Nigeria, the land of plenty

Benin City's popular fashion Benin City is one of the largest cities in Nigeria. It is the capital of Edo state. It probably shines less than it used to a few centuries ago when it was a powerful and advanced kingdom, lauded for its administrative and military strengths by the first Europeans who came to trade in the 15th century. Nowadays modern Europeans hear more about Benin City because Edo's gangs export girls for prostitution and compete with the mafia in Sicily on some markets. Traces of the past are very present, for instance the Oba's palace is still surrounded by a large mud wall. The city has sprawled in all directions. Trading buildings, administration buildings are among the tallest, most of them worn out by time, dusty winters and strong rainy seasons. Large avenues are running through the city, but as soon as one leave them to adjacent roads, potholes and dirt roads slow down navigation. Easier for motorbikes. Market areas are usually buzzing with peopl...

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 Wawu of Badagry While visiting Badagry, we discovered a city with a lot of heritage, with a particular focus on slave-trade about which three museums are covering. There are a lot for a town of the size of Badagry. The town a good number of buildings of brazilian influence. They were erected by returning slaves after the abolition of slavery. There are also a few colonial buildings such as the house that hosted the British administration and which is overlooking the lagoon. The city also counts several traditional compounds. There is the one of the Akran ,  the head of Badagry Kingdom who is referred to as Aholu. He is revered as the Ruler of Badagry. In a different area stands the compound of the Wawu of Badagr y.  The Wawu family, according to High Chief WAWU, descended from Ile-Ife and settled at Ouidah (Whydah) in Benin Republic. Later the Ifa oracle asked them to return through Gberefu to their present location in Badagry.   The Wawu is famous because h...

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...