JAMAICAN MINISTER, AMBASSADOR VISIT TOURISM SITES IN BADAGRY
The position of Badagry as a major tourist destination in Lagos State and Nigeria was again reaffirmed by the Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Affairs in Jamaica, Kamina Smith-Johnson, during a recent visit to the ancient town in the company of the Ambassador of Jamaica to Nigeria, Esmond Reid.
Receiving the visitors on behalf of the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture on Monday at the Badagry Marina, the Director of Research and Development, Mrs. Yetunde Simpson, expressed pleasure identifying with the foreign tourists and also taking them around historical sites in Badagry.
She expressed the hope that the visit would further project Lagos and Nigeria’s tourism potentials, envisaging that more international tourists would also be stimulated by the visit of the Jamaican Minister and Ambassador.
Addressing the tourists at their first port of call, the Palace of the Akran of Badagry, the Head of Badagry Heritage Museum, Mr. Peter Mesewaku explained the important position which Badagry occupies in the area of Western Education, Christianity and Trans Atlantic Slavery.
After visiting the Palaces of the Akran and Wawu of Badagry respectively, the visitors stopped over at Mobee Slave Museum and Badagry Heritage Museum as well as Seriki Faremi Williams Abass Slave Museum for a deeper understanding of the Trans Atlantic Slavery before its abolition.
In her remarks, the Jamaican Minister, Kamina Smith-Johnson, thanked the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture for taking time to share the history of Badagry with them, just as she also acknowledged the warm reception accorded her and her entourage.
Her words: “It is an honour for me to bring greetings on behalf of the people and government of Jamaica. This visit is like a homecoming for me because those of us in Jamaica have always described ourselves as descendants of the people of Africa and Nigeria”.
“Just as it is very emotional for us to know every part of ourselves from our roots here, it is even a greater honour to us for the warm and homely reception we received from the period we arrived here in Badagry up till now”, Smith-Johnson added
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Pix: The Jamaican Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Affairs, Kamina Smith-Johnson and others during the visit to tourism sites in Badagry.
