This year’s Diaspora Badagry Festival, with the theme: The Voyage to Heritage, will feature a symbolic and emotional ceremony, tagged: ‘Door of Return ceremony’.
The organisers said this year’s event is significant because it is the first time in Nigeria “a door of return is opened for the Diasporans whose ancestors were historically taken away as slaves, through the Point of No Return in Badagry several years ago”.
The festival is expected to be a fun-filled and educative three-day event organised jointly by the African Renaissance Foundation, D&D Global Links Limited, the Office of the Senior Special Assistant and marketing partners of Agile Communications Limited, with support from the African Union Diaspora Forum.
It will hold from August 23 to 25, while the following weeks will witness a rollout of promotional activities introducing the line-up of events.
These include: carnival procession, boat regatta, f fishing competition, dark era procession, Diaspora dinner, beauty pageant, fashion show, cultural displays, heritage visits, heritage night, The Festival market, international music concert and other exciting activities.
An international symposium, with the theme: African Diaspora Beyond the Atlantic: Dynamics and Significance in the Latin American World and Elsewhere will hold on August 22.
The organisers also said there will be discussions on Diasporans’ return to their primordial homeland, besides other festivals and cultural programmes within the township and adjoining communities.
The campaign started with a logo launch on June 13 at the Baguda Kaltho Press Centre at Alausa in Ikeja, Lagos State capital.
It was attended by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa as well as the Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Overseas and Investments, Prof. Ademola Abass.
Mrs Dabiri-Erewa said: “After attending past editions of this event, it is evident that with consistency and the support of the government and organisations, this will eventually be the biggest cultural event to come out of Africa.”