“It is only through cultural tourism that you can attract foreigners” – Curator, National Benin Museum



In sustaining the cultural heritage of any country there is in the world, at a given period of time, Museums are the best repository of cultural interest and such that should be focused on and generously invested in, in a bid to preserve the nation’s culture which could quickly be forgotten.

In this interview with Nifty Travel, the Curator, National Museum, Benin City, Mr. Theophilus Umogbai explains the history behind the making of the museum, narrating the outstanding contribution of Oba Akenzua, an art enthusiast and the museum’s objectives of sustaining the culture of the people of Benin and Nigeria as a whole through several programs lined up.





Can we meet you sir?

My name is Theophilus Umogbai. I am the Curator, National Museum Benin City.


The National Museum Benin City has been running for awhile now. Can you please tell us about the creation of this historical museum?

The history of this place (museum) is frozen in two eras, time perspective. The first era is the era of archaeology collections where popular writer, Chief Jacob Eghareba had reason to collaborate with the Oba of Benin then, Oba Akenzua to document the heritage assets in the palace and needed a place to put them. So where we are at present was in existence then. We have one or two buildings into which the objects were put and documented, that was in 1946, if my memory serves me right. But it was not until 1973 that the second era actually took off, where we came up with an exhibition (the first exhibition) that exhibition was inspired by the donation of this spherical building. Three floor, three tiers which was built by the governor at that time, (Military Governor of the then mid-west state, Bendel State) S.O Ogbemudia. I think he was a Colonel then. So he built and donated this building to us. That inspired the exhibition which came on stream in 1973. That exhibition lasted till 2016 around July before it was deinstalled by my administration. The deinstallation was anchored in collaboration between the National commission for Museums and monuments and the Smithsonian National Museum of African arts Washington DC centered of course on the Photography holdings of S.O Alonge who was the photographer to the Royal court of Benin.



S.O Alonge 1911-1994 (Benin City Royal Court Photographer)

He covered all the activities then, traditional and whatsoever. He had a studio in Benin. The Ideal Studios, I am talking about the late 30s and the 90s before he died, to which everyday people in Benin then visited during occasions and took photographs. So he helped not just to chronicle the history of the people through the instrumentality of documenting the activities of the Oba in court, he also covered family histories, family albums and the social shots he took of different aspects of family life. Father, mother, sister, brothers, friends, individuals who could afford it then, went to his “Ideal studios”.

So even till now, he not just took those photographs but preserved them through those four decades or more and you know photography then was novel, so he used photography to document the history of the people. So it was unique to the Smithsonian group. One Professor Flora Caplan, came to do some research in the late 60s up to the 80s on gender aspect of our culture in Benin here, so she was used to all of the Oba’s wives and from there she got to meet with S.O Alonge who declared his intention that he was getting old. He will soon retire. He told her that he had a lot of glass plate negatives which he was able to preserve, despite humid condition over those years? So Alonge as a conservator felt he needed someone who will help him project his works. Caplan took hold of all of Alonge’s holdings (negatives and positives included) after his death and acquire it from him, after which Smithsonian paid for them during their second wave of acquisition visit. They went back abroad and documented the glass plates negatives properly. Infact they praised his effort for his local preservation and conservation of these materials.



Smithsonian Group Documentation of Alonge’s Works

In 2012 they now came formally for a synergy between us (The National Museum) and Smithsonian centered on it and told us then, which they have delivered now that, they will do an exhibition around that photographs from 2014 to 2016 after which they will now travel it to Benin. So that exhibition was opened in 2014 in Washington DC and in 2016 just as promised, it came down. In that same year 2016/2017, they brought the material here for us. So chief Alonge exhibitions occupies the first floor. We have three floors, so for the ground floor we had reserved it for the old exhibition and we will continue to do so for Benin cultural heritage, the royalty. You know we cannot separate the history of the royalty from the history of the people. So we captured the history of the people through the monarchy. And we tried to do that on the ground floor.



Since when has Benin National Museum been in existence?

I have just given you time frames now, that’s what I said. I took you back to 1946 but when you say museum, you are talking about museum and gallery. So as a full fledged Museum, we came on stream in 1973, when we opened this exhibit gallery. But we have been there in existence as a repository of those collections that we got from the Oba of Benin that was why I said I froze it in two eras.



So what kind of collections do you collect for the Museum’s gallery?

Ethnography mainly and we still have some Archaeological. We have some Terra cottas mainly Ethnography.



Strictly of Benin Origin?

No, we have some from other tribes. We have some from Bendel and some from other parts of Nigeria.



Do you have some annual events you hold?

It is mainly the museum day which holds annually 18th of May, The international Museum day. It is a worldwide celebration not just us here. It is one event where we mix mind with members of the public and an avenue where we try to see how the museum enters the society and the society comes from the museum. So it is held within our premises. But on a regular basis the education unit of the museum, organizes programs for schools. We educate them about what we do, we have Saturday art club, among holiday programs where children come to the museum and they are taught production of different art forms. Infact what our teachers do is to awaken the consciousness of the children to the innate flare they will have for Art because we know it will manifest. So at the end of each exercise the children get to do stuff like throw pillows, mold clay, basketry. So many things that their parents get astounded.




So how has the state government been able to commend the efforts of collectors and preservers of the National Monuments, artifacts?

Until recently and with the advent of this new administration last year, I guess, yes. The previous one wasn’t very friendly. As a matter of fact, he was all out for the destruction of our building and stuff here for whatever reasons. He wanted to take hold of this place because it is in the heart of the town. The Museum owns this premise. We have documents saying so since 1959 during the western region. So it belongs to the museum and we have our documents. It was given to us in lease and it belongs to the museum. The state government under Comrade Adams Oshiomole was too interested in wanting to just take over this place one way or the other. So they came in with bulldozer. In a nutshell, we didn’t have that cordial relationship. That is the truth. But when this man (Governor Obaseki of Edo state) came i mean, during the opening of the new exhibition he said, let bygone be bygone. He said we should forget the past and forge ahead, because he also is an art lover. He is a Tourism ‘encourager’. I will put it that way. You know I have sat with him and interacted with him and I discovered that he loves the art very well. He loves the cultural heritage of the people and he knows that it is only through cultural tourism that you can attract foreigners, because they have their ICT. Are you going to show them their ipad, are you going to show them these stuffs?

No. So what they want to see is our culture in its pre-starting state and Governor Obaseki is making serious efforts. Although some of his efforts are still in its planning stage, to ensure that we harness our tourism potentials so that people can come. Governor Obaseki would not only think about it but he will put his money where his mouth is by supporting us when we were doing our exhibition. He helped us even in the renovation of the exhibit gallery massively. He was present at the opening of the exhibition. He brought a lot of visitors along. So he is a great man who has ideas and will help out.



So what are your projections, the milestone you wish to achieve in the year 2018?

Our major targets are the children, because most of the adults, have their minds made up on what they want to do but the children, their minds are still under construction, so one can actually talk with them. So we are thinking of a lot of programs. The museum connect, being one of the programs will help us get through the children with this also, we can reach out to the parents who are the older ones. We need the children also to see how we can expose them to photography of sorts. Today with our handsets, everyone is a photographer, the children inclusive. What do they do? They focus on themselves by taking selfies. With what they do, we are looking at changing that passion to taking pictures of the heritage around them so that these children can help us document the heritage assets within their locals where they live, their parents will guide them. They do ethnographies so we are working out a workshop; it is the funding that is slowing us down. These are part of the milestone we plan to achieve. So when we look back by 31st December 2018 we will say for a fact, we have achieved these. So we will even characterize what we intend to do but the funding is slow for us to quick start because it will involve doing workshop for them. We will do this workshop and train our children on how to do ethnography using their handset which their parents had bought for them for a start. So with that, we are tying them to the issue of the Alonge exhibition, who used camera to document the culture of the people. We want to see how our children can replicate that. That will be a major milestone for us this year.


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Hmmmm, what a nice strategy in recampaigning for the governor!

muhammed50:
Hmmmm, what a nice strategy in recampaigning for the governor!

Re-campaigning for the governor