The long-anticipated opening of the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) in Benin City has been halted indefinitely after a private preview event was disrupted on Sunday by a group of protesters who stormed the premises, scattering guests and forcing an early evacuation.
MOWAA, launched five years ago under the vision of Nigerian financier Phillip Ihenacho, was expected to open its exhibition galleries this week as a beacon for West African artistry—an institution designed not merely to display objects, but to train artists, conserve heritage, and re-imagine the role of cultural institutions on African soil.
But the soft-launch reception for donors and culture stakeholders was abruptly interrupted when about twenty men, some carrying wooden sticks, entered the museum’s courtyard and began damaging the reception pavilion, witnesses said. Guests were hurried into the inner rooms for safety and were later escorted out in buses to a nearby hotel.
The motivations behind the protest were not formally stated, but the tension around MOWAA’s management has simmered for months. The project was originally backed by the previous Edo State administration; the current administration maintains closer alignment with the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, who has been vocal that institutions stewarding Benin heritage should fall under the palace’s authority.
The dispute is rooted in a deeper, emotionally charged history: the legacy of the Benin Bronzes, stolen under violent colonial invasion in 1897 and scattered across Western museums. As some of those artworks slowly begin returning, the question of who holds custodianship has become more than administrative — it is about authority, identity, history, and the soul of a kingdom.
Ihenacho, responding to the incident, expressed disappointment but stopped short of confrontation.
“We have never pretended to be anything other than the Museum of West African Art,” he said. “We are building a space for artists, scholars, and the future. This is meant to be a homecoming — not a battleground.”
However, he acknowledged that he believed the men were sent from the palace.
The Oba’s palace has not yet issued a statement.
For now, the museum’s doors remain closed. Not because the work is unfinished, but because history, politics, memory, and authority are still negotiating their place in the room.
And in Benin City where bronze once melted into myth, the debate continues.
