Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth returned 20 works of art to the Nigerian government on Tuesday in the Nigerian capital Abuja.

The sculptures and bronze reliefs are part of the art treasures of the Benin bronzes, which were taken out of the country by the British colonial masters during the violent colonization of southern Nigeria at the end of the 19th century and were partly housed in museums and partly sold.

Johannes Leithauser

Political correspondent in Berlin.

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They also got to Germany.

Around a sixth of the approximately 6,000 objects are currently in German museums.

Baerbock said on the occasion of the return that when a country is robbed of its cultural heritage, it creates an almost unimaginable feeling of loss.

The Nigerians would have experienced this loss.

She also said "it was wrong to steal those bronzes, it was wrong to keep those bronzes".

"Commitment to a Fairer Present"

Claudia Roth described the return of the Nigerian works of art as an emancipatory act. She said, "We want to learn from dealing with our colonial history and we want to take responsibility." But Germany will not be able to do this alone.

Only in the "understanding with our African partners" does "our colonial past become part of our culture of remembrance", only in this way "remembering past injustices becomes an obligation for a more just present".

Roth stated that the return of the artworks "should not make us forget the history of robbery and colonialism";

she should also “not disguise our shame”.

On the occasion of the return, the Nigerian side made it clear that they hoped for the return of all works of art that were taken out of the country in the course of British colonization.

Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama said these efforts have met "varying degrees of success" with the countries hosting the cultural assets.

When questioned, he added that his country also expects the return of items owned by the British Museum.

He was very happy that Germany decided to return it and that the German Foreign Minister and the Minister of Culture emphasized this with their personal presence.

Onyeama then immediately noted that Germany was one of Nigeria's "key partners" and mentioned the involvement of German companies in the construction and energy sectors.

For the German Foreign Minister, the trip to Nigeria not only offered the opportunity to reflect on German colonial history in a former British colony, but also to pursue several political concerns.

Baerbock repeatedly emphasized Nigeria's importance as "Africa's largest democracy" and expressly acknowledged the Nigerian government's mediation efforts in African conflicts, for example in Ethiopia or in Mali and the Sahel region.

She spent a day in north-eastern Nigeria herself examining the effects of the threat spread by Islamist terrorist groups there.

Germany is one of the key donors to the stabilization efforts in the Lake Chad region, which includes parts of Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad.

Five million euros for a pavilion in the place of origin

Germany also wants to be an effective partner for Nigeria in combating climate change.

But in this field the Nigerian side shows less enthusiasm.

Onyeama said the switch to gas is a way to make its own energy industry greener in a "transitional period" and that his country is "very interested in partners" in this regard.

However, the goal for Nigeria remains the same: pollutant neutrality should be achieved by 2060.

The symbolic return of the German Benin bronzes became possible after two preparatory steps.

Since most of the artefacts were owned by ethnological museums in five federal states, agreements between the states and between the states and the federal government were necessary.

Each country had to make its own decision to return it.

An agreement was then reached with Nigeria, according to which ownership of all works of art will be transferred back to the Nigerian side, but some of the works of art can remain in Germany as permanent loans or be shown internationally.

Germany is also committed to the construction of a pavilion in Benin City, the place where the bronzes come from, with almost five million euros.

Asked if Nigeria would even be able to adequately house and display the artworks in the future, the Nigerian foreign minister said on Tuesday, "They have been here before and were in excellent condition when they were taken from us “.