Given your passion for art, has the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture approached you for advice or have you given them a blue print on how to preserve our cultural heritage?
I do Not have any comment about that.
There is an on- going international controversy. The controversy is old. The British carted away many artefacts from Benin when they deposed Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi in 1897 ( there is a movie on that, Invasion 1897). Have you in any way been part of this crusade to bring these artefacts back to Nigeria?
I cannot claim to be personally involved in this crusade. I have an uncle who is a professor of intellectual property who has been championing the cause on this issue, around the world and has intellectually contributed significantly in international organizations, universities and governments. He is the one best suited and qualified to answer this question.
Be that as it may, on the Benin cultural objects that some recently claimed to have returned to this country, it appears that nobody deemed it fit to carry out an age analysis of those works, with a view to ascertaining the authenticity of the claim as to the truthfulness of whether those returned works are genuinely as old as are claimed. No. Was there any effort made to that effect? No. Hence one is not sure that efforts were made to date those works claimed to be old Benin works, with a view to making sure that they are really our old works being returned. My first reaction to the return of our pillaged art works is that the ones we have here in our custody; are they being adequately taken good care of ? Not really. We appear not to be taking adequate care of them but here we are, clamoring for the return of those other works under adequate and effective conservation and preservation.
My recommended solution to this problem is either of the two two alternatives. The first alternative is that, those works that are out there should be acknowledged as not belonging to those people holding them in hostage but to us. In other words, we should separate the two titles to the works into legal title and possessory title. Now let my country go and discuss with some of the countries having possession of our works unlawfully and let them acknowledge that the legal title to those works belongs to my country. This way, they can continue to have the possessory title to those works in furtherance of propagating, researching and promoting the culture of my people and under this arrangement, they can continue to keep the works in good condition, on our behalf. But under this agreement, they must annually pay royalty to our country for being allowed the equitable title to the works while Nigeria retains the legal title to them subject to some say fixed years of negotiated reviews
I am not one of those clamoring for the works to be returned. My position is that we should go and discuss with them, let them acknowledge our ownership of the legal title to the works and let them pay us an annual fee that recognizes our legal title, but let them continue to hold and care for the works and do what they want to do with it but any time we want them for use, we would give them enough notice to have those works borrowed by us, for our use . A good example of the source of the controversy that you refer to, occurred In 1977 during Festac 77when Britain refused to lend our Ivory Idia head to us, for that event. A pre- existing agreement under this my suggested alternative, would have avoided this controversy. We should begin work towards arranging this kind of agreement
We must appreciate that those countries holding back to our artworks, have created extensive industries benefiting from those artworks. On the other here, we unfortunately regard those works, as demonic which should not so valued for some reasons. Even here for instance, some have expressed the fear that the works we hold here are being worshipped by me! I usually laugh in reaction.
My second alternative solution to this problem is that, instead of us clamoring for the return of those works, let us ask the United Nations to create a world museum in which the works that have been stolen and other works volunteered by different countries can be put in a world museum. In doing this, any of our works say, being held by the British, should be taken to the world museum and let those industries that are thriving in the use of the works continue to enjoy them along with others in the world Museum. Hence the world generally would own and enjoy the works in the world museum.
Such a world museum would operate under the same principles and practice as other world bodies like, the world health organization. So the world museum would hold all works in trust for the whole world. Holders of stolen works would relinquish possession of the works and move them to the world museum. All scholars, artists, leaders, tourists, etc would visit the world museum to enjoy the works.
When I read the Financial Times story I was happy. The name of one Moroccan was mentioned and another organisation in South Africa. Are you in any way in contact with them to do something for Africa?
To the best of my knowledge and at the risk of being immodest, I am the first black African to do what I am doing. I am not in contact with any of the two you mentioned, but I am aware of such development. I know that the ones in South Africa and Morocco are established by non black Africans. Hence I appear to be the first black African to be establishing a museum selflessly, for the benefit of the world. I am doing what I am doing because, I don’t want my life time labour in collecting art to be lost and I don’t want to transfer the burden of managing my works of art to my children. When you arrange for your children to inherit works of art and you preclude them from selling the works, you are effectively transferring the big burden of managing the works to them. Your children have their own lives to live, they have their own path to follow in life, so why transfer such burden to them? Why must I give them the cross of my own passion and obsession to carry for me?
So the reason why I am establishing the museum in partnership with Pan-Atlantic University, is to have a place where I can have experts to help keep my legacy alive without my children being burdened and to allow school children, visitors, scholars, curators and Artists to continue to interact with the works far more than the way they currently do. When the Museum is in a place, where the works would be adequately taken care of, then I can be rest assured that my labour will not be lost. Many people have their such labour go to waste because they collect and never prepare for what would happen to the works after they die. Hence the reason for the museum is to have not only a place where my country can be proud of but to establish the first sitting exhibition space of Nigerian modern art in the Yemisi Shyllon Museum, PAU. Again, such an institutionalized arrangement is much better placed to attract grants, international funding, organize cultural exchanges with the collection and better able to use the work to promote research and other academic engagements with the use of my works granted to the Museum. In Nigeria, have many galleries, but such a museum does not exist. This is probably because Nigerians would prefer to spend their money on extensive shopping, holiday visits to similar edifices outside our shores and hosting big parties. I on the other hand, would rather deprive myself of these but prefer promoting our culture which is the essence of our identity as a people.
Leave a Reply