Stolen Artefacts, Colonial Injustices And Africa's Deprivation Of Historical Education
By Ojima Appiah
In 2017, French president, Emmanuel Macron publicly pledged to return artefacts looted from Africa during the colonial era. This was followed by a report commissioned by Macron, which recommended that France amend its heritage law to enable the restoration of artworks taken during this period. In a show of good faith, France returned an estimated 25,500 archaeological pieces and fossils to Morocco in October 2020. The items dating back to the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras were seized by French authorities in Arles and Perpignan between November 2005 and November 2006. In 2020, Mexico also returned a smuggled ancient bronze sculpture to Nigeria, after it was intercepted by customs officials in the country. Highlighting the issue around the unlawful possession of ancient artefacts, the Mexican Deputy Secretary of Foreign Affairs eloquently stated that "...the illegal commercialisation of archaeological pieces, [is] an important cause of the impoverishment of the cultural heritage of the nations of origin, since it undermines the integrity of cultures and, therefore, of humanity”.
Following in the footsteps of countries like France and Mexico, in March of 2021, the University of Aberdeen released a statement that it would be returning a controversial Benin Bronze that depicts the Oba (King) of Benin, to Nigeria. The artefact had been in the university’s possession since 1957 when it was purchased through auction. Commenting on the issue, the principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Aberdeen stated that “It would not have been right to have retained an item of such great cultural importance that was acquired in such reprehensible circumstances”. The University of Aberdeen remains one of the first public institutions of its kind in the United Kingdom to take such remedial action, signalling a departure from the stance held by other public bodies, who have instead chosen to defend their ‘right’ to hold on to these prized possessions.
As talk of restitution takes centre stage, it is important to note that the matter at hand goes beyond the ceremonial act of returning looted African items. While returning African artefacts to their rightful owners is a step in the right direction, it does not go far enough in addressing Britain’s colonial injustices created as a direct consequence of colonial-era looting. In fact, it opens up the age-old, yet important conversation around the nature of inequalities between the global north and the global south, and how this has been further engendered by the inequitable distribution of African artefacts, creating a situation in which western countries continually benefit from unrestricted access to indigenous artefacts at a cost to Africa. The nature of these inequalities (worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic) was highlighted, by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in collaboration with the International Council of Museums (ICOM), in a study that found crippling disparities between museums in western countries and those found in the African continent. The report published in May 2020 found that Africa - which is the second-largest continent in the world, accounts for less than 1.5 per cent of the world’s museums, a situation worsened by inequities in the distribution of, and allocation of African artefacts and antiquities from the colonial era.
Differences in the allocation of artefacts have had an indirect impact on the development of educational systems (in the west and Africa). The fact that Britain still enjoys rights to prized African possessions represents an uneven power dynamic, which Britain has continually exploited to influence historical narratives. In this regard, Britain's history is often favoured over and beyond that of Africa's. This is exemplified in the manner in which historians depict and emphasize the European experience, at the cost of African realities. Often, history literature contains ‘whitewashed’ accounts of events like WWI and WWII, that highlight the role of western powers, with little or no reference to African soldiers. Even though several African soldiers either fought alongside western ‘allies’ or were embroiled in proxy wars on their behalf. In Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male Power, Ijeoma Oluo articulates that misleading historical narratives have endured and populated our educational institutions. She argues that "the story of the struggle and victory of white colonizers worked its way into school history books, both erasing the crimes committed against Native people and cementing an idea of American heroism…” It is an undeniable fact that colonial-era looting has created not just infrastructural and economic inequalities, between the global north and global south, but cultural and educational inequalities too.
Attempts at reacquainting Africa with its past are often met with resistance, showing an implicit desire by western actors to maintain the status quo. Western commentators opposed to the idea of returning African artefacts put forward an inherently flawed argument for continued custodianship. Some argue that it is not in the interest of the public good, while others believe that African museums are insufficiently equipped to exhibit their artefacts. Nicholas Thomas, director of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge expressed the absurd notion that some indigenous communities are pleased with the fact that stolen artefacts remain in the custody of western museums. Speaking on the matter in 2019, Tristram Hunt, director of the Victoria and Albert (V&A) museum in London, indicated that “we need to tread carefully along a path of total restitution, dictated by a political timetable. There remains something essentially valuable about the ability of museums to position objects beyond particular cultural or ethnic identities, curate them within a broader intellectual or aesthetic lineage, and situate them within a wider, richer framework of relationships while allowing free and open access, physically and digitally”. Adding that “for a museum like the V&A, to decolonise is to decontextualise…” This sort of equivocation distracts from the issue at hand and underpins a lack of goodwill in redressing colonial injustices.
It is noteworthy to mention that in 2008, the erstwhile president of Ethiopia, Girma Wolde-Giorgis, formally requested the V&A museum to return looted Ethiopian artefacts it had in its possession but was however informed that the only option available was to offer the items on a “long-term loan”. The Ethiopian government rightfully declined this offensive proposition, stating that accepting the offer “would signal a legal acceptance of UK ownership”. Arguing against the unethical notion of ‘loaning’ African artefacts to their owners, Savoy – one of the authors of the report commissioned by Macron, stated that “there’s a symbolic dimension around property rights…if you can loan your objects you are respected in the museum world because you can impose your will and conditions. In the capitalist sphere being able to loan gives you power and it means you can impose your own rights.”
As a result of western reluctance, many materials of historical significance which imbue the African past; including fossils, and artefacts, that form the basis for scholarly African literature, continue to remain housed in western museums. Furthermore, African museums cannot adequately portray African pre-colonial history because they lack important works of arts and artefacts needed to contextualise African realities.
For any hope of meaningful restitution to address the irreparable nature of colonial injustices, and the resultant adverse effects these wrongs have birthed, it is vital that going forward, African history be correctly highlighted and adequately portrayed, particularly Britain's role in pillaging its former colonies. This should be done in partnership with African and western scholars, primarily through the medium of literature, to clearly articulate Africa’s pre-colonial history, and the role played by Africa in European advancement. Revised literature should be included as part of prescribed study material that is taught in secondary schools and higher institutions of learning, in the United Kingdom and Nigeria (as well as other parts of the world). While this will not rewrite the wrongs of the past, it will serve as an attempt to address the injustices of the past, by correctly portraying Africa within its historical context. In doing so, future generations both in Africa and the west will have a better understanding of Africa’s past, rather than the skewed perspective often peddled by western historical accounts.
Secondly, since institutions such as the V&A museum continue to show unwillingness with regards to the full and unconditional restoration of African artefacts, an alternative remedial option is to create a monetary reparation fund. In doing so, western countries must offer financial payment to former African colonies for every year that their artefacts remain in the custody of European museums, until such a time that these items are returned in full to their rightful owners.
Ojima Appiah is a political scientist, freelance writer, and founder of Writings of an African Bohemian, a blog she says was born out of a need to unpack discussions we hold at our dinner tables covering a myriad of topics including race, culture and feminism.
Ojima has lived in different parts of the world, something that has shaped her world view and informs her writing. She has notably worked at the Henry Jackson Society, focusing on radicalisation, and countering violent extremism in the online world.
You can connect with her on Twitter @BohemianAfrican and Instagram @the_african_bohemian