By Anote Ajeluorou
The people of Badagry are
bracing up to tap into the huge potential in tourism located in their
doorsteps. This year, a new logo, encapsulating Badagry tourism potential and
its cultural heritage, as bequeathed by a sad historical past, await visitors
to the two festivals the ancient town will host.
From March 25, when the Lagos Black Heritage Festival (LBHF)
opens, Badagry will be at the centre of activities, with Day 3 devoted to
Badagry alone, to mark mainstreaming the town into the festival’s calendar for
the first time. Until now, Badagry had been on the fringe of the Lagos
festival.
Indeed, for most Badagry people, Lagos Black Heritage
Festival is a derivation from their original Badagry Festival, which had
existed for almost 10 years before the state government decided to organise its
own to over-shadow it. Lagos State Government had repeatedly refused to fund or
participate in the Badagry festival, only to start its own years later.
Badagry Local Government chairman, Hon. Disu hinted at the
state hijacking Badagry Festival from them, even when he minimally participates
in it himself. Even now, initiator of Badagry Festival and boss of African
Renaissance Foundation, Mr. Babatunde Olaide-Mesewaku is shopping abroad among
the American Caucus of Black Mayors for sponsorship and participationin the
festival in August, as a way of giving it the international stature and
exposure it deserves.
But now, Consultant to LBHF, Prof. Wole Soyinka has seen
reason for the active involvement of Badagry because of the sheer historical
and cultural importance of the town to the festival. At this year’s festival,
Badagry council sponsored 55 school pupils to participate at the Vision of the
Child Art Competition out of which six pupils are in the running for the top
prizes.
But this involvement is with its sets of fits and starts on
the part of the state government in harnessing the tourism potentials of
Badagry. Construction of facilities in the ancient town that would facilitate
patronage of tourists is still half done. From the world-class golf course
along the Marine Beach to Vlekete Slave Market, where slaves were sold during
the period of the infamous slave trade to the Slave Tunnels and other landmark
slave trade relics, Lagos is yet to deliver to enhance tourism. Badagry has,
therefore, remained a rustic community and is perhaps the poorest for it among
its sister towns with heavy slave trade past along the West Africa coast.
But in spite of these setbacks for the ancient town, the
local people are upbeat about the cultural resource at their disposal. And so
amidst a gathering of all the chiefs of Badagry except the Akran himself, Dosu
unveiled Badagry Tourism logo to wide admiration. It consists of a curving
coconut tree (symbol of Badagry town and main agricultural resource) and the
giant traditional sato drum set
against a background of a golden sunset, with Badagry Tourism blazoned beside
it.
Stickers with the logo were distributed among those in
attendance to openly display as means of promoting Badagry tourism. The gesture
elicited wide commendation from virtually everyone. But the council boss was
also urged to go beyond merely producing logo to further market Badagry as a
tourism haven by taking a stand at the Lagos airport to help visitors to the
two festivals on how to easily get to Badagry without much trouble.
The council boss was also enjoined to create tourism
facilities in the town that would attract visitors beyond what Lagos State
Government was doing that could also generate funds for the council and the
local people. Such facilities like boat route from Apapa to Badagry and
neighbouring states of Togo and Benin Republic to Badagry, it was canvassed,
would give the town international attraction, especially now when the road
leading these other places from Badagry was in bad shape.
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