Benin City — Stakeholders have advocated for inclusiveness and restitution in the return of the looted Benin artifacts and how the items should be reintegrated.
The stakeholders bared their minds at a panel session organised by the French Embassy in Nigeria in collaboration with IFRA-Nigeria which took place in Benin City, Edo State
The panel discussion with the theme: “The Next Steps Of The Restitution Of African Cultural Heritage And How To Improve Patrimonial Cooperation Between Nigeria and France”, the stakeholders agreed that the stolen artifacts distorted the history of the people.
They noted that the looted artifacts were just not ordinary items to the people, but a documentation of their history and historical events.
Dr. Sola Olorunyomi of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, in his submission, called for the redesigning of the nation’s educational curriculum to accommodate these items historical items.
“The people should be able to know what these items represented then and what they still represent now.
“There should be no segregation on the basis of religion; Christianity or Islam, this is because these artifacts do not represent objects to be worshipped,” he noted.
Another panelist, Dr. Oluwatoyin Sogbesan, a Cultural Historian, Architect and Museology, also of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, noted that the story of Africans and their identity were what these stolen artifacts represents.
“Therefore, these items have not only distorted the history of the people but a great disservice to them as well.
According to her, “In reintegration of these items, there should be improvement in the professionals in the museum sector. I should be able to visit the museum and feel that I have connection with these items.
“Museum should be a space for interractiveness and not just a space for tangible objects. To be relevant, museum space should be engaging in digital interaction, a space where curriculum can be design and redesigned.”
On his part, the Director of Laga y Restoration Trust, Mr. Enotie Ogbebor, noted that the importance of repatriating the stolen items is for the people to rediscover their history, tradition and recover from what they have missed.
Similarly, the Deputy Director, National Council for Arts and Culture, Benin Zone, Princess Ivie Uwa-Igbinoba, Deputy Director, said she did not just believe in only returning the stolen items, but that compensation should be paid.
She said the people must not lose hope as efforts was being made to ensure the repatriation of the stolen artifacts which started in 1940 is actualised.