ORA Champions Africa Cultural Material Restitution

The Tangu Spiritual Artifact of the Bele-Bele Kingdom in Douala, formerly Hickory Town

Open Restitution Africa (ORA), an Africa-based organization advocating for the restitution of African material cultures, is taking significant steps to facilitate the restitution, reparation, and eventual repatriation of African and Cameroonian cultural heritage taken by European nations during their colonial conquest of the continent. These cultural artifacts now rest in museums in Germany, across Europe, and in America.

The movement, dubbed “Restitution 101: A History of Theft,” seeks to expose the richness of African, and particularly Cameroonian, artifacts that now reside in foreign lands. The sensitization workshop, organized at the Langaa Research Conference Center in Buea, Southwest Region, brought together lecturers, cultural enthusiasts, activists, and students.
Deliberations at the workshop focused on three aspects of Restitution 101: A History of Theft, A History of Demand, and A History of Excuses. The workshop was led by Dr. Ngome Elvis Nkome of the Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management at the Higher Teachers Technical Training College (HTTTC) Kumba, and the Department of History and African Civilization at the University of Buea.
Discussions revealed that over 400,000 cultural artifacts belonging to the African continent—27,000 of which are from Cameroon—are currently used for tourism in German and European museums.
The stance of the Cameroonian government and its involvement in matters of repatriation was also discussed, with attention drawn to the roles of other governments such as Namibia, Kenya, and Tanzania, which have made substantial efforts to restitute their cultural goods from European museums.
According to Dr. Ngome Elvis Nkome, the forerunner of the project in Cameroon, matters of restitution transcend disciplines and are currently animating public discussion worldwide to boost the knowledge economy. “Conversations around this topic are very important and will help reshape the curriculum in African universities,” he said.
Dr. Nkome emphasized the role of the government in reinstating these cultural goods from foreign museums: “Before 2022, the Cameroonian government was not very active in pushing for the restitution of Cameroon’s cultural goods,” he noted, further highlighting that awareness and action on the subject have since gained momentum.

Experts Laud Restitution 101
Among the attendees were experts in diverse fields spanning Communication, Culture, Psychology, Anthropology, and History.
Dr. Ndode Stephen, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Buea, praised the efforts made by Open Restitution Africa to revitalize the rich cultural heritage of Africa and Cameroon.
The media consultant and researcher emphasized the need to foster restitution through research, collaboration, and advocacy: “From the different educative and informative episodes we have watched on the histories of theft, demand, and excuses, I see the need for collaborative research that will create more awareness on the importance of restitution. Collaboration and media advocacy are also vital.” Dr. Ndode also remarked that cultural artifacts can boost tourism and the economic viability of Cameroon and Africa.
Dr. Victor Ntui of the Department of History at the University of Buea asserted that “Restitution 101 has come to strengthen what historians have been doing in the past.” He explained that historians are deeply concerned with decolonial philosophy, and Restitution 101 is part of that venture. He further added: “Restitution 101 is coming as an eye-opener to show that our history, buried in arts and artifacts, needs to be made known for posterity.”
Munang Hilda, a student from the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication who attended the conference, expressed satisfaction with the knowledge gained. She believes that the discourse on the restitution of African and Cameroonian cultural goods will give her a positive mindset toward African cultural heritage and the need to preserve it.