[DJN]

This is a deeply patronising and offensive statement. The ancient Benin kingdom from which these artifacts were stolen still remains till today and despite corruption in the country, they have managed to keep all their remaining artifacts safe through the centuries.

Nigeria’s corruption problem is orthogonal to its ability to keep its sacred cultural artifacts safe. In fact due to deep cultural and religious reasons, the chances that Nigerians would rob the Oba (King) of Benin’s palace is near zero.

I say this with the full authority of being a native of said country and culture.