There are certain aspects of our culture, histories, and past experiences that books alone cannot do justice to. Yes, you might read about them in books or even watch movies and documentaries of them. But the hard truth is that they won’t be brought to life on those platforms. To have 360-degree experiential knowledge about some of these things, you need to visit museums like Badagry Black Heritage Museum.
Museums provide you unique interactive experience beyond what you see in books, newspapers or on the television. They showcase the best of a nation and its culture to the widest possible audiences. They are storehouse of knowledge, source of education and entertainment. You may even get inspired to boost your creative works afterwards.
Badagry Black Heritage Museum is a storey building located in the ancient town of Badagry. It houses objects dated back to the pre-slave era, the slave era and the post-slave era. It chronicles the movement of slaves through Lagos, a reminder of one of the ancient barbaric practices in black Africa. Records have it that no fewer than 550,000 African slaves we exported through Badagry to America between the period of 1500-1787.
The gallery in Badagry Black Heritage Museum is categorized into eight sections to give a holistic picture of the pre-slave, the slave, and the post slave era in Nigeria. Below are what you would see in each section.
- Section one contains the pictures of Badagry town early days and its rulers.
- Section two contains chains, mouth muzzles used to hold slaves throughout their life span.
- Section three houses a large drinking pot where the slaves drank from, a replica of a ship with an upper & lower deck for transporting the slaves.
- Section four houses the safe used by the colonial masters who lived in the house. The safe has in it important slavery files, documents, and the money used for transactions till date.
- Section five displays a picture of a dog and a man who depicted the punishment measured out to the slaves who tried to escape. Dogs would bite off their throat.
- Section six displays barracoon cells that housed the captured humans awaiting slave dealers from overseas for purchase.
- Section seven shows the way the slave dealers used the slaves domestically or on the field.
- Section eight contains pictures of heroes who fought the slave trade to a halt.
- The Island of No Return could also be sighted from the museum. The 1502 open market where slaves were auctioned off is located there, in Badagry.
The museum is really a must-visit if you are looking to have firsthand information about some part of African history.
