promotion of Return of Cultural Property (ICPRCP), for the return of an Ife bronze object to Nigeria.”
This he said is marking the first time that Nigeria will institute a claim before this international panel.
According to the Minister the Ife bronze head, was stolen from the National Museum in Jos in 1987, and was acquired by an art gallery owner in Belgium, who is now demanding money from Nigeria before releasing it.
The Minister also recalled how he met the Secretary of State for Culture of the United Kingdom in January 2020, to press Nigeria’s demand for the release of the said Ife bronze head, which is now being kept in the British Museum.
He said: ”After a vigorous pursuit, the United States has approved Nigeria’s request, under the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (CPIA). The import of this approval is that any cultural property that is 250 years or older can never enter the United States of America from Nigeria, unless with the official imprimatur of Nigeria.”
He stressed that such antiquities would be returned to Nigeria from the US border without the need for expensive litigations or diplomatic shuttles.
On the home front, Mohammed explained that; ‘‘efforts are being made to forestall further theft of the country’s antiquities and other heritage properties.
”We are placing the law pertaining to this sector before the National Assembly. We know they will give it every support and ensure its expeditious passage.”
The theme of this year’s International Museum Day is ‘The Future of Museums: Recover and Imagine.
The Minister said the theme has its background in the changes the world has experienced in the past year because of the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
”We hope the expected full recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic will be the harbinger of a reimagining that will enable us to leverage on the areas in which we have comparative advantage, our arts and our culture in order to re-launch ourselves to the world,’‘ Mohammed added.
The International Museum Day is celebrated on May 18 every year to bring knowledge and information about museums to the people and to introduce museums to the communities.