Badagry Festival
{{Short description|Festival in Nigeria}}
{{Infobox recurring event
| name = Badagry Festival
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =yr
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| caption = Anago Prince at the Badagry Festival
| status = active
| genre = Festivals
| begins = August
| ends = August
| frequency = Annually
| venue =
| location = Badagry, Lagos State
| coordinates =
| country = Nigeria
| years_active =
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| last =
| prev = August 2015
| next = August 2016
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| leader_name = Oba Akran
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| organised = African Renaissance
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| sponsor =MTN
| website =[http://www.badagryfestival.com/ www.badagryfestival.com]
| footnotes =
}}
Badagry Festival is an annual event held in Badagry, a town in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is organised by the African Renaissance Foundation (AREFO). The event reflects the significance of the ancient town during the slave trade era. It is a convergence of culture and display of African heritage. The organizer brings the indegine and culture-loving fans from around the world to celebrate the festival. One of the major highlights is the artistic display by masquerades, dancers, and fire eaters. It features football competition, the beating of Sato drum, and Liberation Day Celebration.{{cite web|url=http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/09/african-magic-masquerades-end-badagry-festival/|title=African Magic, masquerades end Badagry festival|work=Vanguard Nigeria|author=Japhet Alakam|date=6 September 2015|accessdate=30 October 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/08/2015-badagry-festival-calls-for-end-to-modern-slavery-in-africa/|title=2015 Badagry Festival: Calls for end to modern slavery in Africa|work=Vanguard Nigeria|author=Japhet Alakam|date=31 August 2015|accessdate=30 October 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/2015/08/badagry-festival-2015-uniting-the-diaspora-with-motherland/|title=Badagry Festival 2015… uniting the Diaspora with motherland|author=Anote Ajeluorou|work=The Guardian|date=25 August 2015|accessdate=30 October 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2015/08/31/fanfare-at-badagry-festival/|title=Fanfare at Badagry Festival|author=PM News|date=31 August 2015|accessdate=30 October 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.premiumtimesng.com/arts-entertainment/96974-annual-badagry-festival-begins.html|title=Annual Badagry Festival Begins|author=Premium Times|date=18 August 2012|accessdate=30 October 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/lagos-black-heritage-festival-2015-beckons/207210/ |title=Lagos Black Heritage festival 2015 Beckons |work=Thisday News |author=Yinka Olatunbosun |accessdate=30 October 2015 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518085904/http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/lagos-black-heritage-festival-2015-beckons/207210/ |archivedate=18 May 2015 }}{{cite web|url=http://dailyindependentnig.com/2015/07/badagry-glimpse-lagos-famous-tourist-site/|title=badagry glimpse lagos famous tourist site|author=Daily Independent|work=Kimberly Okonkwo|accessdate=30 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304193505/http://dailyindependentnig.com/2015/07/badagry-glimpse-lagos-famous-tourist-site/|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=usurped}}{{cite web|url=http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/08/world-mayors-hail-badagry-festival/|title=World mayors hail Badagry festival|author=|work=Vanguard News|date=26 August 2012|accessdate=30 October 2015}}
History
The festival was initiated in 1999 to commemorate the end of the slave trade era and the significance of the ancient city during the period.
The SATO Drum
The SATO Drum is a traditional drum usually beaten during celebrations, it is 3m tall and is played with 7 sticks.
It is believed that the drum is played by orphans. The Sato drum became popular when it was played in Kaduna in 1972.{{cn|date=June 2022}}
Badagry Festival 2015
The 2015 Badagry festival started with a symposium tagged{{cite web|url=http://mybadagry.org/index.php/nawe/news/do-you-know/item/99-the-objectives-of-the-badagry-festival-by-sewedo-balogun|title=Objective of Badagry Festival by Sewedo Balogun|author=mybadagry.org|work=viyhon awhanse|accessdate=30 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304100135/http://mybadagry.org/index.php/nawe/news/do-you-know/item/99-the-objectives-of-the-badagry-festival-by-sewedo-balogun|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}} "Toussaint L'Ouverture: The Catalyst for the struggle for liberation of the black". The symposium was dedicated to the memory of the late Haitian revolutionary Toussaint L"Ouverture who created the first black republic in the Western Hemisphere on August 23, 1971.{{Cite web|title=Toussaint Louverture {{!}} Biography, Significance, & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Toussaint-Louverture|access-date=2021-08-25|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}
The event started on 20 August and ended on 30 August 2015. The festival creates a platform in Nigeria for those from the African diaspora to reunite with their motherland.{{cite web|url=http://mybadagry.org/index.php/badagry-the-place/festivals/item/33-badagry-festivals|title=Badagry Festival|work=my badagry|accessdate=30 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151214205113/http://mybadagry.org/index.php/badagry-the-place/festivals/item/33-badagry-festivals|archive-date=14 December 2015|url-status=dead}} It was held at Badagry Grammar School, Badagry, Lagos, Nigeria. The festival coincidentally fell on August 22 which was declared by UNESCO in 1988 as the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.{{Cite web|date=2018-10-09|title=International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition|url=https://en.unesco.org/commemorations/slavetraderemembranceday|access-date=2021-08-25|website=UNESCO|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2015-08-09|title=Badagry Diaspora Festival 2015… Atonement, Restoration Of Dislocated African Diaspora|url=https://guardian.ng/sunday-magazine/revuebadagry-diaspora-festival-2015-atonement-restoration-of-dislocated-african-diaspora/|access-date=2021-08-25|website=The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News|language=en-US}}
= Badagry Festival 2016 =
The festival started on the 23rd till 27th of August, 2016 with an international symposium on Olaudah Equiano. The symposium was dedicated to Olaudah Equiano who was a former slave boy that was kidnapped at the age of 11 and taken to europe who later bought his own freedom in 1766.{{Cite web|date=2016-09-04|title=Badagry festival showcases culture, beckons diaspora Africa|url=https://guardian.ng/art/badagry-festival-showcases-culture-beckons-diaspora-africa/|access-date=2021-08-25|website=The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=2019-03-25|title=Olaudah Equiano: A Great Man Who Walked The Earth|url=https://guardian.ng/life/olaudah-equiano-a-great-man-who-walked-the-earth/|access-date=2021-08-25|website=The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News|language=en-US}} His autobiography "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano; or, Gustavus Vassa, the African in 1789 became very famous for its exposure into the description of life in Nigeria and abolition stand against slave trade.{{Cite web|title=The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano; or, Gustavus Vassa, the African, Written by Himself {{!}} work by Equiano|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Interesting-Narrative-of-the-Life-of-Olaudah-Equiano-or-Gustavus-Vassa-the-African-Written-by-Himself|access-date=2021-08-25|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Olaudah Equiano {{!}} Biography, Summary, Book, Autobiography, & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Olaudah-Equiano|access-date=2021-08-25|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}
The festival has as theme ‘African Diaspora and the Future of Africa’. The Administrative Staff College of Nigeria Topo, Badagry was used for the event at first. But, the festival grand finale took place on Saturday, August 27th at Badagry Grammar School and features a milieu of cultural extravaganza and music.{{Cite web|date=2016-07-24|title=Badagry festival 2016 dedicated to Oluadah Equiano|url=https://t.guardian.ng/art/badagry-festival-2016-dedicated-oluadah-equiano/|access-date=2021-08-04|website=The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News|language=en-US}}
=City slave history=
The name Badagry derives from the means of livelihood of the indigenous people of the city, which include fishing, farming, salt making. However, others believe the city was named after Agbada, a popular farmer, whose farm was named Agbadagrimeh, which was later pronounced Badagry by the Europeans.{{Cite web|date=2016-07-24|title=Badagry festival 2016 dedicated to Oluadah Equiano|url=https://t.guardian.ng/art/badagry-festival-2016-dedicated-oluadah-equiano/|access-date=2021-07-31|website=The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News|language=en-US}}{{cite web|url=http://dailyindependentnig.com/2015/07/badagry-glimpse-lagos-famous-tourist-site/|title=Badagry Glimpse Lagos Famous Tourist Site|author=Kinberly Okonjwo|work=Daily Independent|accessdate=30 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304193505/http://dailyindependentnig.com/2015/07/badagry-glimpse-lagos-famous-tourist-site/|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=usurped}}
In the early 18th century Badagry served as a route for the Europeans when slaves were transported to the new destination of their buyers. It houses the cenotaph "Point of No Return",now called Gberefu village, a place where the well was enchanted to ensure that slaves who drank from it forgot their destinations. At the end of the 18th century, Badagry was one of the routes that benefited from the recurrent battle between Port novo and Dahomey for the movement of slaves.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0198719035|title=West African Warfare in Bahia and Cuba|author=Manuel Barcia|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=2014|accessdate=30 October 2015}} Badagry was noted as the auction point for slaves captured during inter-village warfare.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=60SEBAAAQBAJ&dq=isbn:1496982010|isbn=9781496982018|title=Both Sides of the Same Coin|author=Damian C. Dike|date=2014}} In 1983, Chief Mobee was among the African chiefs who participated in the slave trade.
The first two-storey building was built in Marina, Badagry, in 1845.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1841623970|title=Nigeria|author=Lizzie Williams, Mark Shenley|date=2012|accessdate=30 October 2015}} Presently, the site is facing massive environmental degradation due to lack of maintenance by the government, as well as the activities of commercial tree fellers. The government of Babatunde Fashola in an effort to reignite the glory of the city has started the construction of Badagry Expressway project, commissioning of Badagry Marina project.{{cite web|url=http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/157295-badagry-slave-route-faces-environmental-degradation.html|title=Badagry Slave Route faces environmental degeneration|author=Abiose Adelaja|work=Prime Time|date=24 March 2014|accessdate=30 October 2015}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0299054047|title=The African Slave Trade|author=Phillip Curtin|publisher=University of Wisconsin Press|page=314|accessdate=30 October 2015}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1135765898|title=From Slave Trade to Empire|author=Olivier Pétré Grenouilleau|accessdate=30 October 2015}}