See what Nigerian officials are set to retrieve from Britain (photos)

– Officials from Nigeria are set to travel to Britain

– The Nigerian officials are to retrieve a controversial bronze statue

– The officials are to attend a repatriation ceremony to claim back the statue of a cockerel

Emerging reports suggest that Nigerian officials have made plans to travel to Britain to collect a controversial bronze statue.

Telegraph reveals that the officials are to head for Britain to collect the Cambridge cockerel.

It is understood that the Nigerian minister of culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed  was kept in the loop about the push by students at Jesus College, Cambridge, to repatriate the controversial bronze cockerel statue, looted by Britain in the 19th century.

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It comes after Jesus College confirmed that the statue – which has long held pride of place in Jesus College’s dining hall – is to be taken down.

Sources disclose that a debate will be scheduled to consider whether it should be repatriated.

Should that be the case, a Nigerian government official would then travel to the UK to take part in a repatriation ceremony and the statue would then be taken back to Nigeria.

The Benin Appreciation Committee are already in contact with the Nigerian authorities, who are understood to be in favour for the statue, known as the Benin Bronze, to be handed back.

The cockerel, which is properly referred to as the Okokur, was part of hundreds of artefacts taken from the Benin empire, now part of Nigeria, after the British naval expedition in1897 that shattered the kingdom.

Some academics have criticised the college’s decision as “cowardly” because they argue it allows students to be seen as “morally superior” in their attempts to rewrite history.

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Earlier this week, a Cambridge spokesman said: “Jesus College acknowledges the contribution made by students in raising the important but complex question of the rightful location of its Benin Bronze, in response to which it has permanently removed the Okukor from its Hall.

“The College commits to work actively with the wider University and to commit resources to new initiatives with Nigerian heritage and museum authorities to discuss and determine the best future for the Okukor, including the question of repatriation.

“The College strongly endorses the inclusion of students from all relevant communities in such discussion.”

The revelations emerged as the Rhodes Must Fall movement in Oxford staged a tour to go through other sites in the city with colonial links. This is after the campaign lost a petition to remove a statue of Cecil Rhodes because of its colonialist past and his views of other races.

Both the Cambridge and Oxford campaigns are part of a wider ‘decolonisation’ movement in British universities that is seeking to rewrite the curriculum and increase the number of black and ethnic minorities at elite universities.

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