THE African Union through its President, Macky Sall, who is also the incumbent President of Senegal, has demanded of European countries to return Africa’s stolen artefacts in their possession.
President Sall made the demand while speaking at the ongoing EU-AU Summit in Brussels, Belgium. He said the restitution of African works remains a matter of high priority, because they are part of Africa’s ‘civilizational identity’.
“If we want to build a new Europe-Africa relational ethic, based on respect and recognition of historical facts, we must pursue the work already started through the recommendations of the Savoy-Sarr report,” President Sall said.
His position was part of the eight proposals from African leaders as contribution to the new partnership with Europe. As colonial masters ‘conquered’ Africa, thousands of its cultural artefacts were stolen. The conquerors took Africans as slaves to work on plantations and to build their countries while the artefacts were displayed in museums.
For instance, in 1897, the British launched a punitive expedition against Benin, in response to an attack on a British diplomatic expedition. Apart from bronze sculptures and plaques, innumerable royal objects were taken as a result of the mission and these are scattered all over the world.
The Bangwa Queen of Cameroon which is now owned by France was either given to or looted by the German colonial agent Gustav Conrau in around 1899 before the territory was colonised, according to the BBC. Africa over the years have continued to demand that artefacts stolen from her be returned to its original home. Both Europe and the United Kingdom have responded but not without conditions.
For instance, in 2018, CNN reported that the British Museum has agreed to “loan” the plaques back to Benin Royal Museum in Edo State for an exhibition within three years.
While restitution has begun, President Sall’s call reinforces the stance of the African people on the ruins of colonialism and the clamour for the return of their stolen heritage.
Sall also called for a revision of the investment risk evaluation criteria in Africa noting that, “the risk perception remains considerably higher than the real risk, which results in high insurance costs, penalises investment and reduces competitiveness of our economies.”
He added that data has shown that 20 per cent of the ranking criteria for Africa is subjective. “For Africa, recent studies show that at least 20 per cent of the ranking criteria of our countries is based on subjective factors, while others are cultural or linguistic in nature, having nothing to do with risk indicators or stability of an economy.
“We call for the simplification of formalities and procedures related to project funding conditions, respecting the rules of good governance and transparency. Very often, these formalities and procedures delay the drafting and execution of projects, which weakens public action and arouses expectations that are sometimes not fulfilled,” he noted.
Sall thanked Europe for its substantial vaccine donations to Africa and solicited fresh support for the reinforcement of the continent’s pharmaceutical and biotechnological capacities.
