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Nigeria's impressive new Museum of West African Art (Mowaa) has found itself in the middle of local power politics during the week it was supposed to – but failed – to begin operations to the visitors for the very first time.

The Major Initiative

The six-hectare campus is located in the heart of Benin's urban center, administrative center of the southern region of Edo – and contains an excavation site and facilities planned by celebrated British-Ghanaian architect Sir David Adjaye, best known for the Smithsonian African American Museum that began operations in the US capital in 2016.

It has been five years in the making – and is planned to honor both the heritage and the present of cultural innovation in the region renowned for the historic artworks, cultural objects stolen from the city's royal palace by British soldiers in the 19th Century.

Preparation and Promise

It is impressive – and before the anticipated opening, Mowaa was energetic with staff committed to show it is a institution that can compete with established museums and galleries in the Europe and America.

Within preservation experts precisely opened art pieces from safety materials, checking each artifact and taking detailed records before arranging them on walls and bases.

Experts fine-tuned environmental controls. In the scientific facility, personnel set up equipment intended to conserve historical objects.

Funding and Economic Goals

The venture has been the concept of businessman Phillip Ihenacho – now Mowaa's chief executive.

"I want us to have a major economic benefit on communities in this region," he told journalists, noting that he hoped to make Benin City "an arts hub."

Mowaa, a not-for-profit local organization, envisions itself creating more than 30,000 employment opportunities and adding more than $80m annually to the area arts sector through alliances and events.

Investment and Administrative Problems

It has taken $25m to get here – funds raised from different supporters, such as the international partners, the British Museum and the Edo state government.

But currently the regional administration has withdrawn support from beneath it – revoking the occupancy of the property on which the facility was constructed.

An official representative stated this was because in the initial documents it had called itself EMOWAA – and it had subsequently eliminated "the state identifier" from its name.

Unrest and Official Response

This declaration was preceded by demonstrations on the weekend, when activists invaded the complex insisting it be designated the Royal Benin Museum.

A disruptive crowd insulted foreign guests at the venue prior to the launch – forcing them to be hurried away under official guard.

National leader Bola Tinubu has even stepped in to try and resolve the conflict, creating a high-level committee to manage the situation.

Political Complexities

But why has this turned into so controversial – and such a public relations crisis?

The majority of it comes down to internal conflicts at a area administrative level, as it was Edo's previous governor Godwin Obaseki – whose governance finished last year – who was a major backer of the project.

And it looks like the government of the recently elected official, a close ally of the area king, known as the traditional leader, may seek increased control in the initiative. The protesters on that day, for instance, were calling for that the facility be put under the authority of the current Oba.

The Cultural Artifacts Debate

This brings into focus the disputed topic of the cultural artifacts, one of the region's most celebrated cultural treasures.

Because though the facility does eventually open, these bronzes will be conspicuously absent.

They are metal, ivory and timber sculptures that once decorated the royal palace of the Benin Kingdom before UK forces took them in the late nineteenth century during a colonial invasion.

Today, thousands continue to be scattered across institutions in the West -- including the UK institution, German museum and the New York institution.

Return Initiatives

Their homecoming has become one of the most contested discussions in the global art world. Approximately 150 have presently been returned – and further are scheduled to be repatriated.

When proposals for the museum in Benin City were initially revealed in recent years, the influential figures on the country's cultural sector hoped it would become their natural home – a state-of-the-art campus to exhibit them to the world.

But the waters were muddied recently after the federal government stated that the Oba would be the legal custodian of returned objects – and the monarch's court campaigned for a facility under the king's authority, opposing the wishes of the ex-leader.

Strategic Positioning

This left Mowaa in a difficult situation: asserting a clear stance on repatriation while remaining diplomatic on guardianship – and highlighting its broader vision, which led to|c