The Kingdom of Man Vs The Kingdom of God
We stood at the gate, it said "The Historic Slave Trade Market In Dikolo Chiefdom in Bimbia".
This place is a monument. A remembrance of things past.
As you walk through it, you see the sites of each activity. The first place is the office of those days. This place, the guide told us, is where many Africans walked to asking for the job promised them by the Chief. Now, this is how it works, Chiefs went round to inform their community members saying the white man has work for them, on getting there, they are captured. This begins their journey into slavery.
From this point, it is distant to the next position. The next point is where slaves are measured, then the trading point. Human beings were traded for Maggi cubes. The guide told us that some people traded their relatives for glasses. The Google glass that you bought for 20 Naira during Christmas. A blood brother will give up his sister for a glass.
There's the Chief’s office. The symbol of that one man who deceived people, and captured them. He holds the power of life and death over his slaves.
And then there's where they drink and eat, their hands tied to the back, they have to eat or they die. Whichever happens, they are at loss. The slave traders didn't care, you're just a commodity.
If slaves were too stubborn, there's the "stubborn slave room" where they are tied until they change. If you prove to be too stubborn, you're thrown to Nichols Island, a permanent death sentence.
There's the story building for the white men. These are the men whose singular task is to sail away with slaves, sending them into permanent doom, and cutting them away from their families. As I walked through this place, I imagined the conversations they had, the things they talked about, and how did they reduce a whole human being into a tradable product? As cheap as a glass.
Then there's the door. That horrible door. I wish I didn't see it. They called it "The Door of No Return". This was the final death sentence.
To Brazil, to America, to England, to Asia... Cut off from your roots. Betrayed by your people and enslaved the white men.
Read More About The Slave Trade On This Post
It was heart-wrenching walking through this museum. This is the kingdom of man, power is everything. I am stronger than you, I will take what yours, and take even you!
Just a stone's throw from here, there is another monument.
This is the Victory Baptist Church. The first Baptist church was established by Alfred Saker. Alfred Saker came here with a different message. The Victory Baptist Church has the stature of Joseph Merrick, one of the earliest missionaries who arrived here and worked tirelessly amongst the locals. Of course, they advocated against slavery. They went further to minister to the people, showing them another door. They were pointing men to that other vision, they were showing Africans to that Man who proclaimed "I am The Way, The Truth and the Life". Jesus was, is another door. A different one. Jesus is the door to the Kingdom of God. Here, every individual is intrinsically extremely valuable that nothing could be given to pay for you! This is the Kingdom of God.
Centuries ago, the Kingdom of Man held sway in this part. I'm sure the church looked so small compared to the massive enterprise they had here.
Centuries later, one monument is closed down and used as a bad example. The other is still marching on. The church is still marching on.
The Kingdom of God has triumphed over this place.
As we spent the night in Camp Saker, a retreat center, I tried to imagine the conversation that Alfred Saker, JJ Fuller, and Joseph Merrick were having here, I didn't have to do that for long. We heard a group of young girls singing a beautiful Christian chorus and dancing. It was so beautiful, we went closer to see what they were doing. Freedom is beautiful!
There is no hope for man outside of the gospel.
PS: We went to the Calabar Slave Trade Museum, where we were shown a history of the slave trade. ALL THE ABOLITIONISTS WERE CHRISTIANS.
Mehn, things; terrifying things occured in the past...