22/09/2025
"DIASPORA DOOR OF RETURN FESTIVAL SLATED FOR 9-11 OCTOBER" - AREFO
The foremost promoter of leading Badagry festivals - African Renaissance Foundation (AREFO), in collaboration with the Badagry community, has announced that the 2025 Badagry Diaspora Door of Return Festival will hold from 9th to 11th October.
De VOICE Newspaper gathers that decision was reached by the participants at an extraordinary stakeholders meeting on Sunday, 21st September after due consultations with stakeholders across Badagry communities.
A press statement sighted by DE VOICE describes the chosen date as a collective decision by AREFO and the local communities.
The highlights of this year’s festival programme promises a vibrant display of Badagry’s cultural heritage include...
✓ A symposium at the Palace of the Akran of Badagry
✓ Boat regatta...
✓ Colourful cultural performances and processions.
The symposium is being organised in partnership with the Institute of Diaspora Studies, University of Ibadan, emphasising the historical and academic significance of the festival.
The 2025 edition is dedicated to the memory of Mère Jah, an ecological and Pan-African activist from Guadeloupe.
Guided by a Rastafarian prophecy that descendants of the transatlantic slave trade would one day return to Africa, she and her family settled in Benin in 1997, becoming the first Francophone family to repatriate to Africa after 400 years of slavery.
She devoted her life to advocating for the rights and citizenship of Afro-descendants in Benin, working to secure a sense of belonging for them, and had consistently supported the Badagry Diaspora Door of Return Festival until her demise.
Support for the festival is already building. The SMA Foundation, founded by illustrious Badagrian, Mr. Samuel Mawuyon Ajose, has confirmed sponsorship, while organisers await a response from the Lagos State Government to further boost the celebration.
Locally, the event has received strong backing from political leaders, including Babatunde Hunpe, Chairman of Badagry Local Government.
His counterparts, Ajose Peter Kumayon of Olorunda LCDA and Rauf Ibrahim Kayode Yemaren of Badagry West LCDA are also key stakeholders. Assurance of support has also been received from Hon. Sesi Whingan, MHR, Badagry Federal Constituency.
The statement also states that the meeting was attended by Dr. (Chief) Babatunde Mesewaku of AREFO, representatives of various indigenous communities, traditional and religious groups, as well as delegates from the Igbo community.
