The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ilojo Bar

  • ‘Ilojo Bar must be restored’

    ‘Ilojo Bar must be restored’

    On the eve of Eld-El-Kabir, September 11, a developer pulled down the 190-year-old national monument, Ilojo Bar, at the Tinubu Square, Lagos. National Commission for Museums and Monuments Director-General Yusuf Abdallah Usman recalls the commission’s long battle to preserve the monument.

    Ilojo Bar (formerly known as Casa De Fernendez or Angel House) was built 190 years ago and, in all these years, it stood as the best example of Brazilian style architecture introduced by Africans who regained their freedom from their “Portuguese masters” in Brazil. Its historical, social and architectural values have been well acclaimed, thus, prompting the Federal Government to give it special protection status as a National Monument through Gazette 25 Vol. 43 of April 5, 1956.

    Since then, the National Commission for Museums and Monuments has been maintaining, promoting and preserving the monument with members of the Olaiya Family, Lagos State government and other stake holders both local and international.

    The threat to this historic building has been unfolding for sometime due to rising commercial interest in view of its strategic location. In October, last year, a member of the family wrote to the Commission saying that one of them was trying to engage a private developer to demolish the monument and clear the place for commercial development.

    In response to this, a meeting was called with the family members led by Mr. Daniel Adewale Olaiya on January 19, 2016. The meeting discussed the issues around the monument, including its legal status, how the structure is put to use and the grievances of the family members. It was finally agreed that the statues quo of the monument should remain while they submit their complains through appropriate official channel but nothing was heard from them since then.

    The recent threat to demolish the monument came on July 2, 2016, when a developer in collusion with some members of the family mobilised a bulldozer and some armed men with the intent to demolish the structure. The National Commission for Museums and Monuments got information about the move and quickly mobilised the Lagos museum staff and Lagos State government officials, who accosted the group and frustrated the attempt. In the meantime the attention of law enforcement agencies was drawn.

    On July, this year, the developer again mobilised to demolish the building and this action was again rebuffed this time through the intervention of Hon. Agboola Dabiri Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on the Lagos Central Business District.Following his intervention,a stakeholders’ meeting was summoned at Lagos State secretariat Alausa, Ikeja where Hon.AbikeDabiri-Erewa did everything possible to avert the demolition of the monument.

    Subsequently on Tuesday, August 16, 2016 a stakeholders’meeting was convened by the National Commission for Museums and Monuments at the National Museum, Lagos involving major stakeholders. This include members of the Olaiya family, management staff of National museum, Lagos, representatives of Lagos State Ministry of Tourism and that of the Brazillian Consulate, Benedita Gouveia Simonetti and Adeniran Arimoro.

    During the meeting, the stakeholders agreed that steps must be taken to safeguard the monument from any threat, including involving law enforcement agencies and placement of notice on the site notifying the public about the status of the building. The meeting also agreed to revive an earlier plan to organise a gala night to raise funds for the rehabilitation of the monument.

    To our greatest surprise however, on Saturday, August 27, 2016, the same developer again mobilised his bulldozer and actually damaged a portion of the building. A petition was written and submitted to the Area Commander of the Nigerian Police (Lion building), requesting  the arrest and prosecution of the culprits but apparently the police did not find the matter serious enough to detain or prosecute them.

    Seeing the levity with which the Area Command handled the matter, another petition was written on August 29, this year to the AIG Zone 2 Onikan. Meanwhile on Thursda, September 1, 2016, Hon Dabiri-Erewa was again approached and he gave an official letter to the Special Adviser to the Governor on Urban Development requesting the ministry to withdraw a letter of permit for demolition said to be given to the developer. Another letter was written to the Governor intimating him about the status of the monument and seeking his assistance to safeguard it.

    However, despite all the efforts of highly responsible and patriotic individuals and government agencies, the developer on the eve of Eid-el Kabir (September 11, 2016) sneaked in with his instrument of destruction and wilfully demolished the Ilojo Bar, an outstanding historic and architectural monument that has adored the cultural landscape of Lagos Island for nearly two centuries.

    This sad event is a critical turning point in the history of heritage management in Nigeria. The shocking way the action was carried out without any shame and embarrassment is a source of serious concern for the National Commission for Museums and Monuments as heritage managers and for all responsible Nigerians who love history and culture. The action is not only criminal, but it has robbed us of an important heritage resource that helps defines us as a people and assist our understanding of our past and our projection of the future.

    The demolition has destroyed a masterpiece of the only surviving Brazilian houses in Lagos with its attractive arches and fine iron works as statue described as being “Gothic in style and balustrade reminiscent of a Venetian palace”.  It has done great injustice to the credit of African craftsmanship in architecture which has exerted great influence on Yoruba architecture that is today visible in all parts of Yoruba land.

    Indeed, the demolition has eliminated the tangible evidence of social and cultural impact of the transatlantic slave trade and its abolition. It has wiped away an outstanding source of memory and history of freed slaves and their roles and impact in the evolution and development of cosmopolitan urban Lagos. At the same time it has destroyed one of the outstanding symbolic evidence of cultural ties between Nigeria and Black diaspora in general and Brazil in particular.

    This dastardly act has distorted the eminent position of Lagos in colonial history as centre where returnee slaves from Brazil built houses in the new architectural fashion when Lagos was created as a colony, thus impoverishing Lagos of its rich architectural urban history and undermining its acclaimed status as centre of excellence.

    However, the NCMM will not rest on its oars until the perpetrators of this dastardly act are brought to book. In line with the powers and responsibilities conferred on it by NCMM Act, Cap N19, Laws of the federal republic of Nigeria 2004, the NCMM will ensure that criminal action is brought on the culprits as well as demand full compensation for the demolished monument. It will be reconstructed and fully restored according to professional restoration standards. We wish to assure all Nigerians that the Ilojo Bar will be restored as it is a fully documented National Monument with an up-to-date and comprehensive documentation of its architectural history and design details.   Consequently, NCMM is poised to restore Ilojo Bar back to its original authentic form.

    In the meantime, the site of the monument being an integral heritage space is being explored for rescue archaeology and heritage impact assessment.

    We call on all well-meaning Nigerians to join the National Commission for Museums and Monument in saving, protecting and maintaining our national heritage resources.

  • Why Ilojo bar was demolished, by family

    The Ilojo Bar, declared a national monument by the Federal Government, was demolished due to the alleged failure of the National Commission for Museum and Monuments to repair the dilapidated building, the family has said.

    The Bar, a Brazilian architectural design, was built in 1856 and bought by the late Alfred Omolona Olaiya in 1933.

    Due to its beauty and uniqueness, the Federal Government acquired and declared it a national monument, but allowed the Olaiya Family to live in it.

    The family’s lawyer, Olanrewaju Falola, in a statement said the building developed noticeable cracks on the walls, with its roof falling off.

    He said the family wrote several letters to the commission, whose duty it is to maintain and preserve artifacts, notifying it of the state of the building, but it was not repaired.

    Falola said the family also wrote President Goodluck Jonathan on June 8, 2010, asking that Ilojo Bar be delisted as a national monument, but got no response.

    The family said it also sought the commission’s approval to renovate the building to forestall any calamity, but got no permission.

    According to Falola, the Lagos State government through its regulatory agencies issued contravention notices on the property, which he said was also brought to commission’s attention, yet it allegedly failed to act.

    An integrity test, he said, revealed that the building was no longer safe for human habitation.

    “Thereafter, the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) ordered the family to demolish the distressed Ilojo Bar and further warned that failure to demolish same would amount to negligence on the part of the family and the property will be forfeited to the state government,” the lawyer said.

    The family, he said, was given a demolition approval, following which it asked LASBCA to bring down the distressed building.

    “We hereby state that the demolition of Ilojo Bar was done with the express order, instruction and approval of the Lagos State Government in the exercise and performance of its statutory duties and for the protection of lives and property,” Falola said.

    The family wondered why the commission allegedly neglected the edifice for such a considerable length of time that it constituted a threat to lives and property.

    “Why would the commission have neglected the so called monument to the extent that it became not only a public toilet but also a haven for criminals?,” the family asked.

    Falola said the Olaiya Family had filed a suit against the commission at the Federal High Court, adding: “We urge the commission to present its case before the honourable court of law.”

  • 161-year-old Ilojo Bar demolished

    161-year-old Ilojo Bar demolished

    AFTER standing for 161 years, Olaiya House (a.ka. Ilojo Bar), came down on Sunday.  The building, declared a national monument in 1956 by the National Commission for Museums and Monuments was demolished by developers.

    Located on 6, Alli and 2 Bamgbose Streets, CMS in Lagos Island, the structure which overlooked the Tinubu Square, was built as a bar and restaurant in 1855.

    It was initially named Casa do Fernandez before it renamed Ilojo Bar. The building was referred to as Olaiya House after it was sold to the Olaiya patriarch, Alfred Omolana Olaiya in 1933.

    Dissatisfied by its demolition, a former occupant, Olasupo Awobuyide, who claimed to have operated a lottery shop in the building, said the residents were not notified on the demolition day.

    Awobuyide, whose grandmother was a member of the Olaiya clan, disclosed that the property has been in dispute for some time.

    He said: “They did not call our attention to the fact that the house had been leased to a developer. The developer just came one day and said they wanted to demolish, promising to settle those who live there. That was since April, we did not agree. We don’t like the way they drove away those people occupying the building.”

    He noted that his father, Eric Awobuyide, an elder in the family, was not informed that the demolition would be carried out on Sunday, lamenting the destruction of his property, which he claimed was worth over N150,000.

    Meanwhile, veteran Highlife musician, Dr Victor Olaiya, another elder in the family could not be reached at press time.

  • ‘Bring Ilojo Bar back to life’

    Anyone who visits Tinubu Square on Lagos Island, Lagos, will hardly notice one of the oldest monuments in Nigeria, as traders, car owners and commercial bus drivers constantly block the building. The signpost which indicates that the place is a National Monument is also not spared.

    This was one of the issues raised last week by the Assistant Chief Heritage Officer of the National Museum, Onikan, Lagos, Mrs. Nkechi Adedeji, at the weekly seminar organised by the National Museum Study Group, Lagos.

    Mrs. Adedeji in a lecture tittled: Management of a Cultural Heritage; expressed her displeasure about the activities going on in front of Ilojo Bar Monument in Lagos.

    “The presence of motor park in front of the structure defaces the monument and another trend is the parking of cars and buses in front of the building where they detract the architectural interest and beauty of the sight,” she stressed.

    She examined a number of issues affecting not just Ilojo Bar Monument but also other monuments in Nigeria. She said: “Funding, legal protection, lack of awareness, interest and institutional framework are few of the challenges affecting these monuments.”

    She emphasised the need for a legal back-up for maintenance of the national monuments, awareness campaign, routine inspection by heritage officers, and request for assistance from cooperate and international bodies can go a long way in restoring the monuments, as well as  boosting the interest of people towards national heritage.

    “Historic monuments which are cultural heritage constantly subject to decay and distress. These take various forms and may consequently jeopardize the safety of the building itself.

    “Historic Monuments in most countries presents a conservation problem that requires attention. It is the duty of the current generation to preserve these monuments bequeathed to us by our ancestor for the future generation, she added.”

    According to her, the stakeholders involved in the management of Ilojo Bar at the moment cannot adequately maintain the place to desirable standard.

    She revealed that the monument will be renovated according to architectural standards, accompanied with a view to training local students of architecture and technical workers in the restoration of building.

    “Assistance is presently being sought from other organisation such as Legacy, an historical and environmental group, towards the restoration of Ilojo Bar.

    ‘The Brazilian consulate has also initiated the renovation of Ilojo Bar into a cultural centre to be dedicated to the erstwhile Atlantic Slave trade.

    “The innovation will take into consideration the period of the faced but the interior area could be converted to other uses such as exhibition room and library

    An appeal fund will be launched by the stake holders which is aimed at attracting interested individuals, cooperate organisations, NGOs etc to assist in the maintenance of the Ilojo Bar Monument.”

    While giving a brief history of the monument otherwise known as Case de Fernandez, Adedeji said the building was built in 1855 by the Fernandez family from Brazil, which the Fernandez family later sold to Mr Alfred Omolana Olaiya in 1933.

    Ilojo Bar Monument is located in front of Tinubu Squire on House 6 Alli Street/2 Bamgbose Street in the old nieghbourhood called Brazilian Quarters in Lagos Island, Lagos and was declared a National Monument in 1956.

    She also described the place as “Living-Monument as there are inhabitants occupying the building.

    Some notable monuments which have received international awareness are: The Colosseum Flavian amphitheatre in Rome, a popular monument of the Roman Empire., The Cristo Redentor, a modern religious monument in Brazil. The Statue of Liberty, the symbol of the United States’ freedom. The Taj Mahal, a mausoleum in India. The Eiffel Tower, in Paris (France), a monument commemorating the French Revolution for its centenary The Great Pyramid of Giza built almost 5000 years ago as pharaoh’s tomb, one of the Seven Wonders and enduring symbol of ancient Egyptian civilization, The Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and US Capitol. The US capital Washington D.C. is built around monuments commemorating founding fathers of the United States.

    As these countries constantly receive tourists from around the world and earn a huge income, this cannot be said about Nigeria as people still loot national treasures and make mockery of some National monuments, just like the case of Ilojo Bar.

    “Despite the management challenges associated with Ilojo Bar Monument, it still maintains the historical value, Brazilian architectural style and other distinctive features which give it the status of a National Monument. These attributes still accord the monument the potential of a tourist destination and a source of revenue generation for the country,” she asserted.