Go Heritage 2019 - Day 7
Project Africa
Go Heritage 2019 - Day 6 (7/2/19)
I began my morning with a quick, yet delightful breakfast of plantains, jollof rice, and a croissant before taking the long, bumpy, pothole filled road to Obsefu Island visiting Badagry. I actually think pothole might be the wrong word for the conditions of this street we traveled. It is a mostly unpaved crumble of gravel with slow to completely halted traffic. Even as we traversed the areas of slush and mud after very deliberately descending from mini cliffs in the road, I never questioned my friend's ability to navigate the challenge. Every jerk, turn, roll, acceleration, and braking were expertly executed. I've always enjoyed road trips so, albeit bumpy, this experience was no less joyful.
My mood was a bit ruined, but my friends convinced me to finish the tour with the small boat ride to the small island where the stolen people were brought for a 20 minute walk through beautiful sand and palm trees to the port of the ships. I feel like the rage of the crashing water was a reflection of my internal discourse. As the Atlantic waves leapt and pummeled the shore, I breathed the fresh, calming air, sent up a prayer, and exhaled the tension that had built over that last hour.
buses falling down into the potholes in traffic beside us
man helping to guide cars around the huge flooded holes in the road
road to Badagry
We first stopped at a resort called Whispering Pines to relax from the road and take in the views. It was quiet and pretty empty so we had the place to ourselves. We took a couple photos overlooking a large water-standing statue of a Yoruba god, Yemoja surrounded by flowering duckweeds. After we had recouped from the jerky drive, we took to the road again, passing through the town headed to The Point Of No Return. On the journey I bought a beautifully beaded neck piece, hand made by a mother outside of her shop. 
Left to right: Adore, Innocent, Rahkua, Lucas
Statue of Yemoja
tower of tires yielding Nigerian flag
swingset on the resort
Monkey at Whispering Pines Zoo
We arrived at The Mobee Royal Family Original Slave Relics Museum Badagry. After just a one room tour I became upset; and after the second building was already ready to leave. Hearing the tour guide tell the history of that place, and how Chief Sunbu Mobee was selling his own people for canons and mirrors and other novelty items which they had not seen before the Europeans came, was just appalling to me. When asked if I wanted to "try on the chains" I resolutely said no. Internally, I recoiled at the thought that I had just paid N1000 to enter; hundreds of years later, this family is STILL profiting off of the 300+ year of sale of over 600,000 human beings a year packed onto ships and taken to a foreign land for enslavement. WOW. 
Welcome sign to museums
Large statues of freed formerly enslaved peoples
Chains used during slavery
Guide recounting the history
Guide demonstrating chaining procedures
boat to the point of no return
crashing waves of the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean on the shores of Obsefu Island
Badagry Slave Route Point of No Return Journey to Unknown Destination
Before leaving for my hotel in Ikeja, we visited the very first primary school in Nigeria, which was founded in 1845. The children's laughter, curiosity, and general energy surrounding our presence helped to relieve any lingering anxieties I had from the tour before.
KNOW YOURSELF. HONOR YOUR PAST. FORGE YOUR FUTURE.
Amani,
Rahkua
Project Africa: Los Angeles
Comments
Post a Comment