The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has commended the United States for the repatriation to Nigeria 23 Benin bronzes, part of the thousands of artifacts that were looted by the British during their invasion of Benin Kingdom in 1897.
The minister gave the commendation at the Benin Bronzes’ repatriation ceremony in Washington DC on Tuesday.
”Please permit me, on behalf of the government and people of Nigeria, to most sincerely thank the United States and her major cultural heritage institutions for the return of these highly-cherished Benin Bronzes to Nigeria – which is the reason we are here today.
”These artifacts are intrinsic to the culture that produced them. A people ought not to be denied the works of their forebears. It is in the light of this that we are delighted with today’s repatriation of the Benin Bronzes,” Alhaji Mohammed said.
He thanked the Boards of Trustees of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, the National Gallery of…
Source: Leadership Newspaper
