National Museum Onikan: Nok Art Treasures, Benin Bronzes, and History

National Museum Onikan: Nok Art, Benin Bronzes, and History

The National Museum Onikan holds an invaluable collection of Nigerian traditional art masterpieces: Nok terracottas dating back to the 5th century BC, and ivories and bronzes from Ife and the Benin kingdom.

The Nok Terracottas: A Unique Archaeological Treasure

The terracotta figurines of the Nok culture, dated to roughly 500 BC to 200 AD and discovered in central Nigeria, rank among the earliest known examples of figurative sculpture in sub-Saharan Africa. Their presence at the National Museum Onikan lets visitors examine pieces that profoundly shaped art historians' understanding of the origins of West African sculpture, predating the kingdoms of Ife or Benin by centuries.

The Benin Bronzes: Heritage at the Center of an International Debate

The museum also holds bronzes and ivories from the Benin kingdom, iconic works of Edo royal metalwork, a large share of whose original collection was looted by British troops during the 1897 punitive expedition and dispersed to Western museums, notably the British Museum. The pieces held at Onikan sit within a broader, active restitution debate, with several international institutions having launched efforts in recent years to return bronzes to Nigeria.

General Murtala Muhammed's Car: A Political Relic

The museum also displays the vehicle in which General Murtala Muhammed, the Nigerian head of state assassinated in 1976, was killed during a coup attempt, still riddled with bullet holes preserved as they were found. This relic, carrying heavy political and emotional weight for Nigerians, recalls a pivotal and turbulent period in the country's post-independence history, just steps away from the millennia-old archaeological remains elsewhere in the collection.

An Aging Museum Infrastructure

Despite the invaluable worth of its collections, the National Museum Onikan has suffered from chronic underfunding for years, with exhibition facilities many visitors and heritage professionals consider outdated. iLagosCity still strongly recommends a visit for the exceptional historical richness of the works on display, which more than makes up for a presentation more modest than that of major international museums.