The much-anticipated opening of the Museum of West African Art in Benin City, Edo State, has been postponed indefinitely after protesters disrupted a private pre-opening event on Sunday, officials confirmed.
The museum, founded five years ago by Nigerian entrepreneur Phillip Ihenacho with the support of Edo’s former governor, was scheduled to officially open its doors on Tuesday.
However, the unrest has forced organizers to suspend the ceremony until further notice.
Backed by the French and German governments, the British Museum, and several private donors, MOWAA was established to serve as a major cultural hub for West African art.
It was designed to feature exhibition spaces, archives, and artist residencies for creatives from across the region.
The Sunday event, which was intended for donors and art professionals, turned chaotic when about 20 men, some wielding wooden bats, stormed the museum’s courtyard, causing damage and sending guests scrambling for safety.
“Protesters entered and began vandalising part of the reception pavilion, where we receive visitors, then they stormed inside the front section, where the exhibition area is located,” Ihenacho told AFP. Guests were later evacuated by bus to a nearby hotel after the two-hour standoff.
The incident underscores growing political tension surrounding the project, which has been a point of contention between Edo State’s former governor and his successor, an ally of the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II.
The monarch insists that control of the museum should fall under his authority.
Benin City has long campaigned for the return of its looted treasures, particularly the world-renowned Benin Bronzes, which were taken by British forces more than a century ago and later dispersed to institutions across Europe and the United States.
Ihenacho suggested that those behind the protest may have ties to the royal palace. “We have never pretended to be anything other than the Museum of West African Art,” he said.
Reacting to the disruption, Nigeria’s Minister of Culture, Hannatu Musa Musawa, strongly condemned the violence.
“The reported disruption at MOWAA not only endangers a treasured cultural asset but also threatens the peaceful environment necessary for cultural exchange and the preservation of our artistic patrimony,” she said.
Musawa added that the ministry was “in active consultation with the Edo State government, security agencies and all relevant stakeholders to establish a full understanding of the circumstances and to ensure an appropriate and proportionate response.”
