West African Bankers' Association of each participating countries financed the association. The WABA serves as an intermediary between banks and the sub-regional committee of the central banks. The association is located in Freetown, Sierra Leone. West African Bankers' Association The West African Bankers' Association (WABA; ) is a professional association of banking and financial services and institutions in West Africa. It has its headquarters and offices in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. The WABA was created in August 10, 1981 with the main purpose of supporting and developing the
Benin Bronzes modern period, which is an erroneous assumption considering the Benin Empire was in itself a hub of African civilization before the Portuguese traders visited. Today, it is clear that the bronzes were made in Benin from an indigenous culture. Many of these dramatic sculptures date to the thirteenth century, centuries before contact with Portuguese traders, and a large part of the collection dates to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It is believed that two "golden ages" in Benin metal workmanship occurred during the reigns of Esigie ( 1550) and of Eresoyen (1735–50), when their workmanship achieved its highest qualities. While