By Peter Dansu The African Renaissance Foundation (AREFO), in collaboration with the Badagry community, has announced that the 2025 Badagry...
By Peter Dansu
The African Renaissance Foundation (AREFO), in collaboration with the Badagry community, has announced that the 2025 Badagry Diaspora Door of Return Festival will hold from 9th to 11th October.
According to participants at a meeting on Sunday, 21st September, the announcement followed consultations with stakeholders across Badagry and was described as a collective decision by AREFO and the local communities. The meeting was attended by Dr. (Chief) Babatunde Mesewaku of AREFO, representatives of various indigenous communities, traditional and religious groups, as well as delegates from the Igbo community.
This year’s festival programme promises a vibrant display of Badagry’s cultural heritage. Highlights include a symposium at the Palace of the Akran of Badagry, a boat regatta, and colourful cultural performances and processions. The symposium is being organised in partnership with the Institute of Diaspora Studies, University of Ibadan, emphasising the historical and academic significance of the festival.
The 2025 edition is dedicated to the memory of Mère Jah, an ecological and Pan-African activist from Guadeloupe. Guided by a Rastafarian prophecy that descendants of the transatlantic slave trade would one day return to Africa, she and her family settled in Benin in 1997, becoming the first Francophone family to repatriate to Africa after 400 years of slavery. She devoted her life to advocating for the rights and citizenship of Afro-descendants in Benin, working to secure a sense of belonging for them, and had consistently supported the Badagry Diaspora Door of Return Festival until her demise.
Support for the festival is already building. The SMA Foundation, founded by illustrious Badagrian, Mr. Samuel Mawuyon Ajose, has confirmed sponsorship, while organisers await a response from the Lagos State Government to further boost the celebration. Locally, the event has received strong backing from political leaders, including Babatunde Hunpe, Chairman of Badagry Local Government. His counterparts, Ajose Peter Kumayon of Olorunda LCDA and Rauf Ibrahim Kayode Yemaren of Badagry West LCDA are also key stakeholders. Assurance of support has also been received from Hon. Sesi Whingan, MHR, Badagry Federal Constituency.
Organisers also emphasised that one of the unique expectations for this year’s festival is the full participation of all communities and ethnic groups in Badagry, alongside Africans from the diaspora who are expected to join in reconnecting with their ancestral homeland from across the world.
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