Dec. 24, 2021

…To Be Commissioned Soon

The rehabilitation, remodelling and equipping of the popular Vlekete Slave Market Museum in Badagry with historical artefacts have now reached over 95 per cent completion stage and would soon be commissioned by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

This was disclosed recently during an assessment tour of the project by the Special Adviser on Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr. Solomon Bonu, alongside the Permanent Secretary, Princess Adenike Adedoyin-Ajayi, as well as the Director of Monument Management Department, Mr. Olatunde Lawal.

While noting that the museum would soon be opened for use by members of the public, Bonu stated that the approval for the rehabilitation of the Vlekete Slave Market Museum further reaffirmed the status of Badagry as a major tourism destination in Lagos State and by extension, Nigeria.

According to him, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu gave approval for the Museum based on his conviction about the importance of the historical narratives behind the Vlekete Slave Market Museum in Badagry.

In her contribution, Adedoyin-Ajayi remarked that the Vlekete Slave Market in Badagry was adjudged to be one of the most populous slave markets in West Africa during the Slave Trade period, reiterating the commitment of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to hand over the Museum for public use soon.

She disclosed that when the Badagry Slave Market Museum International is completed, it will serve as a major tourism attraction for Nigerians within and outside the country and also re-enact the memory of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and its abolition several decades ago.

The Director, Monument Management Department, Mr. Olatunde Lawal, commended the contractor that handled the remodelling of the museum for the quality job done and for keeping to the delivery period for the project.

He said that the Managing Director of Messrs Obinjade Nigeria Limited, Mr. Ashamu Sewanu Fadipe, cooperated with the Ministry to reach the present stage of the project.

Fadipe, who took the Special Adviser and other top government officials from the Ministry on a tour of the Museum, said it houses collections of notable slave relics and useful information on Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Sahara slave marketing in Badagry.

He disclosed that a particular portion of the Museum has been dedicated to simulating the re-enactment of the trade experience to visitors and tourists using video presentation.

The Badagry Slave Market Museum International, also known as Velekete Slave Market, served as a business point where African middlemen sold slaves to European merchants, thus making it one of the most populous slave markets in West Africa.