By Charles Mgbolu
The historic town of Badagry in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, hosted the 4th edition of ‘Door of Return’ festival, a symbolic annual event where diasporans of African descent were received through the same route that their forefathers were shipped from Africa as slaves to the Western world.
The 3-day event from October 19 to October 21 was marked by the arrival of some African diaspora guests on boats symbolising the return of their forefathers taken during slave trade centuries ago.
Clad in dyed African fabrics, the diaspora guests walked along a 1.5-kilometre old slave route to the ocean. The event was also celebrated on social media by Nigerians.
''Well, it was a hard, tiring experience,'' Julius Garvey, a diasporan and son of Jamaican-born Pan-African activist, Marcus Garvey said, referring to the suffering of Africans forced into slavery.
Between 10 million and 28 million Africans were believed to have been shipped across the Atlantic between the 15th and 19th centuries for slavery in America and the Caribbean.
Many say the Door of Return event is crucial to raise awareness on the atrocities against Africans during slavery.
‘’I want to understand what our ancestors went through and all of their experiences, so this is very significant,'' Rgarge Romero, a Spanish African who attended the event said.
After the long walk, they were welcomed with drinks through the ‘Door of Return’.
‘’It is a symbolic connection—economic, spiritual, emotional, and physical. They want to see what they can do on the continent, for instance, by building a diaspora palace here in Badagry. So it is also about investing on the continent,’’ says Abike Dabiri, Chairman and CEO of the Nigerian Diaspora Commission.
The festival is an attempt to refocus diaspora Africans on their homeland.
