Badagry Festival

The name Badagry derives from the means of livelihood of the indigenous people of the city, which include fishing, farming, salt making. However, others believe the city was named after Agbada, a popular farmer, whose farm was named Agbadagrimeh, which was later pronounced Badagry by the Europeans.[11]

In the early 18th century Badagry served as a route for the Europeans when slaves were transported to the new destination of their buyers. It houses the cenotaph "Point of No Return",now called Gberefu village,a place where the well was enchanted to ensure that slaves who drank from it forgot there destinations. At the end of the 18th century, Badagry was one of the routes that benefited from the recurrent battle between Portnovo and Dahomey for the movement of slaves.[12] Badagry was noted as the auction point for slaves captured during inter-village warfare.[13] In 1983, Chief Mobee was among the African chiefs who participated in the slave trade.

The first two-storey building was built in Marina, Badagry, in 1845.[14] Presently, the site is facing massive environmental degradation due to lack of maintenance by the government, as well as the activities of commercial tree fellers. The government of Babatunde Fashola in an effort to reignite the glory of the city has started the construction of Badagry Expressway project, commissioning of Badagry Marina project.[15][16][13][17]