The immediate past governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, has denied claims that he defrauded the Benin Monarch, Oba Ewuare II, in relation to the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) project.
Speaking in an interview monitored by The Nation, Obaseki clarified that he was neither a trustee of MOWAA nor involved in any fundraising activities on its behalf.
He explained that the Benin Royal Museum was conceived as part of a broader plan to develop a cultural district, which would also include the MOWAA Institute.
He added that he had proposed the establishment of a Trust comprising the Benin Palace, the federal government, and the state government to ensure a unified voice and coordinated effort for the cultural district project.
According to him, “You mean the donors will not read about who they want to give money to, or they will not understand the purpose. I cannot speak for MOWAA because I didn’t go with them to raise money. When they asked for our support, we gave them.
“There is a plan for a cultural district for the Benin Master plan. There was supposed to be a plan that would redefine the city centre. You had the MOWAA Institute, the Rain Forest Gallery, the 1897 memorial, the National Museum, and the Royal Museum. All these things have been planned for. The Oba told me he has acquired land for the purpose, and we said we will support the project and any activity that promotes Edo as a cultural hub.
“As far as I am concerned, I am not a trustee of MOWAA. My role as Governor is to support institutions. Whether it is EMOWAA or MOWAA, what is Mr Business about that? Is it my own? That is their decision. The important thing is the objective, and we gave support as a government.
Narrating what transpired with the Benin Monarch, Obaseki said, “The roles of the Edo State government under my watch are clear. We did things in the way we do in a certain way. Building museums was not a priority of the state government. I cannot take the money I want to use to build schools to go and build museums. What I will do is to use that money to create an enabling environment and allow people who know how to build museums. I will collaborate with them to build museums.
“MOWAA has raised over €80m. Does Edo State have that kind of money? I will not use that money for the museum. I will support the initiative. Give them land, an enabling environment, and funds.
“We carried the palace along. We told the palace that we will have more say if we have something that represents the federal government, the state government, and the Palace. I said we should set up a trust of the National Museum, the Palace, the foreign museum, and the state government. That was what we started with. I nominated the Crown Prince, gave him a letter, he took it to his father, and the father gave him his blessings. We set up a non-charitable trust. The foreigners need someone they can see through. Let the Crown Prince represent the Trustee from the Palace, and there was no objection. At a certain point, there was misinformation. We went to Germany, and that was where the whole thing went south. I don’t know what happened internally, and the Monarch was not happy. The Palace then withdrew from the Trust. I said ok. He said he wants to have his own Royal Museum, and we said we will support. I understand the Oba acquired land opposite the palace.
“MOWAA is not my own, just like many of the things we invested in are not mine, but as long as it brings investment to Edo State and grows the economy of the state, it is incumbent to support MOWAA. Government money cannot develop a state.”
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