Arrival In Badagry

After about 50km we arrived in Badagry, situated west of the hustle and bustle of Lagos, we were greeted by the peace and quiet of a small town. This was the location where Richard and John Lander landed back in 1829 to begin their epic journey. It was then the main exit point from Africa for the many thousands of slaves who left these shores . A new museum had just opened in Badagry in the hope of attracting tourists to this region. We all decided to visit, except Sam, who did not feel comfortable hearing again about the horrors of the slave trade. The museum did indeed outline the horrific manner in which these poor people were crammed into the ships and set sail for Europe and the Americas. You could place an original  iron neck brace around your neck and feel the weight of the chain to experience its discomfort. It was here I also discovered that Africans kept slaves long before the white people ever did  but this fact did not help my feeling of sorrow for so many people in this area.
                                                                          
 We all decided to take a small boat across the fresh water river to the other side and walk the old slave route to the Atlantic Ocean. It was a very hot day and we were welcomed at the shore by a lovely cool breeze, this was the place were Richard started his journey. A dangerous place to swim as the ground dropped away quite sharply as large waves crashed onto the beach.
It was hear that Richard and John attempted to locate a canoe to traverse initially northwards along the river .It was impossible to retrace the exact path the Lander brothers took as many towns and villages no longer exist. But our route although in a vehicle covered many of the larger towns they did indeed pass through.

                                                             The Journey North

We headed North towards Abeokuta passing several villages along the way and stopping frequently for drinks and fruit. Ken was feeling poorly and appeared feverish. Keeping him topped up with water and stretched out in the back of the bus, I would often whisper sarcastically in his ear ‘’Keep an open mind Ken!’’

I had a small coin trick which I often take on these trips to show the local people, I find it helps to break down the barriers especially with the children. As the coins disappear in front of their eyes, a large smile soon follows. I often marvel at the expressions on the faces when the trick is revealed, Bryan captures one such example in four  successive photos later in our trip.

After about 60km of slow, hot and uncomfortable travel I notice many cars and buses which have been left to ‘rot’ next to the road side. When I saw several trucks I commented to Sam that this was like a war zone. He smiled and said ‘‘ You must not travel at night! ’’  We later discovered both the poor road condition and bandits were to blame. We did not travel at night from that day on.We progressed onto Ibadan, a well built town with large buildings, and stayed in a guest house with water and air conditioning. It was a criteria which Ken always advised, running water with air conditioning. The room rates were variable but we rarely paid more than £15 per person per night.

The route towards Osogbo required a detour via Ife due to problems with a road closure. Sam was experienced in this area so we relied on his knowledge. As we approached this small town, we discovered the mini bus had suffered a puncture. Sam stopped the bus at a small hut which contained sufficient equipment to repair the inner tube and we purchased a new tyre for the front wheel as well.  Whilst we waited Viv brought some drinks and Dave and I seconded a few children and revealed the coin trick. To my amazement the smiles did not appear but a look of horror as they backed off, two children of about 11 years old ran away as a crowd of adults began to gather and I repeated the trick to a tall man in his Forties attired in African dress. He also produced a blank expression and stepped back muttering something. As the crowd by now swelled significantly, I recall advice from the  Foreign Office web site concerning Nigeria ‘ Stay away from large crowds’ We returned to the bus as the work had now finished and recalled our experience to Ken. We discovered that this area still practiced the art of ‘Juju’ or black magic, my trick uncovered fear rather than amusement.  It was clear that we needed to pass through this region before darkness fell.

                                                                 

The following day we continued our road journey towards Osogbo where we spent the night. Again a well built town but with old run down houses which was becoming the norm’.The scenery rarely changed as we slowly progressed north towards Ilorin with the occasional sight of street traders displaying their fruit or sugar cane by the road side. After covering about 300km in three days we realized that our journey to Bussa was going to take much longer than expected. The previous day all the trucks stopped driving on a Friday afternoon due to prayer. We had to negotiate some off road driving for about 30km to avoid this jam which took several hours over rough terrain.

The heat throughout this journey was almost unbearable, I will not dwell on this again in this report but the need to drink plenty of water is vital at least three liters a day is important to avoid dehydration. The constant wet shirts from ones own sweat becomes quite normal as the days pass. We were not exactly exerting ourselves during this trip, but the heat and the journey did take its effect on all of us at different stages. Should we return and canoe the 1000km from New Bussa to Port Harcourt, much consideration should be given to fitness, food and water intake and timescale.

                                                      A Remarkable Coincidence

We located a guest house in Ilorin and quickly made our way to the dining area to obtain a cold drink. A polite young man served us beers which after a hot dry journey was most welcome. I had the initial expedition proposal in my hands and decided to show him the photograph of the Emir of Bussa wearing the ring. To our amazement he pointed to the picture and said casually ‘I know his great grandson, he’s a friend of mine, he lives in Mokwa’  This was about 70km away, I asked if he had his address. The waiter quickly left and shortly returned with an address and name of his friend in Mokwa. I copied the name of Soni Lehman into my diary and was amazed at this remarkable co-incidence, we had a Forty year old picture of the Emir of Bussa and had succeeded in locating the address of his great grandson from the first person we had asked ,who happened to be the  waiter from over a million people in the town.! As our hope was to enter the Royal Palace and  ascertain the existence of the ‘ring’, this was a stroke of luck!

                                                         Jebba  And The ‘Memorial’

                                                                         
After a further 50km we approached Jebba, it was here that the road, railway and the river Niger join together at this significant meeting point. It was here that a monument had been erected high on a hill dedicated to both Mungo Park and Richard Lander. This was also our first glimpse of the Niger river. As we crossed the river I could clearly see an impressive monolith high to our left hand side. We all took time to view at close hand the inscription on an iron plate imbedded in the stone. 'To Mungo Park 1795 and Richard Lander 1830. Who traced the course of the Niger from near its source to the sea. Both died in Africa for Africa.' After viewing the memorial we were approached by two local men, Ken spoke with them and then explained we have to meet with the elder of their village to ask permission to visit. We then made our way to their small village on the bank of the Niger. After locating the elder and explaining the reasons for our visit I gave him a copy of the colourful Police Expedition Society booklet and expedition proposal. He was most friendly as were the people of his village. Bryan was to take some stunning photographs of children jumping from rocks into the river. Later displayed in an exhibition in North London later in the year.

                                                     The interview Of Soni Lehman

After about 30km we entered Mokwa which appeared a lively town with a bustling market taking place along the road side. Together with Ken and a local man we made our way to the address given to us by the waiter in Ilorin. Other local people followed us until a small crowd had formed. Amongst some confusion a man appeared in front of me and Ken indicated that this was the man in question!
I shook his hand and introduced myself and explained why we were here. I then produced the expedition proposal and showed him the old photograph of the Emir Of Bussa wearing the ring. Soni Lehman was a young man in his twenties wearing  white African dress, he pointed to the picture and  replied that man was his Great Grandfather.

A subsequent video interview of Soni Lehman took place on the forecourt of a nearby garage watched by many curious onlookers. My team members and I often consider the remarkable coincidence of obtaining Soni Lehmans address because he was to write his full name in my diary and suggested we present this to the Emir upon our arrival in New Bussa. It would hopefully ease our passage into the Royal Palace and indeed it did! We shook hands and I gave Soni Lehman a gold coated pen I had purchased from Buckingham Palace gift shop, he thanked us and we then left for Bussa.

It was now quite obvious that to walk the 500 km from Badagry to New Bussa would be difficult considering both the heat but more importantly the risks. Driving regulations may exist in Nigeria but we saw little evidence that these laws are adhered to. Coffins however, were evident on the roadside, I noticed one such pile stacked high, inviting would be customers to choose, along side the fruit and vegetables also available on the floor.  Sadly we did see a person laying on the ground by the roadside as we departed Lagos and he was quite obviously dead. A possible victim of dodging the traffic as he attempted to sell goods to passing motorists. The wrecks of trucks and cars laying by the roadside continued, some of which were quite recent and some very old. To travel by road or along these roads in this area would be too much of a risk for a future trek. It was decided that this initial walking phase of the proposed expedition would be scrapped.