1. Part of the old 
Shitta Motque. 
2. Old Tinubu 
Square with fh# 
former Supreme 
Court in th* 
foreground. 
3. Former Carter 
Bridge. 
^^^^_^^J succeeding material is 
by no means quaint, despite the 
time of its composition. It was 
originally intended foi presentation 
[courtesy: Boyles Bar) before a distinguished and learned 
gathering of surveyors and builders 
(Royal Institute of Surveyors) who 
met in Lagos in August 1994 to 
hobnob on emergent trends in their 
work at the Sheraton Hotels and 
Towers, Ikeja; these without the 
least shred of doubt were the 
planners and builders of Lagos and 
Nigeria. 
Their theme centred around 'Change and 
Continuity' in the building industry and the 
key speaker's choice of subject was very 
useful in setting the tone and the mood as 
well as sharpening the focus for the 
assembly's onward exchanges. 
The concern of the speaker, David Aradeon, 
his depth, clarity of tone and close 
familiarity with his subject (specifically the 
old, and in most cases now extinct, 
buildings of Lagos) should be little surprising 
once we are reminded of his resume: 
foremost Nigerian architect and scholar; 
indeed describable in his own language as 
one of 'the children of the city'. Any surprise 
then that the story of the emergence, glory 
and widespread demolition (some 
voluntarily went down in flames) of vital 
historical buildings and violation of public 
spaces, parks and gardens for private use is 
retold with nostalgia and in parts, restrained 
outburst ? Some of the more memorable 
being the old Supreme Court building on 
Tinubu Square which yielded its space along 
with other buildings (including the Orange 
House owned by the Hon Otunba Payne 
and the residence of Henry Carr designed 
by Herbert Macaulay) to the now famous 
Tinubu fountain; the old race course, 
formerly a stretch of empty space and 
greenery in the city's heartland, reserved for 
horse racing and schools' National Day 
parades (which the author partook in as a 
child) that has also been swallowed up by 
the pressnt massive cordons of shopping 
African Qvarurly 
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I
«• ! * I I is of Tradition 5 « m * s 
African Quarterly 
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complexes. 
The extinction of old Lagos and its oral 
history articulated through concrete structures 
and impressive Brazilian masonry is now 
nearly complete. In a sense, whilst we hope 
with the professionals and members of the 
informed community that awareness among 
administrators and decision makers in the 
country would help to preserve whatever is 
left or simply stem the tide of 'the unmaking 
of tradition', this publication is contrived 
chiefly to pay a tribute to 'fallen Lagos' and 
its landmark structures that now remain only 
in the minds of those who grew up to know 
them. 
The mission of awareness is by no means 
secondary. For as Professor Aradeon 
observes in one of our many recent 
discussions, the tide of waterfront violation 
(through sandfilling) again for private 
houses, is taking over where that of historical 
structures and public spaces left off. As a 
result of this, sections of the Lagos Island 
(particularly the Victoria Island) became 
waterlogged late last year. But work has 
since re- intensified at sandfilling sites on the 
' famous1 Osborne Road 
and lately also, at the Takwa Bay, among 
countless others, drawing much protest from 
concerned professional unions. 
Fortunately, concern over the preservation of 
historical sites and buildings is attracting 
more international attention. From March 
11,1996, over a period of five days, the 
United Nations agent for development 
UNDP spearheaded a conference in 
Bamako, Mali, during which the problem 
was given a closer consideration by African 
scholars and builders Predictably, Professor 
Aradeon was in attendance, but his focus 
lens this time fell on the historical centres of 
lle-lfe. 
He recommends to the Bamako conference 
as he does here that solution to the problem 
is double-edged: increased awareness 
among legislative and administrative bodies 
as well as a revision of the schools' 
curricular to inclose more cultural education. 
So is a shift of emphasis in professional 
training and orientation to restorative 
architecture. 
The Editor. 
1he financial burden imposed on us 
in the last IS years has had a 
devastating impact on our lives. It 
was time we insisted on our lights as 
citizens to be consulted at every level 
of governance before a long, 
especially a contractor financed 
project loan, is negotiated. 
African Quarterly 
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VoLllNO3 
MR. SAM EMIOWELE, Q.S, requested in 
just that I speak at this conference, 
eduled for September, I had less than a 
nth to put my ideas together. I accepted out 
espect for an old friend to whom I am 
David 
Aradeon 
ebted. 
Fortunately, the conference had to be postponed; even 
though the political climate for which the postponement was 
made remains largely uncertain, I have had the opportunity to 
rework my ideas 
Sam and I collaborated on a number of projects for which 
we were never paid: the Linear Park, the Lagos State, State House 
onJoelOgunnaike, GRA, Ikeja, and the Faculty of Environmental 
Design, University of Lagos just to mention some of the most 
exciting. 
A number of weeks ago, the Governor of Lagos went to 
court over the sharing of public land by the Federal Government. 
Even though the controversy appears to centre on the conflicts of 
rights of ownership of land between the State and the Centre, a 
larger and even more fundamental issue is at stake. 
As the Osborne Road land is the site of the Linear Park 
which we designed in 1 985, this case promises to raise a whole 
series of questions, the most important of which is the issue of 
public versus private interest; the role of public officials especially 
those in locus' charged with the responsibility of protecting our 
system of public parks and public spaces against usurpation and 
appropriation by public action for private interest. 
Our commitment to the environment appears to be a 
lifetime commitment to issues of public interest The current 
political, econopnic and social climate has brought the issues 
more clearly to all of us. 
Also, as an Adjunct Lecturer for the years 1980-1984 
when I was Dean of the Faculty and, 1 984-1 986 when I was 
Department Head, Sam taught Building Economics to generations 
of our students. He was never fully paid his stipulated honorarium 
for many of those years by the University. So as a teacher and 
inspite of indications to the contrary, he shares the hopeless 
optimism of the teacher and the environmental poverty of our 
education system. My presence here today will in no way be a 
requital of my debts to Mr. Emiowele, if at all, this opportunity to 
be present here increases my personal debt I wish to thank the 
Royal Institution of Surveyors for your formal invitation, the 
privilege to meet and make new friends as well as renew old 
acquaintances. 
As surveyors either of the (1) form giving landscape, or (2) 
of the genre for cost control or (3) of the disposition that nurtures 
the building for environmental value added, my knowledge of 
your work is at best perfunctory. Therefore I will not even attempt 
to articulate your specializations in this presentation. Rather, in 
seeking a common ground, I would like to speak to you about 
what you already know, partly from your professional work and 
partly from your everyday process of living and moving around 
in your part of this country.
Governor's residence on the Marino, the old race course's green open fields peeping in from the north. The trees 
and shrubs are gone 
Today, I would like to share with you some of my 
observations and concerns as an average citizen, whose work is 
part of a larger process that shapes and whose life in turn is 
shaped by the built environment of this city of Lagos. 
The City: A Corporate Entity - 
Compounding Functional Problems 
I am certain that the real estate surveyors and valuers must 
have noticed a front page publication in the Financial Times of 
the week, of August 30th. The chairman of the Lagos Island Local 
Government Council announced that construction would soon 
begin on a N300,000,000 'Multi-storey car park' structure on 
the Marina. The announcement associated Messrs Bouygues 
Construction with this project, possibly as a turnkey contractor. 
As citizens and end users, I would like to ask you to detach 
yourself from your professional interests for a moment and think 
about this project from the interest of the average tax payers. 
This must be one of those development projects designed 
to correct some of the problems created by the last one. In a 1 977 
paper, I had decried as environmentally unsightly, the concrete 
encasement of the Island in a continuous ribbon of elevated 
ringroad. I suggested as I had done in a Daily Times publication 
of 1973, that when a city gets to be as large as Lagos, we have 
to embark upon a mass transit system rather than continue to 
structure the transportation system on the private motor car. 
The current crisis over the 'correct pricing' of fuel illustrates 
so succinctly the economic impact on the average workers' 
income. For those on a monthly income of a thousand naira or 
less, it would make better economic sense to work near the home 
for less income. In a 1 988 paper, I further observed that on the 
Marina, the use of the long strip of land from the State House to 
the UTC for car parking constitutes an eyesore as well as an 
inexcusable waste of prime urban land. 
Overloading the Debt Burden 
In addition to these observations, I would now like to raise 
a number of questions on this proposed N300,000,000 (phase 
I) elevated car park structure on this site. 
First, considering the current cost of the motor car today, 
how viable is this project as an investment on public transportation? 
Is there not a viable alternative? The mass transportation system 
still remains the most attractive. 
Second, the 4,500 cars projected for parking appear 
dubious. Based on the current 1,500 on existing site, 4,500 is 
assumed for three floors without consideration for access, ramps 
and structure. Be that as it may, at what price per car per day, 
and how long would it take for this project to pay for itself? 
Third, has an environmental impact study of this project 
African Quarterly 
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been carried out and what are the results? 
Fourth, how is this project going to be financed? If by loan 
and whatever the source, we should initiate a process of public 
referendum to enable us, the taxpayers and public, decide 
whether we ere willing to accept the responsibility for this 
financial burden. 
Finally, this project like any public project will have a 
physical impact on the landscape and a financial implication for 
the citizens of Lagos Island; judging by the performance of the 
last 15 years, we should no longer accept any debt burden for 
ourselves let alone for future generations without a wider public 
consultation. By subjecting this project to the Lagos State Public 
Planning Review Board concerned citizens will have the 
opportunity to examine and criticize it while the promoters will 
also have the opportunity to present and defend it. 
The financial burden imposed on us in the last 15 years 
has had a devastating impact on our lives. It was time we insisted 
on our rights as 
citizens to be 
consulted at every 
level of 
g o v e r n a n c e 
before a long, 
especially a 
c o n t r a c t o r 
financed project 
loan, is 
negotiated. 
The City and 
its Children 
This city, 
like any old city, is 
a tradition. As 
citizens, and end 
users, we are all 
part of this 
tradition. 
As a 
primary school 
pupil in this city, I 
never missed the 
May 24th Empire 
Day celebrations 
in the race course. 
We marched to 
the music from the 
school band, 
watched our 
athletes compete 
in the primary 
school sports. On 
that race course, 
we also watched 
the soldiers and 
police parade in 
Above: Typical Brazilian fownhouse. 
Below: Senhor Laxaro Borges da Si/va's Yoyo Araromi house situated at 
the junction of Tokunbo and Oshodi Streets, went down in flames in 1979. 
(Courtesy: Nigeria Magazine}. 
African Quarterly 
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VoLHNO3 
their smartly ironed khakis. They would come marching from their 
barracks at Ikoyi and Obalende. On that same race course we 
would watch the grown ups as the horses raced; on those 
occasions, Africans and Europeans were always so elegantly 
and colourfully dressed, milling around and, as I understood 
much later, placing bets; still that race course, was polo grounds, 
and several cricket pitches; also, soccer teams of all age groups 
played on the course. 
Every day the city kids went to the race course to play and 
on the site of the Independence Building the less formal groups 
played; they also threw sticks at the almond fruits. The daring kids 
would always climb the almond trees; the almonds on the trees 
at the Simpson Street end of the race course were larger These 
trees were tall and Simpson Street was shaded and stayed cool 
all year round. The green in the openness on the race course 
stayed green all year round and everybody had a use of their part 
of the race course. Each evening as I walked home to Onikan 
from the Ferry Terminal, that last Governor General, Sir Robertson 
and I would wave at each 
other, he, on his evening 
walk on the course and I 
on my way home across 
the course 
The Concrete 
Jungle in the Park 
Then all of a 
sudden and in the flush of 
the oil glut, the new 
governors had a better 
and brilliant idea. They 
covered part of my 
childhood experiences 
with concrete; life was 
snuffed out of the expanse 
of green grass; the 
openness was enclosed 
and walled off; the trees 
and their fruits and their 
shade were killed; and 
the children of the city 
could no longer play or 
run on their race course. 
We had just discovered 
the shopping centre; the 
boutiques and 
the substantial traders 
took over and that part of 
city died for its growing 
children for ever. 
The Governors and 
our Development 
The new governors 
said it was development 
of another kind -the place 
for the October 1 st Armed 
Forces march past. It was
like commemorating our independence only it was named 
Tafawa Balewa Square. In my attempt to learn about this kind of 
development, I found out about the Red Square and the Black Star 
Square where just about once a year also, the citizens get work 
free day to watch the soldiers parade But our Tafowa Balewa 
Square was to visually link to the Marina, for naval exercise, and 
the skies for the airforce formations in flight. Fortunately, the 
proposed movement to Abu ja halted the dream of the governors 
Unlike the former governors, most of the new ones knew 
what to do with petitions; you could discuss with them, but you 
had to find out how to get through. They were really so self 
assured; they knew what was good for all of us. It was development 
and they always knew what type. As citizens, the choice, type 
and scale of deve-lopment had become the prerogative of the 
governors at every level of govern-ance except at the community 
level. The proliferation of iron grille gates on the public street is 
at one level a manifestation of the spirit of community participation. 
The City's Buildings: codes and symbols 
To the individual, the city's spaces convey meanings to the 
codes and symbols of the building and its architecture. At times 
it nurtures an imaginative flight to fancy about the future; at other 
times it evokes memories of the past linking space and time. In 
urban cultures, not only does the duality of space and time coexist 
but in old cities like Lagos, the duality of tradition and modernity 
alsocoexist. The built form is an index; a statement of our evolving 
technology; the articulation of our artistry and craftsmanship. 
As a mirror reflection of our lifestyles, it is largely through 
the others that we can better appreciate the impact of our 
attitudes on the environment. Just observe the way the next car is 
being driven; reversing on the expressway; driving on the wrong 
side of the street have become part of our driving habits. The 
pedestrian citizen is used to being pushed off the side walk 
especially by danfo and taxi drivers. Strangely, police officers 
appear unconcerned these days. 
Special Development Pattern: 
Change and noncontinuity 
I would like to argue that the physical changes we have 
embarked upon in the last forty years have had the unfortunate 
impact of the unmaking of tradition. 
The residence of Sir Kitoyi Ajasa was one of the most 
important landmarks displaced by the House of Representatives 
in 1955, and the National Hall, 1960, (Public Works Dept). In 
1973, almost two decades later, the monumental concrete 
Grandstand on Tafawa Balewa Square by Robin Atkinson was 
todestroythe setting and scale of the House of Representatives. 
The Statuette of Queen Elizabeth II by the famous Nigerian 
Sculptor, Ben Enwonwu, was completely overwhelmed by the 
sheer scab of the new structure 
The loss of the open recreational race course with its green 
texture was deplorable enough, but even more deplorable was 
the total change of scale of the buildings whose volumes define 
this important colonial historical centre. North West of the race 
course, the 25 Storey Independence Building, 1 960, (Fry, Drew 
and the Public Works Department); the 19 Storey Western 
House, 1960. (Nickson & Borys) and the 31 Storey Necom 
House, 1979, (Nickson & Borys) have all compromised the 
privacy and security of the three storey State House, Marina by 
locational proximity. 
Tinubu Square: 
The Meeting Place of Cultures 
According to Vaughan-Richards, Tinubu Square, was by 
1 890 the heart of Lagos It was the location of the first Court of 
Justice. During the decade, a bell tower was added to the old 
Tinubu Methodist Church. The Orange House, the residence of 
the Hon J.A Otunba Payne was one of the landmarks of Tinubu 
Square during this period. In 1918a new Supreme Court was 
built on the Square and the present fountain donated by the 
Lebanese Community in 1960 replaced the 1918 Supreme 
Court The residence of Henry Carr designed by Herbert Macaulay 
on Tinubu Square had to give way to the Mosaics House in 1958. 
Tinubu Square where several streets converge was an 
important midtown terminal for the Red Municapal Bus service by 
Messrs J. N. Zarpas. As I observed in an earlier paper on Lagos, 
this landmark Square where the British Colonial, Indigenous and 
Expatriate Lagos meet, has grown without any physical evidence 
of the layering of its history. Indeed, the growth of the Square has 
so transformed this historical landmark space to the extent that the 
architectural styles of each preceding epoch is completely 
obliterated. In the introduction to the opening of an exhibition of 
water colour drawings on Brazilian Architecture in 1 990, by 
Abiola Fashina, I observed that the Fernandez house on the north 
west corner of the Square, an Afro Brazilian historical landmark 
in the last decade of the 1 9th century must have stood in elegant 
contrast to the old Court of Justice and the Methodist Church. That 
Physically, has survived the context of 'development.' Today 
Fernandez House can only be recognised by the visual literate 
public and the architectural historical literate as an echo of a past; 
a pait that is still very much part of the present; indeed a living 
history! 
Architecture: 
Expansion and Continuity 
Where buildings of historical importance have survived, 
and there have been many until the current phase of rebuilding 
and refenestration, the integrity of the buildings have been 
largely compromised. The 1 967 west extension to the da Rocha 
Water House changed the scale and proportion of the main 
house. The space between the apse end of the Christ Church 
Cathedral and the Bishops Court had been cluttered by a 
collection of disparate buildings. Even though these buildings 
belong to a more recent period, there as no attempt at stylistic 
reference to, or acknowledgement of the language of the Gothic 
architectural style of the cathedral. 
Also the apse end of the Roman Catholic Cathedral 
appears crowded-in by the distracting styles ofthe new additions. 
The competing scale ofthe Dumez towers on Oil Mill Street across 
the west portal entry of the church is an unfortunate distraction. 
The 1960 south wing addition to the Oba's Palace in Isale 
Eko neither acknowledged visual continuity with, nor achieved 
African Quarterly 
on the Arts 
Vol. 11 NO 3
stylistic relationship to the 1 890 north wing. Also, the rich 
internal courtyard/spatial texture of the palace was hardly 
reflected in the extension. 
Architectural Styles in Lagos 
In the second half of the 19th century, four 
contemporary external architectural influences converged 
in Lagos. Church architecture expressed in Gothic revival 
style: The Breadfruit Church, 1880; the Christ Church 
Cathedral, 1925 by Bagan Benjamin and the Roman 
Catholic Cathedral, 1936, by Fr. Simon. Second, Colonial 
public buildings such as the Secretariat on Marina; the 
Government Printer on Broad Street, and the old General 
Post Office (circa 1910) whose style is colonial classical 
based on the English revival of the classical orders. Third,, 
elegant town house for the educated elite and the merchant 
class in the Saro-English style. The residence of Dr. Maja on 
Gerber square, both designed by Herbert Macaulay and 
the residence of the Hon. Samuel H. Pearce 
on Olowogbowo are some of the most interesting examples; 
unfortunately the last two have been demolished. 
The fourth and most wide-spread is the Afro-Brazilian 
style which found its expression in private houses. This style 
created a new building type; the southern mosque which 
was derived and developed from colonial Brazilian church 
architecture: the Shitta Bey 
Mosque, 1882, on Martins 
Street, by Jaoa Baptista/ 
Sanusi Aka, and the Central 
Mosque on Nnamdi Azikiwe 
byJaoaBaptista/SanusiAka. 
Of the residences, the 
Vaughan house and the 
Waterhouse both on Kakawa 
Street, Elias da Silva house on 
Elias and Odufege Street and 
Fernandez house on Tinubu 
Square remain some of the 
most outstanding examples. 
A casual study of these 
mid 19th century buildings 
reveal a number of shared 
stylistic similarities. 
The composite, 
Corinthian column with the 
floral capitals articulating the 
access to the Secretariat also 
occurs as engaged and 
framing columns in the 
Waterhouse and the Vaughan 
house where the floral capitals 
are greatly transformed. We 
also note the rusticated 
masonry style of the engaged 
column in the Secretariat as 
well as its towers, the old 
General Post Office; t h e 
African Quarterly 
on the Am 
Vol. 1/NO 3 
Above; Residence of A. W. Thomas on Odunfa Street, the most 
baroque of the Afro-Brazilians, covered with the most ornate 
plasterwork. 
Below: The Vaunghan House, an Afro-Brizilian type, on 
Kakawa Street, (Courtesy Nigeria Magazine!
Pearse's house, the north facade of the Waterhouse and the 
south facade of the Lazaro Borges da Silva house. 
The pediment concealing the gable end of the pitch roof on 
the secretariat also occurs on the State House, Marina. In the old 
General Post office, unfortunately no longer in existence, single 
length Ionic columns connect two stories. The only known 
example of its genrejn Lagos, it was a throw back to the Italian 
Renaissance period when Michelangelo created the magnificent 
giant orders in the renovation of the 
Capital, in Rome. 
The Pointed Arch of Islamic 
architectural origins which became a 
Gothic ecclesiastical idiom, was 
transformed by Brazilian craftsmanship 
into sensitive window glass panes 
framed by marvellous curved timber 
lines. Lazaro Borges house, no longer 
in existence, provides one of the most 
fascinating examples. In the Elias da 
silva house, the wrought iron balconies 
with exquisite fleur de motif details is 
one of the most important and enduring 
heritage of the Brazilian styles. 
View of the Waterhouse from the Devode 
Branco House. The Waterhouse was owned 
by the Da Roc ha family. View shows fine 
wrought iron worked balcony. {Courtesy Piene 
Development and Tradition: 
Mutually exclusive phenomena 
'Development' has taken a toll of the fine examples of the 
town houses in this city Among the Saro styled houses the Caxton 
house on Marina; Ijeun house on Wesley and Joseph Street, 
(Bagan Benjamin) demolished in 1 989 
for the Eleganza Towers. 1990; 
Wilberforce house, demolished. 
Elephant House circa, 1913, 
demolished and replaced by the 20 
storey Elephant House 1981, (Modulor 
group). The more common Brazilian 
houses with the street facade 
expression, highly articulated 
fenestration with mouldings rendered 
in contrasting pastel colours have fared 
even worse. The exuberant Baroque 
style old Central Mosque, 1 890, with 
two rear bell towers by Jaoa Baptista 
da Costa/and Sanusi Aka was 
demolished in 1 984 and replaced by 
the present four minaret 1 4th century 
Ottoman model in 1988 (Mogaji). 
The Branco house on Kakawa 
Street circa 1900, was pulled down 
in 1955. On its site was built th-3 
Immigration building by the Public 
Works Department 
Verger) 
The Brazilian Builder and his 
Discrete Influence 
The deep pitch roof with 
protruding and accenting garrets that 
opens onto attic spaces,'basket 
handle' arch openings, the portal entry 
as well as the robust baluster, the 
Italian Renaissance creation are some 
of the shared stylistic elements. 
The Brazilian craftsmen, the 
master builders of this period had so 
discretely diffused these styles in their 
work to the extent that the stylistic 
elements had by the third decades of 
the 20th century become part of this 
The vocabulary of the Brazilian craftsmen and those that continued in the 
tradition 
vocabulary in domestic architecture from Lagos to Porto Novc 
and beyond. 
National Monuments: 
Official neglect 
In the period preceding the 
1977 Festac in Lagos, the National 
Antiquities Commission, 
which had declared the following buildings as 
national monuments was under pressure by 
the heirs for financial compensation 
Fernandez house and Elias da Silva house on 
Elias and Odufega Streets both stood ageing 
and continued to show the strains of neglect. 
The house of Lazaro Borges da Silva on the 
south east corner of Oshodi and Tokunbo 
Streets (circa 1900) eventually went down in 
flames in 1979. 
In 1985,the Committee on the 
Preservation of Historical Buildings and 
Monuments of Lagos State enpanelled by 
Governor Mudashiru published a compendium 
of Buildings and Monuments of Lagos State It 
was during this period that the Ritz Hotel on 
Abibu Oki Street went down in flames. The 
Committee was in the process of preparing 
African Quarterly 
on the Arts 
Vol.1/Nil 3 m\
plans for the renovation of A.W.U. Thomas' Ebun house on 
Odunfa Street for an Art Gallery, when this most 
exuberant Baroque style in the city went down in flames like a 
pack of cards 
Documentation: 
19th century architectural landmarks 
Unfortunately, documentation on the turn of the 19th 
century architectural and-mark is scanty butthe following samples 
reflect observers attention to details and 
form: The Wilberforce building was 
described as 'the most stately house on the 
Island' (Vaughan-Richards; 1977: 19-20) 
A.W.U. Thomas Ebun house was 
nicknamed by Lagos people as 'lie 
Awosifila' (Aradeon, 1 977; 1 9-20) 
and 'Petesi Anduru' Folami, 1982, 13). It 
was also described by an observer as a 
palatial home that towers so loftily above 
the Lagos House; it 'testifies eloquently to 
the success that the Hon. A.W.U. Thomas 
has achieved (MACMILLAN; 1968: -104); 
'The Fernandez house is probably one of 
oldest and most interesting house in Lagos' 
(M. Jacks; 1955:110). The Elephant 
house, the house of Hon. Samuel Herbert 
Pearse, F.R.G.S., on Pearse Square was 
described as 'a handsome and palatial 
residence. It is a home of good foundations, 
of large and elegantly furnished, rooms, a 
house beautiful with its roof garden and its 
delightful turret chamber, where, to the 
mind attuned to ideals high above mundane 
African Quarterly 
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VolllNOi 
Above left: Old Elephant House, Broad Street, was one of 
the largest of the Brazilian houses, now replaced by 20- 
storey Elephant House (1981). 
Above right: The Maja House on Garber square, used to 
be one of the better preserved houses. 
Below: Shitta Mosque, financed by Mohammed Shitta 
Bey one of the muslim notabilities of the 19th century, 
designed by Senhor Joao Baptist da Costa and completed 
by Sanusi Aka. Pulled down and replaced by a new 
Central Mosque (1988). (Courtesy: Boyles Bar).
things, a perspective may be visioned greater than that of the 
busy Nigerian port with its emerald Islands and its shimmering 
lagoon' (Macmillan; 1968: 97, 8). This house was demolished 
in 1979. 
Problem of Preservation 
It would appear that in the very nature of the personal 
achievements of the past 'captains of industry' to borrow a 
current misnomer, lies one of the problems that militate against 
the protection of buildings of historical importance as well as the 
preservation of this most enduring and visible achievement of the 
family patriach. 
Within the context of colonial economy, men like Hon. A. 
W.U. Thomas and Hon. Herbert Pearse made their fortunes in 
commerce; they built elegant residences and invested on landed 
properties rather than in manufacturing. Investment on rental 
properties remained the most assured and only viable areas of 
investment open to them. Today, it is still the only investment that 
can be totally individually owned. Even where, as in Devode 
Branco's will, he stipulated that the house he had lived in on 
Kakawa Street should never be sold. (Cunha, 1 987; 1 82); the 
pressure of the governors, the lure of financial compensation 
and the rights of heirs to survival are often too strong to resist. 
As a consequence, our pattern of urban development 
even destroys the best examples of the personal achievement of 
family patriarchs, distorts the character of the built environment 
as well as their historical context. New buildings are located with 
Left: An illustration with 
details on the front view of 
the Branco House, pulled 
down in I955. 
Below left: Illustration on the 
Waterhouse. It got its name 
from a sweet water well in 
the compound. 
Below: An illustration on the 
Waterhouse. 
almost no attention to contextual relevance and historical 
association as regards stylistic elements, volume play and street 
texture 
Cultural Education 
This evident lack of appreciation of historical antecedents 
in our built environment reflects a fundamental flaw in our 
education system If our universities are to educate rather than 
continue to produce manpower we have to address this deficiency. 
For example we need to reorganise our undergraduate curriculum 
to include courses on creative and performing arts 
In addition to creating know-ledgeable practitioners and 
culture clientele, we have to" actively begin to search for effective 
and functional ways to foster the culture of awareness among 
decision makers, administrators and the wider public which 
insists on shaping its own environment. 
1985-1993 Renaissance 
This period beginning in 1 986 through 1 990 will probably 
go down in history as one of the periods of high profile private 
investment in the built environment. 
Public Parks & spaces: 
private Vs Public Interest. 
With Park View Estate III now fully built, all of old Ikoyi 
Park, a public park, has finally been brought under private 
occupation; Victoria Island and especially, Victoria Island 
Extension has been overbuilt; old Ikoyi is being intensely filled in. 
Reclothed and refurbished, even old houses on Victoria Island, 
Awolowo Road, and Adeniran 
Ogunsanya appear to be 
undergoing eclectic renaissance. 
In discussing this period, I am using 
the term renaissance in as wide a 
context as possible In so far as the 
current movement liberates the 
creative spirit from the doctrinaire 
interpretation of the international 
styles of the 1950-1 960 decades, 
it is a Renaissance of sorts; it is lively 
and enriching, if vulgar in some 
places. However, unlike its 16th 
century antecedent, this renaissance 
does not restore old and ageing 
buildings to their original style. It 
simply erases memories. The current 
fad, in keeping faith with the trend, 
obliterates all the traces of the 
original style. It repackages 
historical facades with collage of 
styles with apparent 
misunderstanding of their symbolic 
meanings, cultural and contextual 
relevance, as well as architectonic 
coherence. 
Flexible & Mutable Zoning 
laws and Building Codes 
Since Governor Jakande 
African Quarterly 
on the Arts 
Vol.1/Ml
encouraged code violations by 
stipulating financial sanctions and, 
Governor Akhigbe reconfirmed 
violations, by increasing the 
penalty, some landlords have been 
building shops on setbacks; local 
governments have also been 
building shops on the street set 
backs and verges. On Victoria 
Island, service industries - banks, 
finance houses, restaurants, shops, 
fast food places, bureau dechange 
and car sales depots - with access 
to SFEM induced fallout funds, are 
promoting building code and 
zoning law violations. 
Real Property Values: 
Nigerian Practice 
Ikoyi, is an early 19th 
Century low density suburbia. The 
neighbourhood is a living historical 
collection of old 
colonial house 
types. Each house 
is located on about 
a one acre lot. 
Since 1976, the 
neighbourhood 
has been 
subjected to 
increased land 
subdivision for 
a d d i t i o n a l 
buildings in order 
to correct the 
seeming 'waste of 
land.' In the last 
five years, it has 
been undergoing 
what must be 
severe labour 
pains, expanding and bloating the fifteen storey apartments 
located in the middle of one storey houses. 
Victoria Island, our low density layout, 1955/58, is 
anything now but low density residence; continual 
subdivision has spread access, the current building and 
rebuilding activities has finally brought the city to this high 
income, low density dream of the 1960 decade. Victoria 
Island has finally been transformed into an overbuilt 
physical slum; an incoherent juxtaposition of building 
volumes and mixed use; a functional chaos, and a motorist 
daytime nightmare. 
A substantial number of the 1960 residences have 
been renovated to house new banks. Their facades of 
sleazy mirror glass are adorned behind mannered and 
bloated classical colonnaded portico which appear to 
African Quarterly 
an the Arts 
Vol. II NO 3 
Above: Colonial 
residential house type 
in Ikoyi, Lagos- 
Left: Christ Cathedral 
in the 1960s, much 
altered now. 
Below: Another 
colonial type with 
sweeping pitch roof.
invokft the confidence of discreet banking reliability. To facilitate 
access, pedestrian sidewalks, setbacks and verges are covered 
with bituminous materials and cordoned off for, customers' car 
parking. 
If the jousting taking place on Victoria Island is a 'renaissance 
of sorts', then the Victoria Island extension is a postmodern 
convulsion. As we all know, the prerogative of the average 
Nigerian client to be witnessed can induce devastating results. 
The Victoria Island Extension is the most expensive disorder in 
Lagos.
Elsewhere in Metropolitan Lagos, the picture is as bleak. 
In Festac Town, the concept of comprehensive masterplan and 
housing designed in 1975 by Doxiadis Associates, has finally 
been abandoned with finality. It is being replaced with the ad hoc 
pattern of development that emphasizes individual plot allocation 
and the pre-eminence of the administrator as the chief planner. 
In Festac Town, not only are huge and expensive private houses 
being built, the open spaces, the heart of the Doxiadis Community 
structure are being'sold by the Federal Housing Authority for 
private houses. Beyond court injunctions which went unheeded, 
unfortunately, the communities themselves appear to lack the 
capacity or courage to bring 'political' pressure to articulate this 
gross environmental abuse by the very Authority charged with the 
responsibility for protecting the public spaces. 
The collapse of the housing programme of the 1975-1 980 
3rd Plan in 1 978 has already been noted as a reflection of our 
incapacity to create a sustainable housing programme. 
However if Jakande's Amuwo Odofin housing project is 
indicative of our potential to build and deliver subsidized housing 
to the middle income groups at the state level, Festac Town 
reflects our most glaring failure to manage public housing 
programme at the Federal level. 
In a 1 988 paper, I suggested the preparation of Land Use 
Design Reference Guide for Metropolitan Lagos. This Guide will 
provide information base for physical changes, service line and 
property tax, as well as an effective administrative tool for 
physical control. In addition the process of updating the guide 
book on periodic basis by aerial or satelite photography will 
provide an irrefutable check on the work of the physical control 
field inspectors. 
One of the reasons for our inability to sustain the strict 
seperation of residential from business neighbourhood is due to 
our culture and the structure of our economy. To the extent that 
the average government allocation for housing is by and large 
exploited for its investment potential, and treated as a 'commercial' 
development, two houses on an average plot has come to typify 
most government layouts. As we are all painfully aware, this 
changes density configuration, and continually places undue 
emphasis on the potential investment value of land as one single 
major source of assured income from rental space. 
Heirs & Patriachs and Expectations 
Unlike investment in industries where the quality of goods 
manufactured is likely to ensure continuity of the market, 
commercial buying and selling based mostly on imports, depends 
on personal linkages. Most of the great and flourishing merchant 
houses of the past have not survived the passing of their family 
patriachs. With the expectation of the heirs, their diverse and 
competing interests, even the historical houses as the most visible 
achievement of the founding patriarch can only retain its 
importance as a source of income. 
In the absence of filial commitments to preservation we 
should explore legislation in the cause of preservation. The 
historical building constitutes one single national patrimony that 
will keep alive memories of the family patriachs who inspired the 
best in builders of their time. Men such asjoao Baptista da Costa 
and Balthazar dos Reis; Herbert Macaulay, the Surveyor, Civil 
Engineer and Architect and Bagan Benjamin, the Civil Engineer 
and Architect were master builders, some of whose individual 
work became buildings of timeless beauty 
As a teacher and student of architecture, the built 
environment constitutes the living laboratory for our learning and 
teaching process. To have had the opportunity of meeting Joao 
Baptista da Costa, the master builder of Shitta Bey Mosque and 
the old Central Mosque, would have been a rare and an enviable 
privilege; but to be able to visit the Shitta Bey Mosque is to 
experience the power and subtleties of the creative powers of 
Joao Baptista, and to confront the aristocracy of his work. To 
achieve that quintessential level of excellence as he did in the 
Shitta Bey Mosque, is a single minded pursuit of a lifetime study 
and devotion; part self discipline and part self discovery. 
In twenty years of teaching, what has struck me as one of 
our national failings is that we have so unstructured the system of 
specialization of skill and labour to the extent that, the average 
citizen has to be the proverbial jack of all trades and master of 
none, to survive in this culture. 
Cultural Tourism 
We Nigerians have reputation as travellers. If you belong 
to the generation that graduated professionally in the early 1 960 
decade, you were, in all probability, educated abroad. If you 
have visited or lived in London, you must have passed through 
Trafalgar Square, by that monument to Lord Nelson, which 
commemorates one shining moment in English history. 
You are also probably familiar with the Hyde Park, that 
expanse of greenery in the heart of the city. A friend once 
remarked that if Nigerians as a group predominate in the English 
society, that sort of park could not survive. It would be allocated 
and built upon. Well, this phenomenon, is happening to the 
neighbourhood parks at Festac town and Agbara Estate. It also 
happened to Ikoyi Park; Park View Estate I under Governor 
Johnson and Estate II under Governor Jakande. The Biological 
Garden which was designed under the administration of Governor 
Mudashiru, was also predictably shared for housing under 
Governor Rasaki. With the publication in the Guardian of 
November 2nd 1993 of legal action instituted by Governor 
Otedola against the Federal Government and others, the park 
site at Osborne Road appears to have been shared out to private 
housing. 
In Agraa, India, the Taj Mahal (1630-1 653) is considered 
to be one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. To walk its 
• LBMDOKA ravtaw 
African Quarterly 
on the Am 
Vol.11 NO 3
grounds is to experience its ethereal quality and the ambience of 
1he majestic solitude of this mausoleum. The Mogul Emperor Shah 
Jehan, had it built to the memory of his favourite wife, Mumtazi-
Mahal. Built with translucent marble, the Taj 'as generations of 
visitors attest, is blue at dawn, white at noon and the yellow of 
the sky at sunset.' (Hoag, 1977; I 84) 
To walk the St. Peters Piazza in Rome is to step back in 
space and time to the 16th through the 17th century; the'intention 
of Pope Julius II' and the work of generations of masterbuilders 
from Bramante (1506) peaking to Michael Angelo (1546) and 
culminating in the noble entrance by Bernini (1956-67). Yet 
inspite of the span of time and the various ideas, St. Peters and 
its setting is remarkably focused around a central idea. 
In this country, we espouse tourism. The last State 
Commissioner for Trade and Tourism under the Akhigbe-Rasaki 
administratiorfs commissioned a number of monuments: One of 
Herbert Macaulayin two locations and the three white cap chiefs 
in white marble at the toll gate are some of the bright ideas that 
have emerged on the landscape. However the locations and 
setting are most insensitive. I have often wondered about our built 
environment, the children growing up in the city, and the values 
we expect them to imbibe from the buildings around them. What 
values do we teach them about our heritage? Which buildings of 
the past do we point out as landmarks? Which values make 
heroes of the past in our professions? What are the measures of 
their achievement? When we invite our foreign friends, especially 
our professional friends from abroad, which places, public parks 
and buildings do we take them to see? Which of these buildings 
do we tell them expresses our worthiest and most remarkable 
achievements? 
The search for excellence, the preservation of examples of 
that excellence, the acknowledgement of our professional 
predecessors, some of whose buildings truly represent the best of 
their times are the monuments of all times; this is the context within 
which I wish to espouse the cause of preservation. The lessons of 
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uninspiring building as well as the inspirational impact of the 
work of excellence transcends the time-space continuum. 
It is this that is so remarkable about historical monuments 
and places. Let us join forces to protect our public buildings, our 
city parks and private buildings of historical importance. Without 
the past, the future can really have no meaning, and that is the 
significance of tradition. GR 
Footnotes 
). The public Planning Review Board was instituted by the Government 
of Lagos State during the tenure of Governor Mudasniru, it was part of the 
recommendation made by the Judicial Panel on the Lagoon City project. 
2. The location of the Portuguese and Saro towns were buffer as well as 
transition zones between indigenous Lagos to the north, north and north 
west and the British Colonial institutional areas which stretched south 
West to the old Niger House on Broad Street and Marina, and through 
Onikan to Ikoyi Island on the north east skirting the Hausa constabulary 
in Obalande. 
3. Elephanthouse in reference is notto be confused with Elephant house, 
1973, on Ikorodu Road, or the Elephant house 199 1 (Fola Alade) in 
Agidingbi for the cement manufacturers. On its location now stands the 
20 storey Elephant House 1983 (Modulor Group}. 
4. Within the last two decades, three historical buildings have been 
known to have been preserved for new use. 
i. Art's Place 1978; residence of Gbemi Alade Circa 1930 on City 
Way, Yaba. Renovation Architect, David Aradeon 1978, 
ii. Offices... 1985 residence of Circa 25, Igbosere Road, Lagos 
Island designed by Herbert Macaulay, Renovation Architect / 985. 
Hi. Office for the Leventis Foundation; Residence of Dr. Lump KinCirca 
1880, at 8/1 OAbibu Oki Street, Lagos Island. Renovation Architect, John 
Godwin. 
GLENDORA
The Idumota 
elotk tower, 
and war 
memorial 
SOJA 
IDUMOTA' to 
the left in the 
background 
Independent 
Celebration at 
Tinubu Square, 
note the tower 
of the 
Methodist 
Church, which 
has since been 
removed. 
African Quarterly 
on the Am 
Vol.1/NO 3