Alufa Arts and sculptural works

t work so badly to the extent that it had to approach Britain, which now retains the stolen property with vehemence to rent it for the festival. Following the refusal of Britain in 1976 to release the original in its possession at London Museum, even with Nigeria agreeing to pay £2 million as "rental fee" for the duration of the festival, the then federal military government under General Olusegun Obasanjo was in a quandary about what to do on the subject of emblem for the festival. The FESTAC 77 mask of Queen Idia was a replica of the original art work stolen by the British plunderers during the Benin invasion. The original carving was part of the more than 5,000 works of art plundered from the treasury of the Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi, the then Oba of Benin during the rampaging exploit of the British Punitive Expedition to the Benin Kingdom in 1897. Joseph Igbinovia Alufa in a normal society should have been a name with househoild fame. But it is not here because Nigeria has the tradition of ignoring experts and not rewarding citizens that work hard or live for the image of fatherland. That is the reason this man who carved the FESTAC 77 mask of Queen Idia has not been paid by the federal government for that noble work he did in replicating the art work stolen by the British plunderers during the Benin invasion

His suit has been in court for more than 19 years undecided