Last week Nigeria's national grid collapsed entirely. A recent poll found 73% of the population wants to leave. The country is no fit state to look after 'restituted' precious artefacts, says Mike Wells.
Mike Wells asks why British museums are morally obliged to return the Benin bronzes, given that they were created by a brutal, slave-owning regime that engaged in ritual human sacrifice, including the crucifixion of women.
In the latest twist to the farce of the Benin bronzes, a Nigerian Prince has proposed that the restituted artefacts be sold off and the proceeds shared with the "descendants of the slaves".
Tomorrow, Cambridge University's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology was suppose to return 116 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria. But the Museum is now having second thoughts, reports Mike Wells in the Daily Sceptic.
The President of Nigeria has transferred the Benin bronzes to the King of Benin as his personal property, despite him being heir to those who made them from the money which bought their slaves and a complete lack of standards.
Loudly though it demands restitution of ancient artefacts from Western museums, the Nigerian Government seems less concerned about the Benin Bronzes which it already owns. Where exactly are they?
As restitution movements ramp up demands for the return of Benin bronzes to Nigeria, despite their origin as the proceeds of a brutal slave trade, Mike Wells wonders whether some of Nigeria's pieces have gone 'missing'.
