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Nigeria's stunning new Art Museum of West Africa (Mowaa) has landed in the center of local power politics during the week it was expected to – but did not manage – to open its doors to the visitors for the first time.

The Grand Vision

The 15-acre campus stands in the heart of the Edo state capital, capital of the southern region of Edo – and includes an archaeological dig and buildings created by high-profile British-Ghanaian architect Sir David Adjaye, best known for the Smithsonian African American Museum that was inaugurated in the US capital in 2016.

It has been half a decade in the creation – and is designed to celebrate both the past and the current era of cultural innovation in the locale famous for the cultural artifacts, historical pieces looted from the royal palace by UK forces in the nineteenth century.

Preparation and Promise

It is notable – and prior to the planned opening, Mowaa was active with staff resolved to show it is a place that can compete with renowned art institutions in the West.

Within preservation experts carefully opened art pieces from protective packaging, checking each artifact and taking thorough notes before placing them on walls and bases.

Experts calibrated climate control systems. In the scientific facility, personnel adjusted instruments designed to maintain ancient artefacts.

Funding and Economic Goals

The project has been the brainchild of investor Phillip Ihenacho – now Mowaa's managing director.

"I hope us to have a substantial economic benefit on communities in this region," he stated to media outlets, mentioning that he hoped to make the city "a tourism center."

Mowaa, a charitable national foundation, sees itself creating more than 30,000 work positions and contributing over $80m annually to the local cultural industry through partnerships and events.

Funding Sources and Political Challenges

It has needed $25m to reach this point – funds raised from various contributors, featuring the international partners, the British Museum and the local administration.

But at present the regional administration has revoked permission from below it – canceling the occupancy of the site on which the facility was constructed.

An government communicator clarified this was because in the initial documents it had called itself Edo Museum of West African Art – and it had subsequently dropped "Edo" from its name.

Unrest and Official Response

This statement was preceded by demonstrations on recently, when people stormed the campus insisting it be called the Royal Benin Museum.

A rowdy group harassed international visitors at the facility ahead of the launch – requiring them to be hurried away under security protection.

Head of state Bola Tinubu has even stepped in to try and resolve the dispute, creating a special task force to do some damage control.

Governance Issues

But why has this become so divisive – and such a PR disaster?

A great deal of it results from internal conflicts at a regional government level, as it was the former state leader Godwin Obaseki – whose administration finished the previous year – who was a key supporter of the museum.

And it looks like the government of the new governor, a close ally of the regional monarch, called the traditional leader, may want increased control in the initiative. The activists on Sunday, for example, were insisting that the facility be positioned under the supervision of the royal leader.

The Historical Objects Discussion

This brings into focus the controversial matter of the Benin Bronzes, one of the continent's most celebrated cultural treasures.

Because though the facility does ultimately open, these bronzes will be conspicuously absent.

They are brass, elephant tusk and wooden carvings that once decorated the royal palace of the Benin Kingdom before UK forces stole them in the late nineteenth century during a military operation.

Currently, many stay scattered across galleries in the West -- such as the UK institution, German museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Return Initiatives

Their homecoming has become one of the most disputed conversations in the international art community. Roughly 150 have currently come back – and more are expected to return.

When ideas for the museum in the city were first announced in recent years, the key players on the national arts community hoped it would become their natural home – a state-of-the-art campus to display them to the global audience.

But the issues became confused recently after the federal government declared that the royal leader would be the rightful owner of any returned bronzes – and the monarch's court advocated for a facility under the royal family's direct control, against the desires of the ex-leader.

Political Navigation

This left Mowaa in a difficult situation: asserting a specific viewpoint on return while staying tactful on guardianship – and emphasising its broader vision, which led to|c