It is no longer news that many Nigerian artifacts are in Europe and America held by both public institutions such as Museums, Universities and Galleries as well as by private individuals, but what is new is the collaborative efforts being made by the Nigerian government and the countries where these artifacts are taken in the first place to repatriate them back to the country where they rightly belong.

One of these collaborative diplomatic efforts yielded a positive result yesterday when the French Embassy in Nigeria handed over five Nok Terracotta figures seized by the French Customs service in Paris.

Nok arts came to light in 1928, when Co. J. Dent Young found a small terracotta head amongst the gravel from tin mining operations near the village of Nok in Jos Plateau of central Nigeria and since then these cultural materials were named after the village where the finds were made.

It is indeed unfortunate that so much Nok materials have been looted over time to supply the international art market which is supposed to be the exclusive cultural artifacts of the Nigerian people.

So when the French Ambassador to Nigeria Jacques Champagne de Labriolle handed over 5 stolen artifacts of Nok origin to the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCCM) last Tuesday many stakeholders in the art sector landed the move, describing it as a right step in the right direction.

While presenting the artifacts to the Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke, the French ambassador said that the returning of the artifacts is made in accordance with international laws, and within the fame work of a French policy aiming at fighting illegal imports of cultural goods.

He said that the statuettes were seized in France, by the French Customs in Paris in August 2010, as part of the French Customs watch and fight against illegal transportation of cultural goods.

Explaining how the artifacts were recovered before being repatriated to Nigeria, he said, "they were found in the personal luggage of a traveler coming back from Africa. It was quickly established that these art works had been illegally taken away from Nigerian territory. At the time of the seizure, nobody knew where the statuettes exactly came from. They were later analyzed by several French experts, coming from a famous museum (Musee du Quai Branly), from the French Museums Directorate of the Ministry of Culture, and from the Research and Restoration Laboratory of the also famous Louvre Museum. These experts were eventually able to determine their origin."

Ambassador Champagne stressed that the five statuettes are very old; the oldest one dates back between 1400 BC and some 700 BC which according to him may be more than 3000 years now.

"These fine statuettes belong to the famous Nok civilization, whose terracotta art works are the oldest ones known in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Within the frame work of the above mentioned French policy against illegal imports, the French Customs and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs have worked together so that the seized items be returned to Nigeria, as the country of origin of the seized goods, in a move aiming at reinforcing cooperation with the country of origin in the common fight against trafficking."

The Ambassador extended his country's willingness to help Nigeria in the field of protection, restoration and development cultural heritage as well as in the field of conception and management of museums.

He expressed optimism that the return of the seized artifacts will further cement the excellent relations which exist between the two countries and that it will help in preventing further illegal trafficking of items which are part of the Nigerian heritage.


http://m.allafrica.com/stories/201302030190.html/

Oya it ramain UK and USA ohhhhh!!!

We give them 2weeks or we would do what we did to Germany 35years ago

Ijogz K: Oya it ramain UK and USA ohhhhh!!!

We give them 2weeks or we would do what we did to Germany 35years ago

hahaha... What did you do to Germany?!

They're returning them after they've duplicated them abi? I hope its the original they're sending back.

Good move.. Othere countries should start returning ooo

The French govt is trying to take a center stage in Africa. I wish them all the best.









*since we cant manage ourselves, others will help us manage us*

oboy c fear

God save them... Wetin Retardeen for do them ehnnn!

.

Justosaus:
hahaha... What did you do to Germany?!

ha! You dont know what we did Smh

Hw e take reach there before, the artefact borrow wing fly?

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN JUJU HOLD OYIGBO MAN

won't rejoice until that Great Benin Mask is Returned........ no use returning a peanut, priceless and unusefull artifacts when the real koko's are being held back...... A good move anyway!

No use for it again, so they returned it...

They are nothing but thievies who enslaved and destroyed Africa.I hope they will pay tax earned on those artefacts and reparation for the damages incurred.

So wat is d nigerian govt going to do with it now,peopl that av no value for such things,they shud av just left it with the french,at least they av better appreciation of it

Ijogz K: Oya it ramain UK and USA ohhhhh!!!

We give them 2weeks or we would do what we did to Germany 35years ago

What did you do to Germany you clownish village towncrier? Abeg, now nah morning.

braine: They're returning them after they've duplicated them abi? I hope its the original they're sending back.

WORD!!!

Justosaus:
hahaha... What did you do to Germany?!

35 yrs ago when germany do this kind thin, we beg them na

Lol

If you're waiting for the british to follow suit then you better get in line with countries like india, south africa, burma and many more!!! And wait for an enternity cause you're never getting it back!!!

I guess french see hw brutal our soldiers are at Mali, dat made dem fear ;DI guess french see hw brutal our soldiers are at Mali, dat made dem fear:@:p

Symphony007: If you're waiting for the british to follow suit then you better get in line with countries like india, south africa, burma and many more!!! And wait for an enternity cause you're never getting it back!!!

David Cameron will not talk about that one in their G8 summit...

Hmm!GEJ is working...

They should not have returned it nigeria does not know the value#bitter truth

So they finally realised that they stole what doesn't belong to them.

brownlord:

35 yrs ago when germany do this kind thin, we beg them na

Lol

After begging we later applied for Visa

i think the french government should be sued for illegal possession of our artifacts after many year of generating money with it through there museums,
all other foreign countries illegally possessing all our valuable artifacts should all follow suit in returning them to Africa.

THE TIME IS NEARING, AFRICAN/NIGERIAN CIVILIZATION IS A MUST.

Rastafari .

Whatever is given back us will never reduce the price of Garri this Monring. So whats the point ?