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Native name: Gberefu | |
---|---|
Geography | |
Location | Close to Atlantic Ocean |
Coordinates | 6°25′01″N2°52′59″E / 6.417°N 2.883°E |
Administration | |
State | Lagos State |
Local government area | Badagry |
Demographics | |
Ethnic groups | |
Additional information | |
Gberefu Island was opened as a slave port in 1473. |
Gberefu Island also known as Point of No Return is a populated historical island located in Badagry, a town and local government area of Lagos State, South-Western Nigeria. [1] Symbolized by two poles slightly slanted towards each other and facing the Atlantic Ocean, the island was a major slave port after it was opened in 1473 during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade era. [2] According to Nigerian historians, as many as 3 million slaves were believed to have been shipped to the Caribbean and Americas between 1518 and 1880 from the island. [3]
GBEREFU ISLAND is headed by two chiefs, all crowned by the same Akran of Badagry Kingdom, and they are; I. Chief Yovoyan (The Duheto of Badagry Yovoyan/Gbragada) II. Chief Najeemu(late) (The Numeto of Badagry Gberefu). The Island's first settlers and real landlords are two Ewe communities (villages) under one umbrella, which are Gbragada, and Kofeganme (Yovoyan).
The Ewes of this Island were salt merchants and seasoned fishermen from Keta (The KETAS) around 1734, but majority of them are fishermen and farmers by occupation in the late 18th and early 19th century, although there are other ethnic groups living in the area, which comprises the Egun(Ogu)/Ilajes in one harmony with there landlords.
Gberefu or Agbedefu- Gbe language principally in Ewe mesah- Life is trouble/difficult. . [4] [5]
Since Gberefu Island is an historic site, it has attracted several tourists around the world thereby increasing its notability. [6] According to a 2015 statistics released on The Guardian , a total number of 3,634 people visited the island in 6 months. [7]
= Etymology =
Gbe languages principally Ewe. Corruption of Agbedefu :life is a struggle.
Lagos State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 Nigerian states, it is the second most populous state but the smallest in area. Bounded to the south by the Bight of Benin and to the west by the international border with Benin for 10 km, Lagos State borders Ogun State to the north for about 283 km, making it the only Nigerian state to border only one other state. Named for the city of Lagos—the most populous city in Africa—the state was formed from the Western Region and the former Federal Capital Territory on 27 May 1967.
Keta is a coastal town in the Volta Region of Ghana. It is the capital of the Keta Municipal District.
The Gbe languages form a cluster of about twenty related languages stretching across the area between eastern Ghana and western Nigeria. The total number of speakers of Gbe languages is between four and eight million. The most widely spoken Gbe language is Ewe, followed by Fon. The Gbe languages were traditionally placed in the Kwa branch of the Niger–Congo languages, but more recently have been classified as Volta–Niger languages. They include five major dialect clusters: Ewe, Fon, Aja, Gen (Mina), and Phla–Pherá.
The Ewe people are a Gbe-speaking ethnic group. The largest population of Ewe people is in Ghana, and the second largest population is in Togo. They speak the Ewe language which belongs to the Gbe family of languages. They are related to other speakers of Gbe languages such as the Fon, Gen, Phla /Phera, Ogun/Gun, Maxi, and the Aja people of Togo and Benin.
Efunroye Tinubu, born Ẹfúnpọ̀róyè Ọ̀ṣuntinúbú, was a powerful Yoruba female aristocrat, merchant, and slave trader in pre-colonial and colonial Nigeria.
Fort Prinzenstein is a fort located at Keta, Ghana, which was used in the slave trade. Many such forts were built in Africa, but Prinzenstein is one of the few that lie east of the Volta River. Keta served as an open port until the Tema Harbour commenced its operation to the west in 1962. The fort has been designated a World Heritage Site because of its historical importance and testimony to the Atlantic slave trade.
Badagry Division is an administrative division of Lagos State in Nigeria.
Badagry, also spelled Badagri, is a coastal town and Local Government Area (LGA) in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is quite close to the city of Lagos, and located on the north bank of Porto Novo Creek, an inland waterway that connects Lagos to the Beninese capital of Porto-Novo. The same route connects Lagos, Ilaro, and Porto-Novo, and shares a border with the Republic of Benin. As of the preliminary 2006 census results, the municipality had a population of 241,093.
Keta Lagoon, also called Anlo-Keta lagoon, is the largest of the over 90 lagoons that cover the 550 km stretch of the coastline of Ghana. This lagoon is 126.13 km in length. It is located in the eastern coast of Ghana and separated from the Gulf of Guinea by a narrow strip of sandbar. This open salty water is surrounded by flood plains and mangrove swamps. Together they form the Keta Lagoon Ramsar site which covers 1200 km2
Anlo Afiadenyigba is a town in the Volta Region of Ghana. The town is located on the eastern part of the Keta Lagoon.
The Gun people, also rendered Ogũ, Ogun and Egun, is an ethnic group principally found in Lagos and Ogun State regions of southwestern Nigeria, and Ouémé Department in the southeast of the Republic of Benin, who speak the Gun language. The Ogu account for about 15% of the indigenous population of Lagos State and 6% of the total population of the Republic of Benin, although their parental ethnic group Fon, is the majority in Benin Republic.
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.
The Vlekete Slave Market is a market located in Badagry, Lagos State. Established in 1502 and named after the Vlekete deity, the goddess of the ocean and wind the market was significant during the Atlantic slave trade in Badagry, as it served as a business point where African middlemen sold slaves to European slave merchants, thus making it one of the most populous slave markets in West Africa.
Timothy E. McPherson Jr is a descendant of the Nanny Town Maroons and he is the chairman for the Economic Community of States, Nations, Territories and Realms of the African Diaspora Sixth Region (ECO-6) and he is also the founding governor of the Central Solar Reserve Bank of Accompong, which he created during his tenor as the minister of Finance for the Accompong Maroons. He is Chairman of the Door of Return initiative, which is being spearheaded across Africa in cooperation with Ghana and Nigeria as part of the United Nations' (UN) International Decade for People of African Descent. During the 2018 Door of Return celebration in Nigeria, McPherson was officially honoured by the Akran of Badagry Kingdom and conferred with the Royal Chieftaincy title as "Yenwa of Badagry Kingdom".
Kosoko was a member of the Ologun Kutere Lagos Royal Family who reigned as Oba of Lagos from 1845 to 1851. His father was Oba Osinlokun and his siblings were Idewu Ojulari, Olufunmi, Odunsi, Ladega, Ogunbambi, Akinsanya, Ogunjobi, Akimosa, Ibiyemi, Adebajo, Matimoju, Adeniyi, Isiyemi, Igbalu, Oresanya, and Idewu-Ojulari.
Chief Seriki Williams Abass was a renowned slave merchant in present-day southern Nigeria during the 19th century who became the "Paramount Ruler" of Badagry within the indirect rule structure established by the British.
The Door of Return is an emblem of African Renaissance and is a pan-African initiative that seeks to launch a new era of cooperation between Africa and its diaspora in the 21st century. The initiative is Chaired by the Hon. Timothy E. McPherson Jr., Minister of Finance for the Accompong Maroons in Jamaica, and is being spearheaded across Africa in cooperation with Nigeria, Ghana and Zimbabwe as part of the United Nations's International Decade for People of African Descent. The name is a reference to the "Door of No Return", a monument commemorating the transatlantic slave trade.
Apa is a historic community in Badagry division of Lagos State. It is one of the oldest settlements in Badagry. The community has an Oba, the Alapa of Apa. The majority of people from Apa are of Awori and Ogu heritage.
The Assin Manso Ancestral Slave River also called Nnonkonsuo or Donkor Nsuo (singular) was one of the slave markets for gathering indigenes during the trans-Atlantic slave trade. It is located in the Central Region of Ghana, forty (40) kilometers along the Cape Coast-Kumasi highway.
Chief Theophilus Olabode Avoseh, known as T. Ola Avoseh, was a local historian, writer and chief of Badagry, Lagos. He wrote several booklets and pamphlets in the English and Yoruba languages on aspects of the history and culture of Badagry and Epe towns in Lagos, Nigeria.