Three years after the former Broad Street colonial prison was transformed from an old and abandoned prison to a place for relaxation called Freedom Park, Okorie Uguru visited there and relates his experience.
The irony of a place of repression and curtailment of man’s freedom by the state becoming a Freedom Park, a place that gives full rein to man’s creative freedom, has always appealed to me since it was opened. That was the thought running through my mind as I made my way to the Freedom Park in Marina.
It is one of the few tourist and leisure sites in the country that impact one with a deep sense of history, appreciate the whole gamut of art and still not compromising the aesthetics and the leisure content of the complex.
The uniform of the attendant at the gate brought vividly some of the old black and white pictures of colonial law enforcement agents to mind. The long dark grey knickers complemented by the double-breasted khaki shirt with bibs, the normal security forces mode of attire.
What was missing to complete the dressing was the long round cap or something close to that. But the first impression of trying to take any visitor back to the Nigeria’s pre-colonial era is from the walls of the park.
There are still the ancient red burnt bricks that although had been hardened by years, are still standing.
The attendant at the gate collected the sum of N200 and issued a ticket. Just by my right, loud rap music was blaring from a speaker.
A group of teenagers, five in number, three boys and two girls, were practising some dance steps. It was an admixture of intricate steps, a kind of robotic movement mix with swivelling acrobatic display.
Just beside where they were dancing is an inscription: Prison Cell Block C. About three years ago, when I visited the park when it had just opened, the greenery unfolded before my eyes was not as lush as what I was seeing.
The model cells just facing the entrance used to have a kind of bright sunlight inside , but this has been covered by ornamental plants. Except for the small size of the cells, many might volunteer to be offered these prison rooms for accommodation. Some of the staff of the park could be seen putting together plastic chairs and reclining on them to have a rest.
On the way to the amphitheatre, there is an ancient tree with some of the chains used for prisoners by colonial warders. There is also a fountain gushing out water. The geese stable is further down. There is a mart with rows of shops.
There are bars displaying choice wine, beer and non-alcoholic drink. As I passed through a shop,the aroma of food was in the atmosphere. I then looked in. At the back of the shop which is a kitchen, a male chef was preparing a meal. He was manipulating and waving the greenish rice. If one could judge by the aroma, it would be a delightful culinary experience to dine there. Although it was on a Wednesday, canopies were being set for a programme. Behind is the main theatre. There were no activities going on there. It used to be a place for condemned criminals in the colonial prison, but now an arena that gives wings to creative imagination.
However, for me, the biggest addition to the Freedom Park in the last three years are the works of art commissioned by the Omooba Yemi Shyllon Foundation. The works are statues painted black with fibre class as the medium. They are almost life-size statues that capture the Nigerian way of life from different ethnic groups of the country.
A Northen flutist blowing kaakaki, a kind of royal flute to announce the presence of royalty; a woman displaying her kolaunts in a wooden bowl; a blacksmith working on a material; and an appreciative Urhobo groom with his in-laws. There are others in the park that take one on an imaginary trip to different parts of the country.
So, within the Freedom Park, one could see and experience history, the creative imagination of some of Nigerian leading artists and have an experience of the culture of the country. Prince Yemi Shyllon, an art patron and one of the avid collectors of works of art in the country must be commended for deepening further the mental and physical experience of visiting the Freedom Park.
The park is located on the site of the colonial prison where prominent Nigerians had their jail terms during the colonial era. The park, which is now a peaceful place for individual and collective contemplation and interaction, is open to the public daily.
The park is a brainchild of a Lagos-born architect and visionary, Theo Lawson.He transformed the colonial prison to a symbol of freedom.
This prison was used by the British colonial masters to torture, imprison and hang those who opposed the colonial rule in Nigeria, including Herbert Macaulay, Chief Cbafemi Awolowo, Chief Michael Imodu, Sir Adeyemo Alakija and others.
Freedom Park is a memorial leisure park to preserve the Lagos colonial heritage and history of the old Broad Street prison.
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