Pre-colonial architecture in Nigeria compromises the use of local materials for construction, social and spatial organisation of the spaces, cultural significance and expression, and community-driven and climatic adaptive designs. Though there were similar threads, there were also distinct regional variations across the country.
Igbo
For instance, the Igbos, people of the Southeastern tribe, had their homes built with laterite or mud. The structures were either rectangular or circular. The roofing material was usually thatch known locally as aju, atani, or ngwo. As a result of being situated in the Tropical Savanna region known for its predominantly prevailing rainy season, the roofs are usually constructed to have high pitches. The roofs were constructed by tying the thatched leaves on bamboo or timber poles that have been weaved into the skeletal framework. The rafters were equally tied to the walls below at different points to resist the incidences of wind and subsequently, the framework is then thatched with grasses, fronds, or rafia mat. The structural materials readily available at that time were mostly bamboo and timber.
Apart from the maze of rooms known as ime ulo to house an average Igbo family which was always almost polygamous—as it was the familial practice then—two other spaces defined an Igbo house: the obi or mbari and the okwu alusi, or in the English, a shrine. It is not so much the rooms that brought peculiarity to the Igbo architecture but more so the significance and use of the spaces.
The obi or mbari is still regarded as a focal point of the traditional Igbo household. Here, the family or guests are usually gathered to either make merry or delegate on issues. The verb is is used here because as much as the obi is a pre-colonial characteristic, it is still widely incorporated in modern-day Igbo households. The shrine or okwu alusi is a place of worship where the family gathers to make libations and offerings to their chi.
The Igbos used uli as a decorative element in their homes and bodies. Uli is derived from plants that are known to produce dye. The Igbos used them to create decorative motifs on the walls of their homes and shrines.
As for the hierarchy of Igbo households, studies have come to refute the claim that the households were solely run by the okpara of the house which translates literally to first son and figuratively to a male elder or simply a man of the house.
Yoruba
For the Yorubas, the South Westerners, theirs was characterised by constructing elaborate and functional courtyards. The houses surrounded the courtyards and the courtyards themselves were built to accommodate any activity. The local materials available then were thick mud used for constructing the walls and bamboo stems served as rafters. Unlike the Igbos, the roofing was done with termite-resistant treated timber panels. The housing arrangements compromised large family units that led to the courtyard. The arrangement of the spaces was influenced by the familial hierarchy called agbo’le and according to (Obi 2020), symbolised the first family head’s name and served as a reminder to family members to uphold the image of their compound.
Hausa
The Hausas known as the Northerners of the region, similarly had elaborate spaces like their counterparts to house their overflowing families but were quite distinct in their own way. They made use of calligraphy and ornamentations for their wall designs. With the introduction of Islam, their floor plans were altered such that spaces were now designed in a way to segregate women from men. The materials indigenous to their environs were mud, stone, and tubali known in English as sun-dried bricks used for the wall structures, corn stalks and grass for the roofing, and mixed straw, mud and cow dung used for the plastering of walls. Like the Igbos, the Hausa household has a designated title for the man of the house: mai gida.
Post-Colonial Nigerian Architecture
Architectural historian, Nnamdi Elleh, stated aptly that the English were obsessed with recreating their country villages abroad and this statement is evidenced in the areas allocated and later abandoned by Brits for residential settlement in Nigeria, such as Ikoyi in Lagos state.
These areas were usually secluded and popularly known as government-reserved areas or GRAs. The characteristics were continuous bands of windows, and the use of cement and corrugated zinc as opposed to mud and thatch. They had deep verandahs, large compounds, and overhanging windows. The British missionaries also brought about the Neo-Gothic Revival, which can be witnessed in Nigerian churches like Christ Church Cathedral, Lagos.
But the Brits were not the only ones to influence Nigerian architecture post-colonialism, Nigerians did too. Slavery in Brazil was abolished in the mid-19th century so the freed Nigerian captives, mostly the Yorubas, returned to Nigeria. And with them came a new set of architectural and design skills. These skilled artisans brought about new building techniques and aesthetics known as the Baroque style which was prominent in Brazil at the time. It comprises decorative motifs on facades, elaborate ornamentations on columns and balustrades, prominent balconies, terracotta tiles, gable and hip roofing systems, and multi-storey buildings.
Post-Post-Colonial Nigerian Architecture
Present-day Nigeria, like any other civilisation, keeps evolving. In Lagos, while there are still traces of the Afro-Brazilian style, a more modernist approach seems to be more rampant, i.e. concrete and glass facades and open floor plans. The ornate facades peculiar to the prior movement seem to be vanishing from the society’s line of sight.
While change is constant, it is important for one to stop and interrogate in what direction the change is occurring. What the modernist style has brought to the Nigerian architecture scene in Lagos are projects with no sense of identity; sterile and disconnected from their socio-cultural context not to even mention the fact that these projects are not climate-responsive.
The wind of change has equally passed over their eastern counterparts, but some things have either stayed the same or evolved. The Igbos are known nationwide for their elaborate designs and—word on the street,—gold-plated mansions. The roofing system is relatively the same as before but with different roofing materials as opposed to thatched leaves like stone-coated, aluminium, and Swiss roofing sheets. The balustrades, like that of the Afro-Brazillian, remain decorative as well as functional. The buildings usually have large verandahs, and void living rooms, and are multi-storeyed. No matter how large or ginormous the buildings are, the Igbos must have an obi. Christianity may have gotten rid of the shrines but the obi has stayed relevant.
Architects like Demas Nwoko have encouraged us to “pursue our own knowledge” and a concept like Afro-Modernism does just that. The movement focuses on climate responsiveness with the use of shading devices, optimisation of natural light and ventilation, minimisation of energy consumption through passive cooling techniques, and the use of locally sourced materials. With this movement in place, our designs become better suited for our socio-cultural context possessing beauty and identity.
Conclusion
There most likely would never be a universe where the colonised would ever approach the leftovers of their colonisers as “benefits.” In the case of Nigeria, if anything we were ridden of the opportunity to further develop our indigeneity, and instead, as (Nwoko 2020) basically said: we got imported problems that did not exist and then got imported solutions to solve them.
As much as the past cannot be undone, the future can be designed. We can keep moving forward and create a world where our buildings can be in sync with our culture and mores whilst borrowing when needed from colonialism.
References:
Obi, N.I., 2020. From Mud House to Aluminum City: The Emergence of Modern Architecture in Nigeria. Journal of Recent Activities in Architectural Sciences, 5(2), pp.1-14. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/358803631_From_Mud_House_to_Aluminum_City_The_Emergence_of_Modern_Architecture_in_Nigeria [Accessed 21 June 2024].
Ologunde, E., 2022. The Precolonial Architecture style missing today in Nigeria [Architecture and Culture] [Research Gate]. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372767731_The_Precolonial_Architecture_style_missing_today_in_Nigeria [Accessed 21 June 2024].
Sijuwade, A., 2020. A new master’s house: The architect decolonising Nigerian design. Al Jazeera, 10 August. Available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/8/10/a-new-masters-house-the-architect-decolonising-nigerian-design [Accessed 21 June 2024].
