Gberefu Island also known as ''Point of No Return'' is a populated historical

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

located in

Badagry Badagry (traditionally Gbagli) also spelled Badagri, is a coastal town and Local Government Area (LGA) in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is quite close to the city of Lagos, and located on the north bank of Porto Novo Creek, an inland waterway that con ...

, a town and local government area of

Lagos State Lagos State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West (Nigeria), southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, states, it is both the List of Nigerian states by population, most populous and List of Nigerian state ...

, South-Western Nigeria. Symbolized by two poles slightly slanted towards each other and facing the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, the island was a major slave

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

after it was opened in 1473 during the

Trans Atlantic Slave Trade The Atlantic slave trade, transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and i ...

era. According to Nigerian historians, as many as 10,000 slaves were believed to have been shipped to the Caribbean and

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

between 1518 and 1880 from the island.

People

Gberefu Island is headed by two chiefs, all crowned by the same Akran of Badagry Kingdom, and they are; I. Chief Yovoyan (The Duheto of Badagry Yovoyan/gbaragada) II. Chief Najeemu (The Numeto of Badagry Gberefu). The Islands first settlers and real landlords are two Ewe communities (villages) under one umbrella, which are gbaragada, Kofeganme (Yovoyan), most of which are fishermen and farmers by occupation, although there are other ethnic groups living in the Daroko area, which comprises the Egun/Ilajes in one harmony with there landlords.

Tourism

Since Gberefu Island is an historic site, it has attracted several tourists around the world thereby increasing its notability. According to a 2015 statistics released on ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', a total number of 3,634 people visited the island in 6 months.

Gallery

File:Tourist at Point of no Return at Gberefun Island, Badagry.jpg File:Sunset at the Point of no Return at Gberefun Island, Badagry.jpg File:SLAVE POINT OF NO RETURN, BADAGRY.JPG File:231335586 Point of No Return, Badagry.jpg File:A portrait of negotiation process to the point of no return.jpg File:31251023 point of No Return Badagry.jpg File:Abandoned Point of Return Resort 6.jpg

Bibliography

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References

{{Lagos, state=collapsed Populated places in Lagos State History of Lagos Historic districts African slave trade Tourist attractions in Lagos History of the Atlantic Ocean Islands of Lagos Islands of Yorubaland