Across continents, a profound shift is unfolding. In 2025, a growing coalition of museums, governments and international bodies is accelerating the return of artefacts looted during colonial periods to their countries of origin.
Today, over 90 percent of sub-Saharan Africa’s cultural heritage is still held outside the continent, largely in Western museums. According to the Sarr-Savoy report commissioned by the French government in 2018, over 70,000 African artefacts are housed at the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris alone. Germany, too, holds an estimated 1,100 Benin Bronzes, much of which were plundered during the 1897 British invasion of the Kingdom of Benin (present-day Nigeria).
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The tide, however, is turning. Between 2021 and 2025, a wave of high-profile restitutions has taken place. Germany officially returned the first set of Benin Bronzes in 2022, France handed back 26 royal treasures to Benin Republic in 2021, and the Netherlands, in June 2025, returned 119 looted objects to Nigeria, the largest single transfer to date. Institutions like the Smithsonian, University of Cambridge, Oxford, and the Humboldt Forum have all joined the movement, relinquishing items long held in their vaults. This shift is no longer theoretical, it is now institutional, legal, and operational.
This growing movement is underpinned by UNESCO’s 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, which has become the global framework for heritage restitution. In 2025, the African Union declared the year the “Year of Cultural Heritage and Reparations,” further embedding restitution in the continent’s strategic development goals under Agenda 2063.
How Repatriated Artefacts Are Being Curated and Preserved
Nigeria has taken a leading role in preserving its returning heritage. A presidential decree issued in 2023 established that the Oba of Benin would serve as the legal custodian of the repatriated Benin Bronzes, while the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) would oversee their conservation and public display.
In response, Nigeria launched the construction of the Edo Museum of West African Art (EMOWAA), designed by world-renowned architect Sir David Adjaye. Scheduled to open in 2025, the facility will offer modern conservation laboratories, climate-controlled galleries and educational programming. The Museum of West African Art (MOWAA), which opened its Institute building in 2025, also integrates advanced preservation technologies and houses a rainforest gallery and performance centre, representing a new model of heritage-led cultural infrastructure.
These developments challenge the notion that Africa lacks the institutional capacity to safeguard its own history. African museums are increasingly aligning with international standards, creating spaces not only for artefact preservation but for scholarship, community engagement and identity formation.
In Senegal, the Musée des Civilisations Noires in Dakar has become a beacon for repatriated objects and pan-African culture. Opened in 2018, it is equipped to house over 18,000 artefacts, many of which are expected to return from France. In Ethiopia, demands for the return of looted treasures, such as manuscripts, ceremonial crosses, and relics taken during the 1868 British expedition have intensified, with ongoing negotiations involving British universities and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Who Truly Owns Culture?
As artefacts return, thorny questions of ownership, access, and control are emerging. In Nigeria, the formal declaration recognising the Oba as the rightful custodian of the Benin Bronzes sparked both celebration and concern. While many hailed it as a triumph of tradition and cultural dignity, others questioned whether these treasures would remain accessible to the public, or disappear into royal vaults. To allay such fears, the NCMM has been tasked with overseeing public access and museum management.
In Uganda, the University of Cambridge returned 39 artefacts to the Uganda Museum in 2024 under a renewable three-year agreement. The arrangement includes joint curation rights and public exhibitions, suggesting a model for collaborative restitution. In Ethiopia, the situation is more complex: while the Ethiopian government is demanding the return of over 200 objects from UK institutions, many of these items are religious in nature, and church leaders argue they should be returned not to the state, but to monasteries and communities where they originated.
The question of access is also socio-economic. Will local communities be able to afford entry into newly built museums? Will artefacts be displayed in rural cultural centres or remain centralised in capitals? If cultural heritage is to be a shared inheritance, then restitution must be accompanied by equity in access and distribution, not just physical possession.
Monetising Africa’s Cultural Heritage
Beyond symbolism and historical justice, Africa’s artefacts represent untapped economic value. The global art market was worth £55 billion in 2023, and cultural tourism accounted for 40 percent of global tourism revenue. If effectively managed, Africa’s heritage institutions can tap into this market, not by selling heritage, but by monetising education, exhibitions, digital access, licensing, merchandise, and tourism.
In Nigeria, the EMOWAA project is estimated to generate thousands of jobs, from curators and conservationists to tour guides, researchers, and local artisans. Already, local training programmes have been launched to upskill young Nigerians in museum studies, conservation science, and heritage law.
The African Union’s Agenda 2063 identifies culture as a key driver of growth, calling for the creation of a Pan-African Cultural Agency to support museums, festivals, film, music and crafts. Yet funding remains a challenge. UNESCO estimates that less than 15 percent of cultural heritage projects in Africa are locally funded. Most rely on international donors, bilateral agreements, or philanthropic foundations. This imbalance makes long-term sustainability precarious.
Still, the continent is making bold moves. Rwanda, Ghana, Kenya and Morocco are investing heavily in museum infrastructure, creative industries, and cultural education. Senegal has proposed a Continental Digital Heritage Platform, allowing returned artefacts to be digitally accessed by scholars and citizens across the continent.
Monetisation is not just a matter of profit, it is about sovereignty. It is about Africa being in control of its narratives, its symbols, and its economies of meaning.
What Fate Awaits Africa’s Returned Legacies?
The next phase of Africa’s restitution journey will be defined by governance, accountability and vision. The establishment of the African Heritage Agency, proposed as a central body to guide policy and coordination is expected to provide continental leadership on how repatriated objects are handled, displayed and integrated into public life.
Moreover, the return of cultural property is inspiring a new generation of African artists, scholars and curators. Contemporary creatives are reinterpreting traditional forms, using returned artefacts as a source of dialogue and innovation rather than nostalgia alone.
In Niger, advocacy groups are calling on France to acknowledge historical atrocities and return cultural artefacts looted during colonial campaigns. These calls for restitution are now expanding to include access to archives, memorialisation efforts and, in some cases, reparations. The African Union has declared 2025 the “Year of Reparations,” reinforcing the symbolic and material dimensions of the restitution movement.
From Loss Towards Legacy
The return of Africa’s stolen artefacts signals more than a moral victory; it marks a pivotal moment in the continent’s assertion of cultural sovereignty and historical narrative. With proper institutions, clear legal frameworks and inclusive access, these repatriated objects can serve as the foundation of a renewed cultural legacy, rooted not in loss, but in regeneration.
