Protesters invade new art museum in Benin
The highly anticipated opening of the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) was thrown into chaos after protesters invaded the premises, forcing the evacuation of international guests and the cancellation of all preview events.
The multi-million dollar state-of-the-art cultural hub in Edo was conceived partly as a future home for the renowned Benin bronzes — priceless artefacts looted by British soldiers in the 19th century.
However, a bitter dispute over who should control the soon-to-be-returned treasures appeared to be at the heart of the protest.
What was planned as an exclusive preview for investors, artists, and international dignitaries quickly devolved into turmoil.
A group of protesters breached the heavily secured grounds on Sunday, chanting war songs and demanding that the institution be named the “Benin Royal Museum” instead.
As a proud Benin man, I felt embarrassed today at the conduct of some allegedly sponsored thugs who invade MOWAA threatening foreign nationals.
How backward do we want our state to be?
Here is gist 👇@instablog9ja @yabaleftonline @Naija_PR
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Mowaa is a scam obaseki plans to quickly open the museum before d suppose date was stop by Edo youths the white people who came were calmly order out from the museum… The Oba word is final no opening till investigation is done.
