History in Architecture

To compute a nation’s heritage in terms of its financial strength or its political achievements will do it a lot of injustice, because its worth is actually an aggregate of the people’s history, which captures, among their other beautiful attributes, the way they live, as well as their various types of architecture. Lagos and some ancient cities in Nigeria are dotted with rare 19th and 20th century architectural masterpieces that earn a right to listing as national monuments. In Europe, such important buildings become part of the nation’s rich culture, which the government guards jealously. Besides, they become must-see places tourists visit regularly. However, this is not the case in Nigeria because experts say it does not matter to the average person, grappling with myriads of avoidable daily concerns, adjudged consequences of bad governance. Bennett Oghifo, who visited families still living in some of these elegant buildings, also discussed the need for their restoration with John Godwin (now late), a Professor of Architecture at the University of Lagos. The report

HERITAGE

It is standard practice in the western world to preserve old stately buildings as part of a nation’s rich cultural heritage for posterity. Government lists such houses, which it maintains and, in all cases, become tourists’ attractions, even though people live in them. It restructures some of them as hotels or restaurants, but in Nigeria, these monuments suffer neglect and are left to rot. There are rows of these regal buildings in ruins across the country and particularly in Lagos both on the Island and in Yaba and Ebute-Metta areas. However, a few of the descendants of the original owners make limited attempts to maintain their structure to keep the memory alive. Even in ruins, these buildings retain their charm and it is obvious to everyone, not only to lovers of beautiful architecture.

Lagos Island is now a veritable urban jungle, a real mess that is unacceptable in other parts of the world, especially because of its commercial worth. Isale Eko is a prime location, right in the heart of the central business district. It is an urban jungle and until now, defies the desire of several authorities to redevelop it, and because Lagosians are careful about land issues, it is very difficult to resolve the planning challenges of Isale Eko.

Most families demolish their old buildings to make way for modern buildings, like the Multi Radiant Plaza, Fowler family and Rufai Ajala family houses on Bambose and Oshodi streets and at the corner-piece of Bambose and Glover streets. Other families keep the original façade and poise of the building, enlivening it with splash of paint when cash-flow permits, like the Ms Baptist house on Bornu Way, Yaba. They are interesting structures that tell different stories about time and people. For instance, Igbore House at the link between Bambose and Glover Streets is still firm looking.

In addition, the CFAO building at the corner of Igbosere and Moloney roads, one of the buildings government maintains, tells its healthy story, which is different from the story of a family building on 91 Igbosere road right behind Lagos Island City Hall. However, solid and not all that bad to look at, the building needs a little bit of spit and polish. Its old windows and doors are of opaque glass panes, which are unchanged regardless of time, but will need a bit of renovation. Most of these buildings are Brazilian, with a sprinkling of European-style houses around the Sangrouse Market and Tapa Street area where Alake House stands. It is an area where the first generation of returnees from Brazil settled. The successful ones built their homes there and, although these buildings are old, they are still awe-inspiring.

This touch of class in graceful architecture is also in public buildings on the Island, particularly on both sides of Broad Street, where a row of them stands. These buildings house the Government’s old Press, where it prints its Gazettes and other official documents, its hospital, Kakawa Magistrate Court, built in 1925, which stands on Kakawa Street corner, opposite the defunct Savannah Bank building, the old Central Bank building and its other auxiliary institutions. The Street is also home to a prominent Prison, opposite the Hospital and next to it is the old building of the former Federal Office of Statistics, now the Bureau of Statistics. The building has the Centre for Black and African Art as its new occupants.

Kakawa Street also hosts the stately well-maintained Da Rhoca house. There is the old Law School building on Igbosere Road, behind the Court, which is a few minutes walk from a top-class well-preserved building, over a hundred years old, owned by the late Mr. Williams, whose son, Mr. Adeniyi Williams is the President of Lagos Island Club.

The architecture changes to predominantly British-style around the Tafawa Balewa Square axis because of the influence of the colonial government. This reflects on the old buildings of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing and on an old Post Office building beside and opposite the former Ministry of Defense, respectively. These buildings have ‘walk-through’ windows with translucent glass and are proportionally located for cross ventilation.

Those who know the history of these areas tell them better. Ace Photojournalist, Mr. Sunmi Smart-Cole, has a clear understanding of Lagos’ evolution, most of which he records and archives. As a little boy, the first Military Governor of Lagos State, Sir Mobolaji Johnson helped his father’s mason carry blocks used in building his father’s house and that is the same house Cole lives in today in Yaba and he knows who lives where and how he or she got there. The house has been modernised with aluminum windows and doors, but that hardly changes its regal charm.

He locates a building at the Bornu Way street corner where Chief Commander (now Evangelist) Ebenezer Obey used to play his popular top-chart music and a little distance from the house is a well kept home, which retains its garden in front, and low fence to keep stray animals away. Its publicity shy woman occupant would not say when it was built and who maintains it. The Fowler’s house is next, a beautiful well-preserved building, and these do not have burglar proofing, because thieves never visited, but if they visited, it is for meat in the soup pot, says Cole. It is the same beautiful facade at the home of the Emmanuel family where Mrs. Francesca Emmanuel, the first female Permanent Secretary in the country was born.

According to Cole, as some people’s cash flow improved and they could not live in Ikoyi, the next choice was “Yaba Estate”. One of those whose building stands out in the neighbourhood until recently, is Ms Baptist, a Lawyer who was became a Magistrate. It is her family home and since she relocated to Britain, it has been difficult keeping up the building’s usual lovely looks. “It used to be a lot more beautiful.” But that of the person who designed Yaba, J.T Nelson Caulcrick still stands in all its elegance, overlooking the African Continental Bank (ACB) building on the other side of Herbert Macaulay Way. The building is where late former President Nnamdi Azikiwe lived, as a young politician and entrepreneur, and it is only two-minute walk from his newspaper house, The West African Pilot on Commercial Avenue. “There used to be a plaque on the ACB building put there by the NCNC, which says our great leader Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe lived here,” says Cole.

Also, on Herbert Macaulay Way is the home of Dr. Femi Pearse who practiced on Aje Street in Yaba not far from the Ladner family building, where the father of Afolabi Ladner who died last year lived. In the same area is the tailoring institution of M.A Idowu established in 1939. He used to make clothes for the president, and for other top government people. Cole had a Barber’s Shop in the building in 1967 called ‘Sunmi’s Place’ and across from it was Studio 54, a photographer’s shop owned by Ojekere, which Cole visited because the equipment fascinated him. Ade Idowu says he wants to renovate the building, specifically to change the windows. “You can imagine how many prominent people went through that (Idowu’s) door,” he says in reminiscence. Opposite Idowu’s house is a UAC building the Murray Bruce family used as a dance bar.

Yaba’s central business district is its Commercial Avenue where the Lisabi Mills began business, across from it is the West African Pilot building, UTC building now occupied by Unity Bank, next to it is Lagos City College built in 1953, now called Bank-Anthony School, where Senator Ike Nwachukwu schooled. The building is a wreck, and behind it was a playground Azikiwe named a stadium, used by the Zik Athletics Club, but which is now the new Lagos City College, built by the government.

At the end of the road is the building of Ampunu Wusu, who built the first Chemist, Azikiwe’s Press, and there was Mr. Rasmason, a Scandinavian who sold wood and other building materials and, because of that, Mr. John Okwesa, who owned a Press in the area suggested it be named Commercial Avenue.

Another key area in Yaba, around Thorburn Avenue, where late Chief TOS Benson, and Mr. Murray Bruce built their homes. Mrs. Oparah Benson still has presence on this street with her beauty institution and with other developments.

Almost opposite Oparah’s house is the Murray Bruce’s, tucked in a tree groove and packed with rare pieces from the old times. Two ancient public water dispensers are in the garden and one of them still dispenses water, at least until road construction work cut off supply from the mains.

The large grounds can only be found in a place like Ikoyi and it may have been fashioned after Ikoyi, since that was where the Lebanese Consulate was built. The Murray Bruce’s home is the best maintained in the area. Mrs. Murray Bruce was at home “tidying” and making sure everything is in good shape. The floor is laid with polished veneer wood mat, which looked like it was just polished. “Children earn cinema money by polishing floors like this with coconut shell.” Mrs. Bruce says she heard the German Ambassador lived in the house before them.

Yaba has a better layout than Isale Eko, but those who walked its streets in the good old days recall the names of the owners of the princely buildings, most of which are now a shadow of themselves. A 84 year-old lady who lives off Commercial Avenue, Yaba (doesn’t want her name used) let out a tiny joy-cry when she heard Da Rhocha’s house on Kakawa street still stands and is well-maintained. “Oh, Walter’s house is still there? That Baba wears bangles and will be calling us young girls when we go by the house.” Another masterpiece is house No. 6 at Tinubu Square, which gives a wow feeling because of the gargles on it. The building, which has been in the Fernandez family for ages, stands opposite the water fountain, rundown and now a relic occupied by traders who do not know its worth. It was where ace Musician, Victor Olaiya sold musical equipment. The building was being maintained by the government through the National Museum and Monuments, but has been left to run down. There is a square behind Broad Street, where big politicians met in the pre-independence days. This should not be pulled down for any reason.

Prof John Godwin: These Buildings are a part of a People’s History 

Ibadan and Kano fit into this urban jungle cast. Kano has a lot of historical significance with all its old eastern architecture. For decades, a non governmental organisation, Legacy, run by Mr. John Godwin, a professor of Architecture at the University of Lagos, has been trying to tell policy makers in the country how valuable some of these buildings are, because they are a part of a people’s history and new generations in a family can trace their forebears with these landmarks.

To make things work, he says “We’ve got to have a critical mass of interested people who say something must be done and who will encourage those doing something.” He argues that there should be a sense of proportion about what should be preserved, because everything in the world is of historical value.

People spend a lot of time trying to keep going in the face of so many challenges and so when they are told a building needs renovation the probable reply would be a surprised question; “what am I supposed to do? I’ve not even eaten.”

This is one of the reasons most historical buildings in Lagos are rundown. There are two aspects to the use of these buildings, says Godwin. “People either want to keep the buildings for the family or pull them down and build new ones there and that is what is happening today. The Vaughan House on Kakawa Street, diagonal to Walter House, is one of the last remaining good houses in good condition. It is not a listed building but it ought to have been, but in the last few weeks it is being pulled down. I’m feeling very despondent about it. Whoever authorised that job really should have his brain tested. ”Talking about restoration of buildings does not interest David anymore, except that the government is prepared to dedicate money to the restoration of listed homes. Having been in the country for so long, 45 years next month, David, a Briton, says he will never give up. Legacy desires to carry on and do these things but needs a serious approach, explaining that owners of listed homes be compensated, the building surveyed, and retain professionals who are good at the sort of restoration since it is a specialised area. “We will probably get someone from Brazil, because there is a tremendous amount of refurbishment of old buildings in Brazil in Rio and Bahel. I have one or two friends there who could bring a few people over who can train people here and so we can put some of these old buildings back into their old state.”

The idea is not about making money for anyone or even for the country, because it is not a money making exercise, but it is a question of protecting the nation’s heritage. “The pride of a nation rests in its past and the past of this country goes back a long way and you can’t necessarily see going back 2000 years physically or going back 100 years or 150 years. Now, the old Boys of Kings College say they want to do something about the derelict buildings in the school, but the real questions to be asked are what do you intend to do, who are you going to employ to do it and are you willing to put money into it?” Buildings that need very urgent repair work in the school are the old Head Master’s house and a particular building in the centre of the school. “These are the two buildings that need to be preserved if the school is proud of its past, which goes back to 1907.”

FUNDING

The National Commission for Museum and Monuments should be at the fore of the restoration work, which means it must be provided enough funds to do it. Other institutions like the Anglican Communion, he says should fund the restoration of the Story House in Badagry where Bishop Ajayi Crowder translated the Bible to Yoruba. “It was a remarkable thing that happened in that house,” says Godwin.

RESTORED BUILDINGS 

The Leventis Foundation funded Legacy to restore a house, built in 1890 by Adedeji at Abibu Oki Street on Victoria Island. This is a story of commitment and expertise. The money will be fully accounted for and will be disbursed in tranches.

An old building constructed in 1898 is undergoing restoration at the Nigerian Railway compound at Ebute Metta, courtesy of Legacy Railway committee. “That building is gradually being restored, but we just put our hands in our pockets to do a little bit. Eventually it will be the nicest old colonial house we have in this country. Railway brought two other houses we are to restore and they are for our museum staff and the engine driver when we start running the railway again. It is all planned, but we just need a little bit of money. We have the full estimate. In the railway, there may have been say 500 expatriates there but the rest hundred thousands were your fathers, mothers, aunts, grand dads, you name it. So, it is all part of your heritage and you can’t just throw it away. It can be used for tourism and for research.”

This article by Bennett Oghifo was first published in THISDAY Newspaper in January 2009