Germany Returns 22 Looted Artifacts To Nigeria

Germany Returns 22 Looted Artifacts To Nigeria

The German Government delegation was led by Annalena Baerbock, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Federal Republic of Germany and Claudia Roth, Minister of State for Culture, Federal Republic of Germany.

Speaking at the ceremony, Annalena Baerbock, Minister of Foreign Affairs, said, “we are here to right the wrong. It was wrong to take them; it was also wrong to keep them. The bronzes, she said, are not just objects, they tell stories. They are part of your history. They are part of who you are.”

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Also speaking, Claudia Roth, Minister of State for Culture, said  “We closed our eyes for too long. Heritage, she said, is handed from generation to generation. For 125 years, Nigeria was denied this heritage.” Roth promised that more of those Benin Bronzes will be coming home where they belong. She pleaded to Nigeria to consider loaning some of the bronzes to German museums.

Roth said, quoting Prof. Wole Soyinka, “We take friendship very, very seriously.”

Earlier, in his opening remarks for the historic event, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, revealed that the Federal Government is constructing infrastructure in Benin City, where the repatriated artifacts will be kept. Benin will become a cultural hub for Africa as a result of the returned bronzes, according to Lai.