How bad roads discourage tourists from visiting Badagry

Badagry, the border community in Lagos, is an ancient tourist attraction and a town with a rich history, especially with regard to the transatlantic slave trade era in West Africa.

Hundreds of years ago, the forefathers of Nigeria and neighbouring African countries were ferried to many parts of Europe and America as slaves through Badagry.

Many tourists have visited the town, especially the Gberefu village, which was the Point of No Return through which captured slaves were bundled away in chains to unknown destinations. Any visitor to the site would get emotional about the agony and inhuman treatment the ancestors of Nigeria suffered in the hands of the European slave traders.

But, as Eko Trust learnt, the Badagry tourist attraction, which should be a huge revenue earner for the Lagos and federal governments, presently suffers from years of neglect by successive governments.

The highway leading to Badagry from mainland Lagos is in a bad state. Though the federal government announced it has taken up the repair and rehabilitation of some sections of the highway, while the Lagos State government has been working to repair other portions, not much work seems to have been done as the road remains a horror.

Our correspondent who visited Badagry recently reports that the road has become worse owing to the downpour experienced on a daily basis in recent times, while flash floods in most parts of the highway have made the West African corridor virtually inaccessible to motorists.

“No tourist will want to come here in the condition this road is. You can see vehicles breaking down everywhere. This is what we experience on a daily basis,” a resident of Badagry, Mr Sunday Ohunu, said.

Where tourism thrives, the hospitality business usually records a boom. But this is not the case in Badagry as hoteliers say many people rarely visit Badagry now, except on few occasions there are major events.

One such event was the 2019 Diasporan Festival which held in October in Badagry and brought some visitors, including a group of African-Americans into the country. The festival was an opportunity for Nigerians in the Diaspora to feel a sense of their culture and roots.

Hoteliers in the town said that other than such an occasional moment, the hospitality business in the city has remained at a permanent lull. The hoteliers attributed this to the dilapidated state of the highway, coupled with that of many inner roads in Badagry, which they described as “an eyesore.”

A hotelier who spoke with Eko Trust on condition of anonymity said, “Before, people would come to Badagry to savour their weekend and return to Lagos on Sunday, but this is no longer the case. We struggle to get few customers at weekends. If not for the festival taking place this weekend, we usually don’t have many visitors.”

At Gberefu village, our correspondent observed that there is an arcade built in remembrance of slaves shipped to Europe from Badagry. This arcade is sited close to the beach front. This, according to experts, makes the community a haven of tourism. That was then, not anymore.

Residents of the village said they have lost hope on revival of the good past as there have been many promises by past administrations, which were not fulfilled.

Also, our correspondent observed some uncompleted buildings in the village, which were said to have been built during the administration of Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola to create a relaxation park in the village for tourists visiting the Point of No Return. But the buildings have been overtaken by weeds.

The immediate past governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, repeatedly assured the community of massive development expected to follow the planned deep seaport project.

But, according to Mr Samson Hungbo, the Secretary of the Gberefu community, all the promises were never fulfilled.

“Fashola tried to develop this community by putting some structures in place, but the immediate past governor didn’t do much follow-up. Look at the buildings (pointing to the uncompleted buildings) started by Fashola, but the immediate past governor didn’t do anything on them,” Hungbo said.

He agreed with his kinsmen that the state of the highway cannot attract visitors to the site. “The present governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has promised to give this place a facelift. We are hopeful.  Also, some of the African-Americans who came for the Diasporan festival have promised to build a royal palace and resort. We have allocated land to them. We hope when these projects are realized, many people can be attracted to visit here,” he added.

Eko Trust gathered that one of the visiting African-Americans, Dr David Anderson, who is the founder and president of the BridgeLeader Network (BLN), a diversity consulting firm, has promised to build a multi-million dollar Diasporan Royal Palace and Resort in Gberefu town.

The Permanent Secretary, Lagos Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Babatunde Olaide-Mesewaku, told our correspondent that the state government had concluded plans to turn Badagry into a foremost national tourist destination.