6 days ago
Mars rock wey dem find for Niger sell for millions in New York - now di kontri dey find ansas
"Brazen! E dey brazen!" Prof Paul Sereno tok dis on di phone line from Chicago.
E make no effort to disguise im anger becos one rare meteorite from Mars wey dem discover two years ago in West African nation of Niger, dem end up to auction am off in New York last month to one unnamed buyer.
Di palaeontologist, e get close connection wit di kontri, believe say make dem return am to Niger.
Dis millions-of-years-old piece of di Red Planet, di largest ever wey dem find on Earth, fetch $4.3m (£3.2m) for Sotheby. Like di buyer, di seller also dey anonymous.
But e dey unclear if any of dis money go reach Niger.
Fragments of extraterrestrial material wey make am to Earth don inspire some reverence among humans – some end up as religious objects, odas as curiosities for display. More recently, many don become di subject of scientific study.
Di trade in meteorites don dey compared to di art market, wit aesthetics and rarity affecting di price.
At first, sense of surprise surround di public display of dis extraordinary Martian find – less dan 400 of di 50,000 meteorites wey dem discover come from our planetary neighbour.
Di photographs wey Sotheby take of di 24.7kg (54lb) rock – appear in di lights to glow silver and red – compound dis feeling.
But den some pipo start to ask questions about how e end up under di auctioneer hammer.
Di goment of Niger inside one statement, "express doubts about di legality of di export, raising concern about possible illicit international trafficking".
Sotheby strongly disagree, e tok say dem follow di correct procedures, but Niger don launch investigation into di circumstances of di discovery and sale of di meteorite, wey dem don name NWA 16788 (NWA standing for north-west Africa).
Dem no make di information about how e end up for world-renowed US auction house for public
One Italian academic article wey dem publish last year tok say e dem find am on 16 November 2023 in di Sahara Desert in Niger Agadez region, 90km (56 miles) to di west of di Chirfa Oasis, by "one meteorite hunter, wey im identity remain undisclose".
Meteorites fit fall anywia on Earth, but becos of di favourable climate for preservation and di lack of human disturbance, di Sahara don become one prime spot for dia discovery. Pipo scour di inhospitable landscape stretching across several kontris in di hope of finding one to sell on.
According to di Italian article, NWA 16788, "na local community sell am to international dealer" and den dem transfer am to private gallery in di Italian city of Arezzo.
In di acknowledgements, di authors thank Luca Cableri, name am as di owner of di meteorite.
Di University of Florence magazine describe di pesin as "important Italian gallery owner".
One team of scientists wey Giovanni Pratesi, mineralogy professor at di university, lead examine am to learn more about di structure and wia e come from. Di meteorite den briefly on display last year in Italy, including at di Italian Space Agency in Rome.
Dem see am next in New York last month, minus two slices dey stay in Italy for more research.
Sotheby tok say NWA 16788 wey dem "export from Niger and transport in line wit all relevant international procedures.
"As wit everything we sell, all relevant documentation dey in order at each stage of dia journey, in accordance wit best practice and di requirement of di kontris involve."
One tok-tok pesin add say Sotheby dey aware of report say Niger dey investigate di export of di meteorite and "we are reviewing di information available to us in light of di question wey dem raise".
Prof Sereno, wey found di organisation Niger Heritage one decade ago, dey convinced dem break Nigerien law.
Di academic wit di University of Chicago, don spend years uncovering di kontri vast deposits of dinosaur bones in di Sahara, campaigns to get Niger cultural and natural heritage – including anything wey fall from outer space - return.
One stunning museum on di island for River Niger, e dey run through di capital, Niamey, plan to house dis artefacts.
"International law tok say you no fit simply take sometin wey dey important to di heritage of di kontri - weda na cultural item, physical item, natural item, extraterrestrial item - out of di kontri. You know we don move on from colonial times wen all dis dey okay," Prof Sereno tok.
One series of global agreements, including under di UN cultural organisation Unesco, don try to regulate di trade of dis objects. But, according to one 2019 study by international law expert Max Gounelle, wen e come to meteorites, while dem fit dey included, some ambiguity remain about weda dem dey covered by dis agreements. Dem leave am to individual states to clarify di position.
Niger pass e own law in 1997 aim at protecting dia heritage.
Prof Sereno point to one section wit detailed list of all di categories includind. "Mineralogical specimens" wey dem mention among di art works, architecture and archaeological find but dem no specifically mention meteorites.
Inside one statement on di Sotheby's sale, Niger admit say e neva "get specific legislation on meteorites" - one line wey di auction house also point out. But e remain unclear how pesin fit get such heavy, conspicuous artefact out of di kontri without di authorities clearly noticing.
Morocco don face similar issue wit di huge number of meteorites - more dan 1,000 - wey dem don find within di borders.
More dan two decades ago di kontri experience wetin author Helen Gordon describe as "Saharan gold rush", fuel in part by laxer regulations and more stable political environment dan some of dia neighbours.
For her recent book The Meteorites, she write say Morocco na "one of di world greatest exporters of space rocks".
Prof Hasnaa Chennaoui Aoudjehane don spend much of di past 25 years trying to hold on to some of dat extraterrestrial material for her kontri.
"Na part of us, na part of our heritage… na part of our identity and e dey important to dey proud of di richness of di kontri," di geologist tell di BBC.
Di professor no dey against di trade in meteorites but e dey instrumental in di introduction of measures aim at regulating di business.
In 2011, Prof Chennaoui wey dey responsible for gathering material in di desert from one observed meteorite fall turn out to be from Mars.
Later name di Tissint meteorite, e weigh 7kg in all, but now she say only 30g remain in Morocco. Some of di rest dey for museums around di world, wit di biggest piece on display for London Natural History Museum.
Reflecting on di fate of Niger Martian meteorite, she tok say she no dey surprise na "something wey dey I don dey live wit for 25 years. na pity, we no fit dey happy wit this, but na di same state for all our kontris."
Prof Sereno hope say di Sotheby sale go prove turning-point - firstly by motivating di Nigerien authorities to act and secondly "if e ever see di light of day for public museum, [di museum] go get to deal wit di fact say Niger dey openly contest for am".
