President Muhammadu Buhari has urged the west western countries to return assets stolen by past corrupt leaders as well as artefacts taken away by British colonialists.
Speaking on Thursday, October 6, in an opinion article published in the Financial Times of London titled ‘The West must return Africa’s stolen assets, as well as its artefacts,’ the president said that only a fraction of Nigeria’s looted funds has been recovered.
According to him, “Nigerians were delighted by the news this summer that 72 artefacts, known as the Benin Bronzes, held by the Horniman Museum in London were returning home, 125 years after being plundered by British troops. The clamour for repatriation of looted treasures is becoming irresistible.
There was once a similar clamour for the return of Africa’s stolen assets, and I see both as part of the same struggle to bring back to Nigeria what is rightfully ours. Siphoned from the continent by corrupt former leaders, countless billions remain stashed in western bank accounts. Although Nigeria has arguably been the most successful among African nations in securing the return of stolen money, it has recovered only a fraction of what remains in the west.
Given levels of corruption across Africa, there will be concern as to whether funds returned will be used appropriately. But we should not forget that it was through western jurisdictions that the money was laundered in the first place. Not trusting Africans to spend their own money properly echoes the argument that we can’t be trusted to look after our own cultural heritage.
Museums say that treasures should be returned if it can be proved that they were looted. Of course, they argue, it is a different matter if artefacts were acquired through purchases and other legitimate means. But it is the same museums that are responsible for assessing the provenance of artefacts. They have a vested interest in keeping them, encouraging a lackadaisical approach and murky criteria.”
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