BADAGRY TOWN: ABODE OF RICH HISTORY

FATIMAH BINTA MUHAMMED

U16MM1080 

Photo Credit: Face2faceafrica.com

Badagry; Home to the Aworis and the ogu people!

Badagry; Home to the first primary school in Nigeria!

Badagry; Home to the first story building in Nigeria!

Badagry;A town of the early missionary activities! 

Badagry is a coastal town presently a local government area located in Lagos state the South West part of Nigeria and  shares border with the republic of Benin. The town is popular due to its relevance in the history of slave trade in Nigeria, as more than five hundred thousand Africans were sold into slavery through Badagry  coast three centuries ago.

It served as a place for the early Christian missionary activities in Nigeria and as a center of tourist attraction, people from far and wide have visited to see the relics of the slave trade era, housed in a slave museum, and have wonderful time touring around the "Gberefu" island, popularly known as the point of no return, a point where slaves seem to forget their origin after crossing, and this marks their journey to the land of no return! 

Journeying around the Badagry town  is a wonderful thing to do, if you have been to Lagos and never visited Badagry, then you have missed a lot. The The first thing that welcomes you to the town of Badagry is the ‘Sato’ statue located at the roundabout junction into the town of Badagry . The 'Sato’ is an ancient religious drum peculiar to the 'ogu' or 'egun' people of Badagry . Belonging to the king, the drums are beaten for the king on special occasions and used to announce the ascent of the new moon. The drum is also used to maintain peace and order among the people, as their presences make them feel the presence of the ancestor.

Inside Badagry, lies places of great history amongst these historical attractions are;

The first storey building and the ‘miracle well’:  This  building houses the first Yoruba Bible translated by Pa Samuel Ajayi Crowther, the bible is enclosed and secured in a glass box. The name ‘miracle well’ was given to the well by the locals as a results of the miracles credited to it. It is said to never go dry. 

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The Agia tree monument : where Christianity was first preached in Nigeria, opposite it is the statue of Rev. Henry Townsend, an important person in the history of the emancipation of early newspaper's in Nigeria. The badagry town hall is also located here. 

                       

Photo Credit: Guardian.ng 

Slave Museums : Such as the mobee family slave Relics museum where the valuables exchanged by Chief Sunbu Mobee for his People who he traded to the Portuguese are kept. The Brazilian slave baracoons is a prison were the slaves were kept before being transported to the slave ships were they were shipped away from Badagry. Seriki Abass Williams was a victim of slavery who later got his freedom. In the theSeriki Abass slave museum, you will see items used in exchange of slaves, gigantic chains used in tying the hands and legs of the slaves, and a small dark room where hundred of slaves are kept without ventilation.

Photo Credit: Travelstart.com.ng

  The Brazilian Baracoon 

Photo Credit: Travelstart.com.ng

Chief Seriki Williams Abbas slave museum

The slave port where the ‘Gbefuru’ island is located:This island is popularly called "point of no return" The entrance is symbolized by two poles. At first the name sounded scary to tourist, but the name came about during the slave trade era . it is a point where the slaves tend to forget their origin after being forced to drink water from the spirit attenuation well.

Poles of point of no return 

The Attenuation well : This is a well that the slaves were forced to drink from before living Badagary. Said to be charmed by Sharmans the significance of drinking from this well is to forget about their origin and the effect is said to set in 3 months on their journey to America so they cannot have any connections with where they were coming from but to their new lives as slaves.

Photo Credit: Temitayo Olofinlua, GPJ Nigeria. 

The Ocean path. Right after drinking from the attenuation well the slaves in their shackles walk through a muddy  part leading them to the ocean were they start to be conveyed to their destinations. It is on this path that the slaves captivity reality sets in. 

A visit to these places will give you an insight of the cruelty, pains and inhuman treatment suffered by Africans during slave trade. Regardless of the ugly stories associated with some of this places, they have experience lots of transformation overtime. The buildings are painted with nice colours and are made to look like the present day building, but we have places left untouched revealing the old materials it is made of. The people of badagry are rich in cultural heritage, even with the coming of Christianity and Islam, they still take active part in traditional festivals and carnivals which is celebrated every year.

That is Badagry for you. A PLACE WORTH VISITING!

See more information on Badagry: https://globalpressjournal.com/africa/nigeria/history-atlantic-slave-trade-chronicled-museums-monuments-badagry-nigeria/