…as sixty-three Benin Bronzes repatriated to Nigeria.
By Joy Odor
The Acting United States Ambassador to Nigeria, David Greene and Nigeria’s Minister of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the implementation of Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) grant to the International Council on Monuments and Sites in Nigeria (ICOMOS-Nigeria).
Ambassador Greene in his welcome address in Abuja informed that the purpose of AFCP grant to ICOMOS-Nigeria is to document, conserve and improve the cultural heritage of the Sukur UNESCO World Heritage Site in Adamawa State.
This is even as a total of sixty-three Benin Bronzes have been successfully repatriated to Nigeria since 2022 according to Ambassador Greene with intensified joint efforts to identify, intercept, and repatriate looted, or other displaced cultural property and related heritage works.
He explained that the history centers around the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation provided $1.5 million for 14 projects across 21 states since 2001.
Ambassador Greene affirmed that the AFCP grant would support ICOMOS-Nigeria and its local partners to help preserve Sukur cultural heritage through infrastructure enhancements, revival of threatened traditional crafts, and documentation and preservation of the Sakun language.
This, he maintained, would require a collaborative effort amongst organizations, saying that he is pleased to witness the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding covering the planned project.
Ambassador Greene expressed his profound gratitude to Nigerian partners for being able to preserve culturally significant arts, sites, and other heritage items and their unwavering dedication to conserve, protect, and preserve Nigeria’s cultural heritage.
Ambassador Greene opined that US government eagerly anticipates building upon the partnership in the years to come, and hoped to have an opportunity to visit the Sukur site.
“I will give just one outstanding example: in 2020, we awarded the U.S. non-profit organization CyArk a $125,000 grant to digitally survey and document the Busanyin Shrine within the Osun Osogbo Sacred Grove.
“That effort created a digital record of the shrine to use in planning future projects and preservation initiatives, and at the same time provided training in digital tools and cultural heritage management for local professionals.
“Building on twenty years of AFCP grants, in 2021, the United States and Nigeria signed the bilateral Cultural Property Agreement. With that, we intensified joint efforts to identify, intercept, and repatriate looted, or other displaced cultural property and related heritage works.
“These efforts paved way for the official transfer in October 2022 of twenty-two Benin Bronzes back to Nigeria. I am pleased to report that since 2022, the number has grown, and now a total of sixty-three Benin Bronzes have been successfully repatriated to Nigeria” he concluded.
In her speech, the Minister of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa confirmed that the Sukur Cultural Landscape in Adamawa State which is another UNESCO’s World Heritage Site in Nigeria is under imminent threat of insurgency and immediate danger imposed by the global climate change.
According to her, it is in this perilous setting that the USA, ICOMOS and the other partners are venturing, bringing their message of hope and support and expressed the gratitude of the Nigerian government and people to join in with other lovers of nature, heritage and culture in showing its deep appreciation to the laudable effort.
The Minister informed that the project aims at undertaking a 2-year conservation and preservation work in the Sukur Cultural Landscape, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is regarded as a place of Outstanding Universal Values.
She said the work also involves the conservation of the tangible and intangible heritage of Sukur Cultural Landscape, enhancing community capacity, strengthening local, national and international links and networks for conserving the site’s Outstanding Universal Values and buttressing the resilience of the Sukur community in the face of insurgency and climate change.
“Some of our noticeable collaborations include: The Cultural Property Agreement Implementation Grants (CPAIG) Program for Emergency and Disaster Preparedness Response and Recovery.
“The Cultural Property Implementation Act (CPIA) Agreement. The soon to commence Cultural Antiquities Taskforce (CATF) training on Illicit Export of Nigerian Antiquities. And the Nigeria-USA Bi-National Commission meetings in which the NCMM has been contributing to.
“Remarkably, the USA has consistently supported cultural projects in Nigeria. One of the means through which the United States deploys its support for culture, is the veritable Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation.
“It is worthwhile to state that the USA has graciously and bountifully extended its friendship towards Nigeria through this Fund. Some of the projects the United States has supported include:
“The Re-Org Project wherein many National museums in Nigeria were supported in reorganizing their collections. This was done in conjunction with Ahmadu Bello University.
“The Sungbo-Eredo archaeological Earthwork Conservation Project of the ancient moat bestriding an extensive swathe of the modern boundary of Lagos and Ogun States in Nigeria in conjunction with the College of William and Mary in Virginia, USA in conjunction with the NCMM and two Nigerian Universities.
“This project will help to preserve and build awareness of this monumental public work that is currently under increasing pressure from urbanization, industrialization, and erosion. Another project is the preservation and conservation work at Osun Osogbo Cultural Site which is a World Heritage Site.
“Others are the 3-D Documentation of the Busanyin Shrine in Osun
Osogbo Cultural Site in conjunction with CyArk. And the Yale University agreement with NCMM on wood conservation in National museum, Lagos.
“This project is being anchored by the Nigerian branch of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the NCMM under the coordination of Terry Little of Ahmadu Bello University, a true lover of Nigeria. Other partners are the American University of Nigeria, Yola and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Other contributors are the Washington State University, University of Calgary and Factum Foundation from the United Kingdom.
“This event affords me the opportunity of mentioning the Cultural Property Implementation Act (CPIA) Bi-lateral Agreement between Nigeria and the USA which was signed in February, 2022.
“Under the CPIA Agreement, no archaeological or ethnological material that is the subject of the said bilateral agreement may be imported into the United States without documentation certifying that the exportation of such objects was not in violation of the laws of Nigeria; undocumented objects are subject to seizure and forfeiture and will be returned by the Government of the United States to the Government of Nigeria without the need for costly lawsuits.
“This agreement has proved to be of immense benefit to Nigeria as it constitutes deterrence to illegal exporters of Nigerian antiquities.
“To make a success of this agreement and to train the stakeholders in Nigeria, the US Government and the US Embassy in Nigeria are collaborating with the NCMM to organize a training program for stakeholders in Nigeria.
“These stakeholders include the customs, immigration, Office of the National Security Adviser, the Nigerian Police etc have been carefully selected for their relevance” she noted.
