Part of the Benin bronze collection that was stolen and is now housed in the British Museum

Why Colonial Theft Is More Than a History Lesson

It’s a crime against humanity

The news out of Nigeria is rarely positive — in fact it’s all shit. From the herdsmen terrorizing local government areas over land ownership and religion, which is not only halting farming, and leading to starvation, but also producing a massive death count— to the direly impoverished climate that has gotten so bad that the most populous country in Africa has officially surpassed India in poverty ranking.

Growing up during the gangster era of the eighties and nineties, I was privy to the gross negligence of the military regimes that featured pompous and greedy dictators, that cared nothing about protecting the interests of citizens, and in fact collaborated with foreign oil companies to ensure the consistent supply of resources remained interrupted.

That loyalty and practice is ongoing, and it’s regulated at the expense of natives who are drowning in the squalor of oil spills and floods from rigs that aren’t positioned in ways that allow the surrounding environments to thrive. And so the Nigerian government turns a blind eye to villagers who are being hampered by unlivable quarters that not only prevents them from fishing — but also poses a threat to their health.