Life in Lagos: Journey to the Point of No Return

Growing up, I have heard a lot about the point of no where return. One fateful morning my friends and I decided we wanted to visit Badagry. Badagry which serves as the most historical place in Lagos. I always loved adventure but this was the beginning of my travel stories.

The plan was to go to the Badagry Beach but on our way there guess who made them change plans. We decided to take a trip down memory lane. Between me and you, when I was a child, I was scared of going to “point of no return”, I thought I wouldn’t return when I visit there (make sure you don’t laugh at me).

The Roadtrip to Badagry

We left home at around 8am and boarded a bus to Iyana-iba, the journey was less than 10minutes (to be fair my house isn’t that far from Iyana-iba). On getting to Iyana-iba we boarded a bus to Badagry which cost 250naira per passenger.

Luckily for us we were the first ones to board the Badagry bus so I quickly took a window seat. If you are familiar with the Badagry axis you would testify that if you don’t get a seat beside the window of those buses, then just forget it because you are a ‘gunner’. The buses are as cramped and rickety as they come.

Arrival

We finally got to Badagry at 9:30am..YAYYYY!!!
From the Badagry Roundabout you would know that the town is an historical place. You would see the Sato Drum statue at the roundabout. From the roundabout we boarded a bus to the Badagry Jetty..

The Point of no return is located on a Island, Gberefu Island(the quiet island), that is only accessible by boat. This was my first ever boat trip, I was so scared but on the quest for adventure I continued on. From the jetty we boarded a boat to Gberefu Island, the boat cruise lasted not more than 5minutes.

Moving to the Point of No Return

From the shore, slaves were made to trek about 20minutes till they get to the sea shore where they are rebranded and shipped to different parts of the world and never see their families again. We started the trek down to the point of no return. This trek is aimed to make us feel what the slaves felt during their time.

Pro tip:

If you want to visit Gberefu Island make sure to go early, trekking under the scorching sun is not advisable.

On our way lies the attenuation well. According to history, they claimed the well was poisoned with a memory loss substance that makes any slave lose their memory on their route to the point of no return. We were already warned not to drink from any of the well but the scientist in me was thinking of trying it out, maybe next time.

When we finally got to the point of no return, I couldn’t help but smile at how beautiful the beach was. The point of no return which used to be a dreadful journey is now named the point of return and is a beauty to behold.
I couldn’t help but be reminded about what our forefathers went through in the hands of the colonial masters.

After an hour of taking in the beauty of the place we left, got food because as usual I was hungry. We went to visit Badagry Museum and the first storey building in the country.

Have you ever visited Badagry or the point of no return? Tell me through the comments.