Lagos area in Nigeria, West Africa was a major centre of trade during the slave trade era. It was strategic with access to the hinterland, where a steady supply of slaves could be procured, and the foreign slave merchants whom the slave merchants sold the slaves to.  Littering about 180 kilometres of Lagos shoreline are ancient ports and baracoons(houses where slaves were kept) where active slave trading took place. One of these is Lekki, a corrupt form of  Lecqi,  the name of a Portuguese slave trader who lived in the place currently known as Lekki.  Okorie Uguru took a tour of the place and came out with some interesting findings that would excite tourists. 

In Lagos, there is a certain air of glamour and affluence to the name Lekki. This is not unconnected with Lekki Peninsula being residence for the rich and the  powerful. However, many may not be aware that the name Lekki is a corruption of the name of a certain Portuguese named Lecqi who once lived in Lekki town, about 200 years ago.

Lekki , whose name Lagos indigenes know as the Original Lekki, is the headquarters of the Lekki Local Council Development Area. It is off the coastal expressway that leads to the East, but terminates somewhere around Ikegun community  in Lagos.

The town is gradually developing much faster than in the past with modest buildings sprouting here and there. However, its most high profile structure and source of  publicity  is the Obafemi Awolowo Institute of Government  and Public  Policies. It is located where  the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo was detained  in the 60s.

However, apart from these recent new happenings that have brought the  town into the  limelight, Lekki  is an intriguing town for tourists in search of adventure and historical sites. The town, with its wonderful and clean coconuts beach, is also a paradise for those in search of  leisure and relaxation.

Just in front of the main building of the institute is a stone cenotaph. The inscription on it says : “The tomb of Portuguese Trader, Mr. Lecqi”. Naturally the next question would be who was Mr. Lecqi.?

Abolore Ogunbekun, an indigene of the town and  employee of the institute, talked about the historical personality known as Lecqi.

He said: “The name of the place was first called Ileke. Ileke started  from Yaba. There is a place called Yaba.It is not far from here. That is the first Yaba, not the one in Lagos. They got the name of the other Yaba from this one. The Lotu from our royal family first came from that Yaba to this place to see how this place would  be. They were also to search for  good  water around  here.

“At that time, this place was a jungle and was called the mosquitoes’ area. The Lotu were also mandated to  get to the shore of the ocean, since from afar, they could hear the ocean wave. Mr. Lecqi was already living here with his staff  before the Lotu came. When people from  Yaba  want to come here, they will say they are going to Ileke from Lecqi. “He was a sea captain from Portugal. He  decided to settle here and trade. He was initially into salt making for commercial purpose. He later  changed to  a slave merchant.”

Lekki became a kind of slave port where slaves were loaded into ship for onward movement to the new world. The slave trade thrived in Lekki with Lecqi and his staff. He established a port in Lekki.He later built a  salve camp and a baracoon. The slave ship  would berth far from the shore where the slaves would be taken into the ship. Lecqi never returned to Portugal, as he died in Lekki and was buried upright at the location where the cenotaph is. His remains were later taken back to Portugal for reburial.

However, with the abolition of the slave trade by the British and their efforts to enforce the abolition, it became difficult to continue with the trade. Somewhere  along the line, the British gained a foothold in Lekki and hoisted the Union Jack. This became a symbol of freedom for the slaves still in bondage.

Prince Dele Ogunbekun, the personal assistant to the traditional ruler of Lekki, spoke on behalf of the traditional ruler who was said to have travelled to Abuja.

On the Freedom Flag, he said: “ The British hoisted the Union Jack there. You can still see the place inside the school, if you go there. In those days, once a slave succeeded in running to the foot of the flag and holding it, he automatically became free. No slave dealer can recapture him again. The flag, of course, is no longer there, but the base is still there  till today.”

Just to the right hand side of the institute, facing the ocean are crumbling pillars. One of the pillars is still standing, while the other two that are still visible have crumbled, leaving only the stump.

According to Prince Ogunbekun, these are relics of the slave baracoon used by Lecqi and other slave merchants in Lekki. The barracoon has crumbled and some part of it, Ogunbekun said, has been submerged by the beach sand. He said the local government development authority is planning to excavate and renovate the baracoon as part of the profile to preserve and showcase the rich history of  Lekki.

The next place to visit was the Freedom Flag.

The flag is at the left hand side of the institute, on  a primary school premises. There is no Union Jack  there.

So, for those in search of relics of the slave trade, Lekki  offers a treasure of such relics for leisure and adventure tourists.