Travel Guide Badagry

A journey through Badagry takes the visitor back to the era of British colonization, with the tragedies of slavery and some of Nigeria's first times: the country's first two-storey building, its first primary school, its first safe, its first place where Christmas was celebrated... Unlike the Portuguese speakers who concentrated on the east coast of Nigeria, British companies decided to conquer the land, of which Badagry was one of the base camps. Nearly 40% of slaves from Africa were sent from Nigeria, more than 1.1 million between 1690 and 1907. If Calabar was by far the largest slave port in the country, Badagry is no less marked by this dark past, still present in the city's architecture. The visit will be undertaken more for the effort of memory and the peace and quiet found in the place, between mangroves and palm trees, than for the historical heritage, unfortunately quite limited and somewhat abandoned by the authorities. Once in Badagry, all the sites can be covered on foot.