Badagry: Where Man and Nature Meet in Warm Embrace…

Fresh from a trip to Badagry, KINGSLEY NDIMELE reports a town full of scars and memories and a people in close affinity with nature.

Agbadarigi was the native name, before white-skinned slave traders who could not pronounce the name renamed the West African coast town “Badagry”.

Today, tourists may not need a tour-guide in Badagry. Everywhere you go, relics of history, scars of old wounds, images, with detailed records of man’s inhumanity to man, are preserved for generations.

Between the very first storey-building in Nigeria and the Badagry Black Heritage Museum, housed in the then District Officer’s office built in 1863, historical artifacts and hundreds of relics that chronicle chilling details of over 300 years of slave trade from Badagry to Europe are on display.

The city of Badagry, from the early 1500s, was a major trading hub and transport terminus in West Africa where slaves were shipped off to America’. It is estimated that about 550,000 African slaves, forcibly plucked out of their native homes, passed through and were shipped off from Badagry soil.

A tour of the historic town

But away from images and relics of sorrow and scars that will always be there, Daily Times explored some exciting natural, radiant sides of Badagry and found the poise and aesthetics of lanky cocoanut trees against the deep blue skies irresistible. Fresh fruits and food wares that make a visitor glad he or she is human and in Badagry abound.

Badagry is a town that boasts many beaches and resorts. It is a relaxation town ideal for vacation and holidays. You can spend just one day, a whole weekend or entire vacation with family and loved ones. You can enjoy the peace and quiet of Lagos, soak up the fresh Atlantic Ocean breeze, explore traditional Nigerian meals, and reconnect with nature in absolute safety.

From the early days when traders shuttled across boundaries, buying and selling, traders from Lagos, Kwara, Saki, Republic of Benin, Togo and indeed all the West African countries troop to Badagry every day for her abundance of sea-fresh and dry fish like the popular Cat fish, Barracuda, Okodo, Owere and Tilapia, the big and small Crayfish, etc.

In addition, there are  assorted fruits, all free of genetic interference. But the biggest celebration of fruits in Badagry is the coconut, and all products made from both coconut and the palm tree that stand Badagry out as a centre of trade and tourism.

Daily Times visited the 61-year-old Agbalata Market, one of Badagry’s busiest trading grounds from the 1950s and sought to know what the attraction to this particular market is.

“All the commodities sold in Agbalata Market are sourced from within the soil and waters of Badagry,” Bernard Ojudina, one of the oldest bulk traders in the market told our correspondent.  “The prices are cheap and affordable, which is why people from other states and neighbouring countries come to Badagry to buy and resell.”

On the massive coconut trade in Badagry, Bernard said trading and exportation of coconut increased over time and later, palm tree produce was added. “Increase in the population and forces of demand turned the trade to a very lucrative business and, as you can see, we find ourselves struggling to meet demand from far and near all year round.”

There is hardly a jobless youth in Badagry because of the opportunity coconut business provides. Youths are too busy making money here to get into mischief like the idle ones in other cities; fathers and mothers also sustain their families by working or trading at the coconut or fish arena.

A very busy team of able-bodied men were seen loading she-lled coconuts into trucks and inter-state buses in both arenas, to be taken out of Badagry to the Northern states and beyond, Daily Times gathered. Inter-state buses, also loading the natural products, come regularly from Ibadan, Iseyin and other South-Western towns and cities.

Also speaking on the coconut business, a major exporter, Baba Ekundayo said they supply in large quantities to small-scale industries for their production. “Apart from the export trade too, people here extract the coconut juice and make pomades from it which is used as body creams. It nourishes the body and brings out the beauty of our skin more than the imported creams. It is natural, no additives or preservatives; so it brings out the African beauty in our women.

“Depending on the choice and culture of a people and society, the usefulness of coconut is endless. Whether you eat the flesh, drink its juice, or use its oil, coconut is a delicious and nutritious source of fiber, vitamins, minerals and amino acids.”

One of the regular customers of Baba Ekundayo, Mrs. Abigail Shofola, told Daily Times that coconut oil is excellent for keeping one young and beautiful. “I must say, that the uses of coconut are too numerous.” She counted on her fingers:  “The juice is useful for the wellness of the body, our people also make coconut oil from it which is the best oil for cooking, some people use coconut to make coconut soup and coconut candy for school children and, do you know,” she asked our correspondent, “If you eat a delicacy called coconut rice, you will agree there is nothing like it. And coconut shell, when boiled with other leaves, is good for malaria.”

Other local products the town offers include an array of beautiful traditional mats woven in attractive colours for domestic use and for export. Madam Ajero, a weaver and mat maker who supervises a workforce of eleven workers, told Daily Times that even a lazy man in Badagry has no choice but to work.

Further to the West end of the market, our correspondent spotted an Asian national almost dwarfed round about by mountains of shelled coconuts in the market; behind him stood a shelf with assorted coconut products on display and for export.

In a brief chat with Daily Times, the Asian who asked to be identified only as “Gomez” said coconut oils extracted and bottled by local women contain amazing healing properties which are used as dietary and healing oil.

Apart from the economic gains derived from coconuts, Gomez said there are other health benefits as eating coconuts boosting the immune system.

“Coconut oil is the main ingredient for producing coconut milk, butter, chips, flakes, etc. We have researched and found that extracts from coconut kill harmful bacteria, fungi, and parasites among others.

“So, we know that whether we eat coconut fresh, or use any of its products, it can cure some of mankind’s most resilient of illnesses such as influenza, throat infections. The products are also recommended for the treatment of skin disorder such as eczema. Also, regular eating or use of its products supports the development of strong bones and healthy teeth, and that is why Badagry people are strong and full of strength and vigour.”

What more can be said of the abundance of nature’s gifts to Badagry? It is said that a holiday in Badagry, or a weekend on the Badagry Beach, is  money well spent and time well-utilised.