It’s a pity if you have never visited
the historic town of Badagry, Lagos. This
ancient town witnessed the trans-atlantic slave trade era in West Africa. It has
become a place for tourists.
The white building known as the first storey building in Nigeria is situated in Badagry. Once you visit Badagry and
didn’t make it to this building, then your visit in incomplete.
You will be over whelmed with the historic
items in the building which was erected in1845. In the building are items such
as the building materials used in constructing the first storey house. There is also a gallery in the building with a
long table covered with a red cloth, while heavy chains, padlocks, photos and
other items are displayed on it.
Apart from being a
tourist centre, the first storey building has become a location for the entertainment
industry as well as a place for musicians and models, which use the place for
their videos and photo sessions.
During slavery, forty slaves were used
to exchange for a stout gun. A cast iron stout is mounted in the garden of
slave unit in Eriki Faremi Williams Abass Court, known as Baracoon of Joslave. In
those days there were cells which contained forty slaves in Abass Court; the
slaves were already confirmed to be transport by the British to the journey of no
return. In the
compound of the building is a well, engraved on it is 1842,
indicating when the well was dug.
There are various
rooms in the building with its own story attached to it. In the labourer’s room
are the corrugated iron sheets and the nails used in the roofing of the
building. The doors and hinges are still the same and appear to have stood the
test of time. Just beside the labourer’s room is the room of the first teacher
in Nigeria, Mr Claudius Phillips. Philips lived in this very room for 23 years
and he established the first primary school in Nigeria, known as St Thomas Primary
School with 40 students. The students spent 12 years in primary school before
they graduated.
Going upstairs
through a narrow wooden staircase is the room of the first Bishop in Nigeria,
who wrote the first Yoruba Bible. Stored in this room is the first English
Bible belonging to Townsend when he was invited by his friend Birch Freeman,
alongside the Yoruba version translated by Bishop Ajayi Crowther. From this
room, you can see the house of Lord Fredrick Luggard-the then governor of the
colony and protectorate of Southern Nigeria.
Right after this room is Gollmer’s room where
the first bench used by the missionary is kept. There is also the Bible room
where the missionaries stored their Bibles. The safe room also had the first
safe used by the missionary in 1856. In the safe are the earliest form of
currency used by the missionaries and slave masters such as the cowries, penny,
shillings and kobo.When Birch Freeman arrived in Badagry on September 24, 1842, he preached his first gospel under the notable Agia Tree. Under this umbrella tree, though no longer in existence, the first sermon in Nigeria was preached and the tree also served as the centre of Christmas celebration for the early Christians.
PHOTOS BY Adeola Solomon
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