Badagry pride itself as a historic tourist centre in Nigeria. Aside from tourist attractions, it’s interesting to know that the natives of Badagry claim that it is the cradle of civilization in Nigeria.
Without mincing words, Badagry reveals a wealth of information on life in Nigeria before colonialism and the birth of Christianity in the country.
Badagry is a lagoon port as well as a Local Government Area in Lagos State. It is an inland waterway that connects Lagos, the commercial hub of Nigeria, with Porto-Novo (Benin).
History of Badagry
The town of Badagry was established in the early 15th century. Badagry was formed by Popo and Egun refugees who had just returned from the wars of the Fon people of Dahomey.
A refugee, Agbedeh, who settled in the coastal place after the wars with the Dahomey, was a well-known farmer, who owned the enormous land Agbadagiri.
The European slave traders renamed the farm ‘Agbadagiri’ to ‘Badagry’, when they settled there to trade in the 15th century.
Badagry slave trade: The Beginning
The history of the slave trade in Badagry can be traced to the early 15th century. After the return from inter-villages conflicts and wars, people who were captured were made slaves by their captors.
Aside from this, criminals were also taken as slaves, they were usually enslaved as punishment for their offenses.
The captured slaves were auctioned in the marketplace by their captors. They were sold to the highest bidder and used for farming or other domestic chores.
Slavery was already part of the culture when the Europeans arrived in Badagry. At first, the Europeans could just trade for existing slaves, but then, the trade evolved, and Badagry became a port and marketplace for warring villages to sell the captured vanquished.
At the height of the slave trade in Badagry, Chief Sunbu Mobee traded many of his people with the Portuguese as well as the Europeans in exchange for valuables.
As a result of the thriving slave trade in Badagry, slaves were no longer captives from inter-village conflicts or enslaved criminals. Innocent people were kidnapped from their farms, homes or even at the streams and turned into slaves.
The European exchanged slaves for alcohol, weapons, coffee, matches, and sugar from Europe.
The obnoxious slave trade thrived for 400 years after the arrival of the Europeans.
The slave trade dominated all other commercial interests in Badagry. The town became host to European slave traders led by George Freemingo, a Portuguese slave merchant who came to Badagry around the 1660s.
By 1740, Badagry had become a thriving town for the slave trade. It grew to an important commercial center flourishing on the export of slaves through the creeks and lagoon.
The slaves were transported to Europe through a notable slave route where slaves were faced with their future as slaves, never to return to their birthplace.
Badagry slave route: The Point of no return
Since the beginning of the slave trade in Badagry, no fewer than 500,000 African slaves were sold and exported through Badagry inland waterways to Europe.
It was gathered that slaves were being grouped by age and gender. They were shackled together with strong chains on their necks, hands and legs.
Spirituality played a major role in keeping slaves from returning home. It was believed that slaves were made to drink from the Spirit Attenuation Well along Gberefu island. The water in the well which had been charmed to make slaves forget their ancestral homes in Badagry was given to thirsty slaves as they marched barefooted along Gberefu island.
Despite the horror of their experiences and the agony of their trip from home, the point of no return as the name implies, it is believed that anyone who made it to this point had no chance of returning home.
The end of the Badagry slave trade
The contract for eliminating the slave trade signed in March 1852 by England and Badagry chiefs provided a significant boost to end the objectionable trade.
Some cannons of war were given to the chiefs to be stationed along the shore to battle other European countries that were still looking for slaves.
However, the traffic continued illegally, and the export of slaves increased significantly. During this time, the Brazilians became the most important slave traders.
However, in 1888, the last ship left Badagry for Brazil, effectively ending the trade in Badagry, Brazil, and around the world.
The Birth of Christianity
Although Badagry holds so much pain, tears and ugly beginnings as a result of the slave trade, it should, however, be noted that Badagry was the first town in Nigeria where Christianity was first preached.
Reverend Thomas Birch Freeman planted the seed of Christianity when he arrived in Badagry in 1842.
The site where the Christian gospel was first preached is today known as Agya Tree Monument and stands beside the Badagry Town Hall.
On September 24, 1842, the Freeman Memorial Methodist Cathedral was established. This was the first church to be established in Nigeria.
Three months after Reverend Freeman settled in Badagry, Reverend Henry Townsend joined him in Nigeria. Reverend Henry Townsend brought the first English bible to Nigeria.
The birth of Christianity and the spread of the gospel brought a tremendous decline in the slave trade in Badagry.
Badagry: The Pioneer of great feats
Aside from being the birthplace of Christianity in Nigeria, Badagry has been described as the pioneer of great feats in Nigeria.
First point of Colonialism
The British flag (Union Jack), Nigeria’s first physical symbol of colonialism, was raised on Badagry soil. The hoisting of the flag was thought to officially symbolize the end of the slave trade and the beginning of the process that gave birth to the Nigerian country.
The first educational system in Nigeria
The missionaries, after establishing the spread of the gospel, deemed it fit to educate the Badagry people.
In 1843, the Methodist Church established the first elementary school in Nigeria as a British colony.
Under the supervision of Rev. Golmer of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in 1845, the Nursery of Infant Church later became St. Thomas’ Anglican Nursery and Primary School.
The first idea of International Law
The first idea of International law in Nigeria was generated in Badagry when Richard Lander, one of the earliest British explorers to Badagry, was tried in 1825 by a Jury of Elders through the means of Badagry custom and tradition at the Vlekete slave market.
Richard Lander’s trial in Badagry became the first trial of an alien in Nigeria.
He was accused of treason, a crime punishable by death.
The First Storey Building in Nigeria
The first-storey building in Nigeria was built in Badagry. The building which was commenced in 1842, was completed three years after in 1845.
The building is the most popular mission house in Badagry. There, the first set of missionaries in Nigeria settled, including returnee slaves from Sierra Leone, such as the Rev Samuel Ajayi Crowther.
According to reports, Sir Fredrick Luggard lived in Badagry at some point. Luggard presided over the amalgamation of the Southern and Northern protectorates of Nigeria as Governor General in 1914. It was in Luggard’s building, historians noted that the amalgamation documents were signed.
In 1863, the town was annexed by the United Kingdom and incorporated into the Lagos colony. In 1901, it became a part of Nigeria.
Badagry: A tourist centre
The conservation of the historical legacies of Badagry was done by Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a former Governor of Lagos state.
The Bola Tinubu administration 2002 created a ‘Badagry Heritage Museum’, a tourist centre which tells the true story of Badagry.
Badagry: Current realities
Beyond the relics of the slave trade, Badagry has evolved over the years. Badagry has helped to facilitate bilateral trade through the Seme border.
Seme border is a settlement in Nigeria on the border with Benin. Seme falls under a part of the Badagry Division of Lagos state.
The Seme border is heavily surveilled by customs officers, police officers and other forms of military. This is to checkmate what goes in and out of the country.
In a bid to curb the smuggling of contraband goods and weapons, the border was closed in August 2019 by President Muhammadu Buhari. The closing of the border led to a decline in economic activities in Badagry.
Although in recent times, there have been reports of the reopening of the Seme border, these reports are still not from official sources as the border still remains closed.
Moving forward, the planned establishment of the Badagry Seaport by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu would foster the economic growth of Lagos State.
In the corridors of entertainment, aside from being a tourist center, Badagry has got exciting relaxation centers such as beaches and resorts.
