Efforts by Governor Godwin Obaseki to get precious Benin artefacts returned to the state after several decades of loosing them in the British expedition is finally materialising with the first set of art pieces to be returned by Germany next year.
Governor Obaseki, who has been at the forefront of the campaign long before he manned the helm of affairs in Edo State, received high ranking German officials on Wednesday in Benin city to finalise modalities for the return of the works.
The German delegation is billed to visit the palace of the Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II, Oba of Benin, on Thursday, to firm up cooperation with the palace.
Obaseki said the visit by the German delegation is a major milestone in realising the dream of restoring the heritage of Edo people and preserving their sense of identity and culture.
The governor also facilitated the meeting between the German officials and the Federal Government agencies in Abuja some few days ago, where the Minister of Culture and Information, Lai Mohammed, parleyed with the visiting party.
The German officials had in April, 2021 announced the country’s resolve to lead the consortium of museums in Europe and across the world in the restitution programme, setting up machinery and modalities to return the works in their collection starting from 2022.
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