‘A Stupendous Beginning’: Soyinka Celebrates Badagry Door of Return Festival

‘A Stupendous Beginning’: Soyinka Celebrates Badagry Door of Return Festival
Dabiri-Erewa described the festival as a historic, emotional, spiritual, and economic reconnection to the motherland
Ambassador Miriam Morales Palmero of Cuba emphasized the importance of the event in preserving the shared history of slavery

Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has described the Badagry Door of Return Ceremony as a historic beginning of a momentous cultural and spiritual renaissance connecting Africa and its diaspora, Eko Hot Blog reports.

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Speaking as the Special Guest of Honour at the 5th edition of the Badagry Door of Return Festival in Lagos, Soyinka praised the initiative as “a formal beginning of a stupendous event that would bring not just the thousands we see here, but millions.”

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He commended Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), and other collaborators including the chairmen of the three Badagry councils and Lagos lawmaker Hon. Solomon Bonu for sustaining the event.

Soyinka noted that the 5th edition heralds the Heritage Voyage of Return, which will commence in Brazil next year and culminate in Badagry, symbolizing a powerful reconnection between Africa and her descendants.

“No voyage is complete without the other,” he said. “The diasporas are eager and obsessed with the notion of coming back. I pray that the sadness that once defined the Point of No Return will now turn to joy.”

A Stupendous Beginning’: Soyinka Celebrates Badagry Door of Return Festival

Welcoming participants from Brazil, the United States, the United Kingdom, Cuba, Haiti, and Benin Republic, Dabiri-Erewa described the festival as a historic, emotional, spiritual, and economic reconnection to the motherland.

She expressed gratitude to Soyinka, calling him “a legend and an inspiration to all,” and lauded Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for building the permanent Door of Return structure in Badagry, a lasting tourism legacy for Lagos State.

Representing Governor Sanwo-Olu, the Special Adviser on Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr. Idris Aregbe, and the Special Adviser on Environment commended Dabiri-Erewa for using the festival to attract the African diaspora back home.

The governor assured participants that the permanent site of the Door of Return would be completed and inaugurated during the next edition of the festival.

In her remarks, Ambassador Miriam Morales Palmero of Cuba emphasized the importance of the event in preserving the shared history of slavery and strengthening the fraternity between Cuba and Nigeria.

Quoting Cuban historian Fernando Ortiz (1939), she said:

“Cuba without the blacks will not be Cuba. The contributions of Africans to the Cuban identity are monumental.”

Lagos lawmaker Hon. Solomon Bonu, Chairman, House Committee on Tourism, described the festival as “a heritage bridge between Africa and her children abroad,” assuring that the Lagos Assembly would continue to support cultural and tourism initiatives that preserve the state’s historical legacy.

Hon. Babatunde Hunpe, Chairman of Badagry Local Government, speaking on behalf of his colleagues Hon. Ibrahim Rauf Kayode and Hon. Ajose Peter Kumayon, expressed appreciation to Dabiri-Erewa and the Lagos State Government for positioning Badagry as a global heritage destination.

He also thanked Prof. Soyinka for his “love for the people of Badagry and the diaspora,” adding that the festival “puts Badagry on the world map.”