Nigeria’s lower house of parliament on Wednesday called on President Olusegun Obasanjo to request the return of the nation’s artefacts on display at The British Museum. In a motion unanimously passed, legislators also directed the Nigerian National Commission for Museums and Monuments to furnish it with a list of all Nigerian artefacts at the museum, and their value. They urged the government to safeguard Nigerian museums from being burgled by hired agents. The motion, sponsored by 57 legislators, said that artefacts and other art objects were taken away during British colonial rule when colonial forces “invaded” Nigeria’s southern city of Benin in 1897. Benin, one of Nigeria’s ancient cities, is reputed for its rich culture and large collection of artefacts. In the past years, some of Nigeria’s most precious artefacts have found their way to museums in several European several cities, including Paris and London. They were stolen from and smuggled out of the country through the active connivance of corrupt Nigerian officials. – AFP
THEY SAID IT, from Sapa
“Whoever is caught looting red-handed will only get judgment from God.”
A message from the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD), the Rwandan-backed rebel group that controls Goma. RCD officers have executed a number of people caught looting in the city.
“Those policemen did not do their job. They must all go back to the depot to learn from scratch… My name is dirty… I’m looking for my name…”
Jan Pyp van Wyk, one of the six men arrested in connection with the rape of baby Tshepang in the Northern Cape. They were released after DNA tests could not link them with the crime.
“Often they arrive here on Monday and play funeral-funeral, from where the bodies are laid out to where the people cry.”
Sally Hendricks, teacher of a class with learning problems at the Westbury Primary School in Johannesburg.
“The instability has gone on far too long. The levels of poverty and conflict are increasing, and if you add to that a fraudulent election, it has to be avoided.”
President Thabo Mbeki about Zimbabwe.
“Is anyone out there?”
A Johannesburg rate payer in an e-mail to the city accounts department. Several residents have complained about the city’s billing system and call centre.
“Yeah, and I bet they didn’t find a brain either.”
Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh, after Pollock told journalists that a brain scan of Steve Elworthy, who was hit by a blow on the helmet and lay comatose for some time during Tuesday’s match, had come back clear.
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