Nigeria, the land of plenty

a new addition to the point of no return The point of no return in Badagry used to be materialised by two concrete obelisks, slightly inclined and pointed towards the sky . It conveyed, very simply, the sense of a gate towards the unknown, erected at the end of the sand track that separates the lagoon from the ocean. The two pillars were small compared to the slender neighbouring coconut trees planted along the beach. Tourism has always been a dream for Nigerian developers, especially coastal historical sites, that are fairly close to Lagos. Badagry with its pivotal role in the history of slavery is a perfect candidate. But so far, the place is not exactly a hotspot to attract tourists usually looking for nice beaches, comfortable accommodation and nice restaurants. Badagry rather feels like a place where something happened a long time ago, a place that has fallen into oblivion and been left to decay absent-mindedly. Could this be about to change? There are a numbe...

the point of no return in Badagry Badagry lies on the sea just a few kilometers east from the border between Nigeria and Benin. It is a peaceful town with a past. It was one of the place where slave traders met with buyers. The slaves were quartered in a compound by the lagoon side in small stuffy rooms. The guide was saying 40 people were locked in a cell of roughly 10 to 15 square meters. No bathroom, no place to ease yourself, just the ground. The low ceiling was preventing a good aeration and most definitely the rise of heat. Slaves were usually captured by local tribes from warring neighbours: selling prisoners to Europeans was a good way to dispose of them for goods in exchange such as large umbrellas, guns, porcelain, etc... For those sold, they had to face the journey from their cell to the sea, at the Point of no Return, where they would board on ships to be ferried away into the unknown. one last sip before... First they had to cross the lagoon on a boat and then wa...