Badagry Photo Festival

Badagry Photo Festival Celebrating photographic arts from the historic town of Badagry

When I point my lens at the Palace of the Akran of Badagry Kingdom, I am not just photographing a building. I am standin...
02/07/2026

When I point my lens at the Palace of the Akran of Badagry Kingdom, I am not just photographing a building. I am standing in front of centuries.

The Palace is not merely a royal residence. It houses the royal shrines and graves of Badagry's monarchs, including the revered HRM De Wheno Aholu Menu-Toyi 1, OFR, LL.D, JP, whose grave, alongside that of his wife, stands right in front of the Palace today. Within these walls, figures like Aholu Claudius Dosa Akran once wielded political influence that extended far beyond Badagry. And by the side of the Palace rests the tomb of George Fremingo, recorded as the first slave merchant in Nigeria, a sobering reminder of the history this city carries.

Visitors can still be taken round the Royal Museum by Palace officials. The Palace is located in Jegba Quarters, off Market Street, Badagry.

Badagry does not just have history. Badagry IS history.

A question for you: What part of this city moves you most?

πŸ“· Louis-Zoom GW |
Louis-Zoom Media Limited

πŽπ†π” π‡π„π‘πˆπ“π€π†π„. πŽπ†π” π’π„π‚π”π‘πˆπ“π˜. πŽπ†π” ππ‘πˆπƒπ„.In the shadow of the Akran's Palace, the guardian walks.To the Ogu people of Badag...
02/07/2026

πŽπ†π” π‡π„π‘πˆπ“π€π†π„. πŽπ†π” π’π„π‚π”π‘πˆπ“π˜. πŽπ†π” ππ‘πˆπƒπ„.

In the shadow of the Akran's Palace, the guardian walks.

To the Ogu people of Badagry, Zangbeto is more than masquerade. It is covenant. A living bridge between the community and the divinities, a keeper of peace, a settler of disputes, an unseen eye that watches over households and streets alike. Long before modern security architecture, Zangbeto was already Badagry's answer to safety.

In a nation still searching for security, perhaps the answer isn't only ahead of us. Some of it walks among us, robed in raffia, rooted in centuries of trust. Badagry knows this. Maybe it's time the rest of us paid attention too.

Akran's Palace, Badagry. May 2026.

Photographed by Louis Gabriel Whenayon

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