COMMUNITY MUSEUMS AS HOLDING CENTRES FOR RETURNED NIGERIAN CULTURAL HERITAGE

Abstract

Looting and trafficking of cultural heritage in the areas known today as Nigeria started during the exploration and expansion of British territories in Africa. Missionaries, military officers, traders and anthropologists were notorious for their involvement in the illegal expropriation of artefacts. After the independence, looting of Nigeria’s cultural heritage continued in museums, palaces, shrines and other sacred places. However, in recent years, several people and institutions have campaigned for the return of artefacts to their original owners. Consequently, there was a return of two ancient Benin bronze artefacts; a cockerel (Okukor) and UhunwunElao (Oba head) by the Jesuit College of Cambridge University and the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. This however,sparked a row as to who should take custody of the artefacts between Edo State Government and the Benin Royal Palace. This papersuggests that the Benin Royal Palace and other royal houses in Nigeria are custodiansof the peoples’ culture and should keep the artefacts and others that may be returned in future in a community museum. This study was carried out through documentary research approach. Relevant information was sourced in reports, books, monographs, newspapers, magazines, academic theses and internet sources, in order to have a comprehensive review of the previous reports on stolen and returned artefacts.