The town of Badagry, Nigeria was founded around 1425 A.D. It was one of the very first slaving ports in all of Africa. It is reported that over 500,000 slaves where shipped out of Badagry prior to the abolishing of slavery in the United States and Great Britian.
The ancient sites of the old slave markets still stand in Badagry. It was an eiree feeling to stand on the same soil where human flesh was a commodity, traded much like rice or corn. The old marketplace still trades in fish, corn, rice and little else has changed. The town was overrun with thatch roof shelters, crumbling old shacks and a people who struggle daily for their survival.
I asked a local preacher in Badagry how he would describe the old slaving village and he responded, "pagan, idolatrous and poor." As I walked down market street and stood on the trading blocks that once held slaves captive, I realized a troubling truth - the people of Badagry were Still Enslaved:
- Enslaved to Poverty
- Enslaved to Pagan Worship
- Enslaved to Sin
Centuries have passed since men like Abraham Lincoln and William Wilburforce removed the shackels and chains from slaving ships, but the people of Badagry still are not free.Today our brothers and sisters in Christ continue to battle slavery, but it is the slavery of sin.
Most of the people in Badagry and other places in Nigeria will never see much relief from poverty and want, but they can be emancipated from the shackles of sin and death. It was an honor to be in Nigeria representing African Christian Schools Foundation (http://www.africanchristianschools.org/).
For over 50 years this great institution has worked to free men from the bondage of sin. As I strolled through the city it was encouraging to see God's people working to make a difference.
