The Origin of Slavery and The Incidence of The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade in Oguta, Nigeria

Abstract

Abstract Studies in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade have received a lot of patronage. Such contributions have been made mainly exteriorly without adequate coverage (detailed) of the interior concerns of same. Here, the research has been focused on one of the numerous local narratives dealing with the very sourcing and underpinning of what can be judged the pivot of the trade within. Oguta was first opened up as an inland port at the advent of the present occupiers of the beautiful land around Oguta Lake which links to the Niger through the creeks on the plains and the Atlantic, same as the Urashi River. The local trade arising from the agrarian economy of the place and the attendant commercial and social activities had gradually developed into something beyond the ordinary and had triggered a chain reaction that cascaded into various dimensions. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade had just begun and coincided with this latest development in Oguta. But it added to the existing commerce, the nefarious and inhuman trade on humans; for humans were the main stock of the international dealing. The organizers and paddlers at the global level made it so alluring that many took the bait, swallowing it with the hook, line and sinker. The experience in Oguta is one of such particularly with regard to the origin local with the narrative begging for proper historicisation as is attempted below with the sole objective of projecting love as the missing link that is necessary for progressive and meaningful living.