Divisional Library
Boekoh Quarters district
Badagry, Lagos, Nigeria occupies the historic building that was the
first administrative office in Nigeria. The museum traces the story of
Badagry's association with the Slave Trade and houses several relics
dating back to the era of slavery.
THE MUSEUM BUILDING
The Badagry Heritage Museum was officially opened in 2002 by former
Lagos State governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. It occupies the historic
building that was the first administrative office block in Nigeria.
Constructed in 1863, about 30 years after the abolition of the Slave
Trade, it was used as the office of the District Officer from 1865
(when Henry F. Pilkington Esq., the first District Officer, assumed
duty) until the departure of the last District Officer, G.B. Ollivant,
who was posted in 1958.
HISTORY OF SLAVERY
The museum, tracing the story of Badagry's association with slavery,
takes the visitor through the horrifying history of the Slave Trade.
Beginning with the capture of the slaves through to their ordeals in
the hands of local chiefs and the European slave merchants, it ends
with the abolition of slavery and emancipation of the slaves. This
passage through the corridors of time are echoed in the nine galleries
within the museum: Introduction, Capture, Facilitators, Equipment,
Resistance and Punishment, Industry, Integration, Abolitionists and
Badagry.
As if in an attempt to wipe out centuries of torture and inhumanity,
in the years following the abolition of slavery in 1833, a lot of the
infrastructure and equipment which supported the slave trade was
destroyed. As a result the slave port was demolished along with the
Portuguese fort; the slave market was brought down, cannons were
buried and many traces of suppression such as chains and shackles were
thrown into the Atlantic Ocean. However the efforts of the Lagos State
government in preserving the legacy of the past will ensure future
generations continue to learn the lessons from our history.
Supported by the Nigerian Cultural Commission, the museum displays
hundreds of artifacts and historical relics that chronicle more than
300 years of the movement of slaves through Lagos. Passing through the
museum's nine galleries, you'll be faced with sobering reminders like
trade documents, sketches, photos, sculptures and other salvaged
historical records that documented Badagry's unsavoury past.
HISTORIC BADAGRY
The museum is located in the centre of the historic tourist town of
Badagry (in the Boekoh quarters area , known as "Adugbo Oyinbo",
meaning "neighbourhood of white men" in local Yoruba dialect). It is a
short walk from the first ((European) storey building in Nigeria built
in 1845 by the Church Missionary Society and just a stone's throw from
the building which served as the official residence of the 82 colonial
District Officers that Badagry paid host to in the 100 years leading
up to Nigeria's independence in 1960.
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