Remembering ‘The Point of No Return’

At the height of the slave trade, the Gberefu Island, sometimes referred to as the “Point of no Return” earned a notoriously ignoble reputation. It was among the macabre assembly points for slaves captured from various West African nations. For many visitors, the “Point of no Return” casts a grim reminder of the brutality of the slave trade and the unspeakable atrocities visited on Africans in the anals of chattel slavery.

Beginning with a boat ride from the Badagry Slave Port on the Badagry Marina, the journey to Gberefu Island—the “Point of No Return”—begins in Badagry. Less than 5 minutes iboat ride s needed to get from the Badagry Slave Port to the Gberefu Island port. The hike starts at the Gberefu jetty along the traditional slave route.

The Attenuation Well is located along that path. People who are taken as slaves are typically kidnapped, captured, held as prisoners, or used as war mercenaries. Typically, they are sold to slave owners who then exchange them for weapons, umbrellas, mirrors, and other items.

Attenuation Well

This is typically the last beverage served slaves before on-boarding the ships. According to legend and historical accounts, anyone who drinks from the Attenuation Well will become mentally impaired. According to one school of thought, because they outnumbered the slave owners, it is typically difficult for them to revolt against or fight the slave owners when traveling.

According to historians, the drink was likely laced with medicine that rendered them dormant during the journey and rendered them too weak to even rebel against the slave masters. Due to the fact that ships may carry up to 700 slaves, which are only between twelve and twenty slave masters are in power. Whatever the case, it doesn’t change the fact that the slaves are entranced during the journey and awaken when they get to their destination. They are then brought to the “Point of No Return”, where they are transported to an unidentified location. Once they arrive, they are traded and resold to farmers and other people who purchase them for a variety of uses. They were forced to spend the remainder of their lives working for their masters.

Babatunde Raji Fashola, a former governor of Lagos State, served as the head of the Lagos State’s government, which made the decision to convert the “Point of No Return” into a stunning, top-notch resort area. Numerous exciting pursuits will be available, and visitors can stay in chalets while discovering Gberefu Island’s past.

This project, which would have dramatically altered Badagry’s tourism industry, was abandoned by the former governor of Lagos, Abode. Anyway, the views are breathtaking, and as you make your way back to your starting point, you begin to enjoy freedom, nature, and the serene environment in what used to be off-limits.