24. Meaning and Relevance in Nigerian Traditional Architecture The Dialectics o

Arc.
(Professor) Ekundayo Adeyinka Adeyemi

Head, Department Of Architecture
College of Science & Technology
Covenant University, Ota
Arc. (Professor) Ekundayo Adeyinka Adeyemi
Head, Department Of Architecture
College Of Science & Technology
Covenant University, Ota
Public Lecture Series, Volume 21, April 24th, 2008
Introduction
Aside from the brief descriptions of some traditional dwelling
types and settlements gleaned from the notes of early Europeans
explorers and missionaries, few and scattered efforts exist to
provide information on the African Traditional Architecture. The
early assumption that the Africans lived in unstructured, isolated
bush communities with little appreciation of the aesthetics in town
design may have restricted enquiry into indigenous African
Architecture. This lack in information would appear compounded
as architectural history and the theory of Architecture have
traditionally emphasised the study of monuments. The
monumental work in Sir Bannister Fletcher's History of
Architecture left out the rest of Africa after elaborating on the
Architecture of Egypt which featured the pyramids and the
temples.
The first comprehensive work on the indigenous Nigerian

Architecture was published and released to the reading public by
Ethnographica Publishers, London in 1984. It was Zbigniew
Dmochowski's Corpus on the indigenous Architecture of the
major groups in Nigeria. This lecture will emphasise some of the
highpoints of Nigerian indigenous Architecture and also show
that the traditional builder possessed the ability to evolve an
architecture as unique in architectural history as the monumental
buildings of the Western civilisation.
1
The Bias for the Monumental
Much as the study of monuments can hardly be ignored in

architectural history, structures of modest scales may also be
found to possess qualities of architectural literacy which endow
them with the architectural accolade. In monuments however are
usually embodied the sum-total of architectural thinking as they
2
symbolise and epitomise a people's technological achievement

and cultural refinement.
The African Heritage in Monumental Structures
Not all African traditional buildings lack the monumental

character, nor are all traditional buildings mud huts. The Mopti
and the Djenne mosques and particularly the Zaria Friday
Mosque, Massallacci Juma'a have a refreshingly monumental
character that qualifies each for a prominent place in architectural
history. The cities of Gao, Timbuktu, Djenne, Katsina, Bauchi
and Kano, all located in areas historically known as the West
Sudan still have some of the best examples of mud building
tradition.
3
4
5
Fig. 6: Double Arch Formation in Mosque Construction

The African royalty built to impress and to overawe. The accounts
of the early missionary explorers to Africa confirmed the
magnificence of some of the royal palaces. The Palace of the
Alaafin in Oyo was described by Clapperton to have covered
approximately 640 acres, or one square mile. Edward Bowdich in
1817 described the Asantehene's Palace in Kumasi as,
“an immense building of a variety of oblong courts
and rectangular squares, the former with arcades
along one side, some of round arches symmetrically
turned, the entablatures exuberantly adorned in bold
fan and trellis work ”
Richard Hall (1976) provides examples of monumental urban

Architecture of Africa and among the Architecture listed is the
Deji of Akure's Palace, an elaborate layout of Ughas, complex in
the intricate spread of apartments and preserved till this day
6
Hindham was said to have described the Oba of Benin's

compound in the 16th century to be “as large as the town of
Harlem,..... and divided into many significant palaces, houses and
apartments and comprising beautiful and long square galleries
about as large as the Exchange at Amsterdam”.
Traditional House Forms
Though not monumental in form, the traditional house-forms

provide the bedrock of indigenous Architecture. The African
compound reflects the extended family structure, promoting a
family cohesion much more than a modern bungalow can ever do.
7
In spite of the onslaughts of modern life, the family compound

remains, unaffected by the storms of change. It has become a
haven for family members who sometimes find city life
oppressing and thus seek to escape into the safe environment of
the family compound, at least, once in a while.
European or American writers have often arrogated to indigenous

creations a curio-factor, a tendency to see such creation as curious
or vulgar. For as long as alien writers interpret African creations
in the context of their value systems and culture, the curio-factor
will continue to persist. An example of such misconceived
interpretations as reported by J.F. Ade-Ajayi (1965), of the way
houses were built in Badagry without any regard to anything like
order or convenience can be read from a Missionary's complaint:
“Several times I followed what I supposed to be public
thoroughfare but found it to terminate in a private yard”.
The missionary went further to even put a theological question on
life in family compounds. “Is it proper”, he asked, “to apply the
name of a home to a compound occupied by two to six or a dozen
men each perhaps with a plurality of wives?”. This is the extent
to which differences in culture values could affect meanings and
the interpretation of intentions of a creative work. Interpretive
meanings and value judgements based on the value systems of the
critics, even with the best of their intentions, can and do often
breed misconceptions and prejudices.
African indigenous Architecture is more than instinctive. It has

developed from conscious efforts at creating functional as well as
psychological space, both coming to terms and creating an
aesthetically satisfying three-dimensional form. The African
creative effort is therefore not an exception in creative thinking.
8
Nigerian Traditional Architecture
Professor Zibgniew Dmochowski's long-awaited corpus on the

Nigerian Traditional Architecture was finally published and
released to the public in 1984. Professor Dmochowski is now
dead, after a long battle with death. It was this lecturer's privilege
(my privilege) to announce to the World Community at the
International Union of Architects (IUA) Congress held in Cairo
in 1985 the arrival of this three-volume corpus and to review the
published work at the Nigerian Museum in Lagos also in 1985.
The posthumous launching of the volumes was a befitting tribute
to the prodigious efforts of a great scholar, a visionary with a deep
appreciation and understanding of the indigenous creativity of
Nigerians. Those of us who were privileged to know him and to
work with him on this monumental classic continue to learn from
his unshaking belief in the purity of indigenous creations and
from his penchant for accurate documentation. In spite of his
failing health, towards the end, and of the doctor's prediction of
his approaching death, he worked feverishly to complete the
manuscript just before the cold hands of death snatched him away.
His enthusiasm for the work was infectious. In the Preface to the
Corpus, Professor Dmochowski perceived Architecture as a
“technical activity by poets”. Poetry, he explained, has the kind
of value that perishes when translated into a foreign language.
True Architecture, like poetry cannot be copied from foreign
patterns. It must grow out of its own root, expressed in its own
language. He also believed in the purity of traditional creation, in
its poetry and in its relevance. The survey of the Nigeria
Traditional Architecture was planned to last eight years
(19581966).
9
Sir Bannister Fletcher, author of another monumental work on

architectural history described Architecture as a “lithic history of
social conditions, progress and religion and of events which
are landmarks in the history of mankind”. The different
epochs in architectural history are intimately related to a nation's
life. The genius of a nation is unmistakeably stamped on its
architectural monuments. It is in a people's traditional
Architecture that one is able to discern its social and cultural
milieu. Buildings are analysed in terms of their geographical,
social and cultural context. Value judgements are best avoided in
situations that critics know nothing or little about.
The Study of indigenous Nigerian Architecture must assume a

mentality that rejects African societies as “Curios” which values
and cultural heritage must be studied through the anthropologist's
microscope. Indigenous creations are more than instinctive.
The Yoruba Courtyard Houses
In the courtyard houses of the Yoruba, spaces are organised not

only to accommodate the activities of sleeping, cooking, storage
etc. but are so disposed as to promote family cohesion. The
centripetal nature of the Yoruba compound allows rooms to be
organised round the ancestral resting place usually located in the
centre of the courtyard. The bigger the family and the more
diffused the lineage, the greater the number of courtyards, each
courtyard forming as it were, a meeting point for family members.
A visitor to the Yoruba compound is instantly admitted into the
centre of family activities and becomes a welcome beneficiary of
the family hospitality.
The layout plan of the indigenous house is significant for its

sociocultural relevance, an attribute considered of greater
10
importance than the technology of the house construction. The

layouts have deep socio-cultural meaning and the decorations that
go with the building are equally steeped in the culture
phenomenon. The sculptured roof supports along the veranda's
enclosing the courtyard bear images of revered gods or
personalities and the murals on walls may be graphic
representation of human experience or symbols of religions or of
cultural relevance. These decorations give distinctive identity and
character to the Architecture.
The language expressed by these seemingly insignificant aspects
of the architectural character is perhaps stronger and more
meaningful in creative thought and expression than the
anonymous language of the international style. Regrettably,
global acculturation is quietly but surely creeping into the African
Societies and dangerously replacing the creative genius of the
African and which may in the long run lead to creative indolence
and cultural impoverishment
This cohesive plan composition of the Yoruba courtyard house is

also indicative of an urban culture and tends to confirm the widely
held notion that the Yorubas are an urbanised group of people.
The more cohesive and bigger the plan, the closer is the affinity
to the urban. In contrast, small isolated buildings tend to reflect
11
the transient and almost rural. Such contrast is more profound in

the dwellings of the Fulani Bororo and the more sedentary
buildings of the Hausa, suggesting the transition from the rural to
the urban.
Both building types however do have architectural validity to
them and any suggestion of the rural and transient to complete the
primitive image cannot be acceptable.
Fig. 13: Decorations to Palace interior
The Islamic Connection and the Hausa Architecture
The Islamic connection in Hausa Architecture is generally

accepted to be bipartite. The first connection was through ancient
Mali and Songhai, a link that was very much reflected in the Kano
Chronicle. Songhai notables and scholars visited Katsina and
Kano towards the end of the 15th century and possibly left impacts
of their Islamic beliefs. The second link was established with the
Arab merchants in the late 16th century. The Arab merchants had
come from the far-north through Tripoli and Kano and settled in
Kano, establishing a direct contact with Arab-Moorish
Architecture.
12
In Mosque building, the early similarities with the Mali and

Songhai types gave way to Hausa innovations in the construction
of the Bauchi Mosque (1812), the Sultan Bello Mosque in Sokoto
and the Zaria Old Friday Mosque (1836). The Zaria Mosque is
said to incorporate all the architectural forms and techniques of
the Hausa culture.
The Malekite Common Law has implications in Hausa building

practice as well as in the primacy of the private domain. The
Privacy of the domestic domain must be preserved by closing it
from outside view. These Islamic notions affect also the design of
Mosques and have implication for the design of Palaces of the
Emirs and even the compounds of the common man. The
derivation of the Hausa mud vault is based on a structural concept
as logically valid as the development of the Gothic Vaults. It is in
the construction of the Friday old Zaria Mosques that we find the
higher level of excellence in mud construction. Basically the
structures are of framed construction of arches, domes and vaults
ingeniously built to fulfil their particular functions of creating
beautiful interiors, absolutely resplendent with the ornately
composed ceilings, arches and corbels. Hausa builders have,
through these structures, demonstrated not only their skilled
craftsmanship but also their excellent abilities to shape splendid
forms in space
13
Babban Gwani, Mikailla the Hausa builder of the Friday Zaria

Mosque had a most intuitive knowledge of the behaviour of his
special branch of arch and of how to resolve the various forces
that could be acting on the structure. This is perhaps the most
indicative of his genius since he took his structure and
constructional decision on site without the aid of drawings.
Perhaps the highest point of his genius was in the construction of
the six domes over the main mosque building covering a total
area of above 340 square metres. In this, he was able to achieve
a sober building which intricate play of light and shadow
produces a sublime effect that accentuates its structural and
visual beauty. It was a culmination of a long process of
architectural development, as all other buildings that were to be
built later had nothing to add to this architectural master-piece of
all time.
14
Professor Olieskiewicz one-time head of the Department of Civil

Engineering at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria was
intrigued by the ability of the mud structure to sustain itself for
more than a century in spite of the tremendous load carried by
the arches. After careful investigation, he offered an explanation
of the phenomenon as follows:
“...The arches are to carry the actual load in the first

stage of the construction only, then the clay layer
takes over. Due to creep phenomenon, a
redistribution of internal forces takes place until
equilibrium is achieved. After this, the clay layer work
as dome structure assisted by the arches. The
horizontal forces and the local tensile stresses are
taken by the 'azara rods”. Olieskiewicz (1978)
15
The full explanation of the phenomenon could only be obtained

on the basis of the then developed “limit state theory”. Really, the
more one contemplates the architectural beauty of Hausa vaults
and domes, the more one appreciates its unlimited potential to
evoke pleasurable feelings of the sublime.
Traditional Monumental Master-Pieces
Aside from the Hausa mud mosques and palaces of the Emirs
other master-pieces of traditional Architecture are found in the
palaces of the ancient kingdom of Benin and the “Afins” of the
Yoruba Obas. Essentially the “Afins” consisted of a network of
courtyards linked one to the other and surrounded by a run of
verandas covered by lean-to roof and supported by timber posts
which were decoratively carved. These timber posts were of
sculptured compositions usually of human figure one on top of
the other.
These were not much different from the caryatids of the Greek
temples. Afin Owo is reputed to have twenty-seven courtyards,
fourteen of which were said to have been pulled down when the
modern house of the Olowo was erected. The Palaces of the Benin
Chiefs were more than domestic 'in scale' in that they contained
spaces for the numerous altars for worship and for the
performance of religious rites. This Architecture had been
described as mature, truly functional in which the personal, the
social and the sacred aspects were mirrored in the carefully
thought-out plan.
The lgbo Architecture, on the other hand was described to have

reflected the heterogeneity of the Igbo Culture and so also did the
architectural monuments which included shrines to the ancestors,
native shrines called the “Mbani” houses with their profuse
16
decorations in bright paints and the sculptural images. The

domestic architecture was somewhat different, constructed
mainly of heavy thatch roofs and having an enormous quality of
variations in the form; from the two-storied complex of the Aros
to the almost open buildings of Nri-Awka and the beautifully
ordered components of “Umuaroli”. The heavy thatched roofs
were constructed with such exquisite skill that the texture of
palm-ribs and grass was itself an adornment. The patterns on the
carved doors and wooden posts, each pattern having not been
repeated and in thousand, symbolised the immense variety of the
Igbo Architecture.
The Jabba Houses
The JABBA houses had been described by Dmochowski as the

most fascinating of traditional Nigerian Architecture. CK Meek
had earlier described the JABBA tribe and the KAGOMA as the
most expert builders. The JABBA house was carefully
documented by Dmochowski; oval in plan and with ingeniously
differentiated space in the various interiors. The shape of the roof
which was to conform naturally with the plan was no less cleverly
contrived. It was designed to adapt to the changing height of the
individual parts of the building. It is an intricate business in itself
but the singular character of JABBA houses was to be found in
the creative skills applied in the roof solution and the manner in
which the interiors were differentiated. These houses are found in
the village of NOK, the village that gave its name to the ancient
NOK culture.
17
18
Problems and Prospects of African Architecture
The future of any Architecture depends on the extent to which it

is acceptable to the people for whom it is intended. The notion
that buildings of traditional materials are substandard, is the main
obstacle to the development of an authentic African Architecture
that is truly indigenous to the people. Richard Martin once
summarized the story of the African past as one of destruction of
traditional values and their replacement with alien ones. Many
even consider this trend as inevitable. The visual manifestation of
the African fondness of alien culture is confirmed in the picture
painted by Richard Martin – the picture of the “Wabensi” in
Kenya, the “Apambwaba” in Zambia the “Nana Benz” in Togo
and in recent times the “Mandarin Millionaires” of Nigeria. A
seeming confusion may have arisen, particularly this head-on
plunge into alien values and cultures. However many aspects of
our African life still seem untouched and unpolluted in spite of
the confusion created by culture contact. A renaissance may yet
begin in the reeducation and the mobilisation towards her re-
establishing the African personality.
19
Cultural decadence may have had its root in the colonisation

process, in the inculcation in the African mind through decades of
tutelage, that the African, as well as his heritage, comes last in the
global scheme of things. This mentality must be shaken off and
the creative talent of the African restored.
The Future of Mud Structures
More than 50 percent of the world population live in mud

buildings. The majority of people living in Nigeria in all
probability, will continue to live in mud buildings well into this
century. Because of the rising cost of cement, more buildings will
probably have to be built in mud or clay. Traditional building
materials, because of their cheapness and ready availability offer
greater advantages and potentials for increased housing.
Disadvantages of traditional building materials are being taken
care of particularly in the stabilisation of earth in modem
construction. Research into earth or clay bricks had been in
progress for more than five decades and results of such researches
have been applied in improved clay construction technology.
At a recent Conference on the “Study and Conservation of

Earthen Architectural Heritage-Terra 2008 in Bamako, Mali
organised by Getty Conservation Institute, USA and the Ministry
of Culture in Mali, discussions centred on how this seemingly
weak material has been used to produce buildings which have
stood for centuries. Nigerian participants presented papers on the
earth construction practice in the ancient city of Daura, the
training of traditional Hausa master masons and the use of rice
husks as building material for earth products.
The recent inclusion of earth material in the Nigerian National

Building Code among recognised Building materials places it
20
alongside other industrial materials. Architectural Curriculum

may henceforth extend the study of industrial building
materials to include earth material. It should be possible to
build good quality buildings including all modern fixtures,
given the benefits of research thus far.
A recommendation of that conference which has implications for

the future of earth buildings is that “attention should be paid not
only to the preservation of traditional building skills and
practices but to the way that such skills are learned and
passed down”.
Traditional Building Methods as Source for Modern Design
Modern Architecture evolved from a progressive ethos, a

rejection of the past and a search for new forms, new materials
and new construction methods. Tradition was however not lost
sight of. To look back to the past for a revival of forms or styles
and adapting them or their supposed excellencies according to
William Curtis (1982) to a new epoch can be fraught with
dangers. An architect who adopts this approach is likely to copy
the externals without reproducing the essence or the core qualities
of the copied style. Such an approach, according to Curtis might
result in a pastiche or “tired academicism”. To collect the best
features of a past epoch and amalgamate them into a new
synthesis is likely also to end up with what was termed
“eclecticism”; a state of chaos, a bizarre concoction of past
elements. Were Nigeria to provide a tradition of significant
architectural styles discernible from her traditional Architecture,
there is likely to be a problem of the appropriateness of such
synthesis to the present needs. A situation may even emerge
which places greater authenticity on the superficial clothing in a
21
plurality of styles and features or elements rather than on the

lasting qualities of architectural excellence.
An emerging question in the adaptation of traditional building

styles to modem Architecture is this:
What stylistic features are identifiable in the Nigeria's building

tradition which may inform our search for authentic Nigerian
forms? Were we to amalgamate a collection of these features into
a new synthesis, which features provide a promise for lasting
qualities of Architectural excellence? It was this kind of questions
that were to engage the minds of the European architects of the
19th century and yet the answers were as eluding as the desert
mirage. Even where the answers were to be found, they were to
manifest in the individual works of geniuses only at the instance
of inspiration. A universal language was to elude the architects
until well into the 20th century at the coming of age of the
“International Styles”. A few Nigerian architects or perhaps
architects resident in Nigeria have sometimes succeeded in
capturing in their designs the essence of traditional Architecture
in moments of inspirational revelation. The question remains
however, whether the creative genius of few architects has
provided or may provide rules for the synthesis of their creative
efforts into a clear idea of a typically Nigerian Architecture.
Perhaps, a search for national vocabulary of architectural

expression may not have been so elusive had the Nigerian
tradition in building design and perhaps construction been so
imbued with images and forms adaptable to a new modem
vocabulary. The significance of the Nigerian tradition in building
is emphasized more in its socio-cultural content rather than in its
technological excellence. Lack of appropriate traditional
experience in building technology has limited the possibility of a
22
modem Architecture with a distinctly Nigerian variant. Question

is, Can we turn this obvious liability into an asset to produce an
Architecture that is distinctly Nigerian?
Technology as Hand-Maiden of Architecture
Technology is the tool that enables the translation of an

architectural concept into a physical reality. Many of the seminal
works of the master architects were an exercise in the appropriate
use of the emerging technologies and the new conception of
space.
They were preoccupied,
“not with rearranging lines, not with finding new
mouldings, new architraves for doors and windows,
not with replacing columns, pilasters and corbels with
caryatids, hornets, frogs, but with raising the newbuilt
structure on a sane plan gleaning every benefit of
science and technology”. The ultimate aim was
establishing new joints, new lines, new reasons for
existence, solely out of special conditions of modern
living and its projection as aesthetic value in our
sensibilities”.
The much-famed Hausa Architecture of mud structure was made

possible by the Hausa builders thorough understanding of the
nature of the mud as building material over a long period of its
application. The external features of the Massallacin Juma'a is far
from striking to the observer but the interior creates a totally
different impression. The closely-spaced interior columns rise to
support an intricate arrangement of arches and it is difficult to
believe that the entire structure is of mud, reinforced with beams
of 'azara' wood cut from the daleb palm.The columns, piers and
arches are decorated with mouldings of varying geometrical
23
patterns and pervading the decorations is a restrained aesthetic

discipline that characterises most Hausa decoration patterns. The
Zaria Mosque is undoubtedly the highest point of mud
technology.
Modern Architecture as Symbolic of Growth and Change
The progressivist view which gave rise to modern Architecture in

the industrialised countries of Europe and America made an
inroad to the developing countries and facilitated its ready
acceptance. A cultural transfer has taken place including a
technological transfer, bringing with it all its failures and
successes. This is to be expected in a country of strong colonial
influence. The 1950's and the 1960's were periods of great
architectural achievement and modern Architecture as an agent of
progress was to be reinterpreted and articulated to suit the special
requirements of Nigerians. Architects in the country accepted the
challenges of modern Architecture as a progressive ideal and
introduced variations dictated by climatic and socio-cultural
imperatives. The developments at the time were succinctly
summarised by Alan Vaughan-Richards:
24
“The year 1957 saw the establishment of the modern

style and most major subsequent buildings testified to
this. Among them were the United States Embassy in
Board Street, the Bristol Hotel in Martins Street and
the BP Headquarters in Board Street … it was a
collection of buildings remarkable for the variety of
architectural designs – the old, the new and a mixture
of both….” the Cooperative Bank in the Marina stood
in a class by itself as being the first building that was
designed exactly in the new modern movement
enhanced with African art. The Godwin and Hopwood
Building in Boyle Street and the Crusader House in
Martins Street belonged to this period”.
25
These were good buildings no doubt, but there were also bad
buildings, lacking in the poetry and depth of meaning found in the
works of the International Style. The multi-storey air-conditioned
offices and the expensively furnished public buildings might
often have served as status-symbols, yet the architectural results
of such buildings were not always successful with some lacking
in sensitivity to local conditions, values and climate. Some
criticisms of these buildings may sometimes not be justified, the
most pungent being “the lack of sensitivity to national traditions.
One may be tempted to ask, which national traditions? Even if
there had been architects keen on reinterpreting national
traditions, they still would have had difficulty finding local
precedents for the functions served by these buildings. In any
case, and as experience has often indicated, cultural introspection
has not been high on the list of priorities of the typical client.
Modernism was synonymous with the rejection of old values only
in so far as financial liquidity did not pose a problem.
Prospects of National Identity
Hopes are still alive for a truly indigenous Architecture in a

rapidly industrialising third world. The slogan, 'the world is flat'
should be taken with caution since, to accept this hook, line and
sinker, is to submit to a somewhat anonymous world. It will be
interesting to have a forestate of the glory of a world that is not
flat, an alternative civilisation to the present one dictated by
somewhat anonymous technology. Hassan Fathy, an Egyptian
architect, wearing a thoroughly conservative cloak raised the ire
of his modernist colleagues by challenging the validity of modern
Architecture in a peasant community:
“Modernity does not necessarily mean liveliness, and
change is not always for the better. Tradition is not
necessarily old-fashioned and is not synonymous with
26
stagnation …Tradition is the social analogy of

personal habit and in art, has the same effect of
releasing the artist from distracting and inessential
decision so that he can give his whole attention to the
vital ones”.
Many share this viewpoint and the number is increasing. It is often
easier to insist on change than to show by practical examples the
direction in which change should occur. It is equally difficult,
while stressing the need for the traditional, to show by practical
demonstration, how to achieve the traditional in our creative
work. Hassan Fathy was faced by overwhelming obstacles from
government officials and powerful politicians in his country but
went ahead with the Gourna village project to demonstrate how
the local people can be mobilised to build for themselves cheap
buildings using the cheapest and oldest building material-mud. He
simply refused to accept the myths of progress and insisted that
in most third world countries, the peasant is able to build better
and cheaper buildings for himself than an architect would. This
indeed, may be true of a peasant economy where emphasis is
placed on the provision of shelter rather than a house. To them,
this idea should have an appeal.
The romanticisation of the traditional may not have an enduring

appeal in a fast-changing economy. It had earlier been indicated
how culture contact affects a people's values and the Architecture.
Hassan Fathy's solution to the Gourna village project was no
doubt successful but could a similar success be recorded
elsewhere? However, an important lesson to be learnt here is that
the avoidance of the use of foreign imported materials and a wise
utilisation of locally available, naturally occurring materials could
lead to significant reduction in building cost and that a revival of
appropriate indigenous technology, developed and appropriately
27
applied, could produce results which possess strong local

character and traditional aesthetics.
Conclusion
Amidst the paradox of fostering traditional values and of growth

and change lie possibilities for a better life and lasting qualities of
an enduring Architecture. Bright stars of modern Architecture
have, through patient application of pure architectural principles,
evolved variants of modern Architecture which claim close
identity with their natural or traditional character. The emerging
new urban patterns require a new Architecture that neither apes
the traditional nor the imported forms. Architects are to address
the problem of fashioning an Architecture that will be a direct
expression of new life patterns.
Curtis has described very succinctly the values of such a pure

Architecture:
“As always, architectural value will reside in the
continuing synthesis of the practical the aesthetic and
the symbolic, and in the creation of a unity in harmony
with the setting”.
Traditional structures will continue to provide many basic clues

in achieving authentic architectural values since they reveal age-
long patterns of adaptation. Master architects like Louis Kahn and
Le Corbusier have turned ….. to vernacular and traditional
sources in earthing elements for handling design problems posed
by extremes of climate and translating these into a new
architectural vocabulary. Charles Correa, a disciple of Le
Corbusier drew inspiration from traditional sources without
imitating the past. To understand his work, one has to understand
the traditional Architecture in India, an Architecture of recession
28
of in door and outdoor spaces that merge into one another, the use
of which is determined by the climate or the seasons and not by
the activity within them. It is not necessarily a matter of inventing
new idea, since what mattered was whether an idea, old or new
can be made to work in the content of a locality.
In the long run, the idealist tendency that national or rural

traditions be preserved and used as a basis of a new Architecture
particularly in developing countries like Nigeria is bound to be
ignored by those who associate peasant traditions with
backwardness. The machine, has already caused a revolution of
its own and Architecture does not operate in a society vacuum.
Architecture tradition reflects the mirror of societal values and

technological development. Most minds are agreed that a more
lasting solution lay in attempts at unearthing the fundamental
lessons in local traditions and blending them with an already
evolved modern language. The creative genius is therefore faced
with translating those basic elements expressing national or
regional adaptation and meanings of the past into a form
appropriate to changing social condition. This is a task for
creative talents, because lesser talents run the risk of producing
buildings which are pastiches of both modern and traditional
forms.
Zbiqniew Dmochowski: A Tribute
A detailed documentation of traditional Nigerian Architecture

would not have been possible but for the dogged persistence and
passion for the traditional, of one man, Professor Zbiqniew
Dmochowski. Through a staff of the Department of Antiquities in
the 1950s, his research into Nigerian traditional Architecture was
more than a mere office job. He devoted all of his time to the study
29
of the subject and carried us, students of the then Nigerian College
of Arts Science and Technology (NCAST) in the 50s with him in
the accomplishment of the task.
Professor Dmochowski would tolerate no mistake in our field

work and would check and cross-check our drawings and
measurements until he was sure that there were no mistakes. A
European, working in the tropics, would normally want to avoid
working exposed to the tropical sun. Not with Professor
Dmochowski. He would work relentlessly making sure however
that he had his straw hat on, the type used by the Fulani herdsmen.
The Survey of the Emir of Zaria's palace concluded, Professor

Dmochowski disappeared and we did not hear from him. When I
was Head of Department of Architecture at the Ahmadu Bello
University, I suddenly heard from him in 1977 when he expressed
a wish to spend some time in the Department and complete his
manuscript on the earlier surveys. I was delighted and felt greatly
honoured by his request. For reasons quite obscure to me, he
failed to turn up. Later he sent an emotional request. He was
dying; the long-awaited corpus on his work remained
uncompleted and the doctor had given him three months in which
to live before he suffered another heart attack that could prove
fatal. I got a group of students together to assist in completing the
drawings in Jos and I personally got involved. He had developed
a special liking for me and showed me all that he had
accomplished so far. He wanted to know if I could complete the
work should death take him away. I responded in the affirmative.
Professor Dmochowski had problem trusting any one particularly
as it related to his research work. But he trusted me so much that
he wanted no one else but me to present his prepared paper at the
Silver Jubilee Anniversary celebration of the Museum of
Traditional Architecture in Jos. I was also to give the keynote
30
address as Dean of the Faculty of Environmental Design of the

Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. That was in 1977.
His fears were justified. Much of his work had leaked to some
unscrupulous scholars. It was uppermost in his mind that the work
to which he had devoted more than two decades of his life should
remain intact to avoid all sorts of interpretive meanings being read
into the creative efforts of the traditional skilled Nigerian builder
and artists as most Western writers were wont to do. The
launching of the three volumes that finally emerged from his work
was a befitting tribute to the relentless efforts of a great scholar, a
visionary with a deep appreciation and understanding of the
indigenous creativity of Nigerians. We have learnt from his
industry, from his dogged insistence on moving forward obstacles
notwithstanding. In spite of his approaching death, he continued
to work feverishly to complete the draft of the manuscript. Then
came death, and took away a great scholar of our time.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I retired from the University Service in January 2002. Two years

into my retirement, providence brought me into the service of
Covenant University. It was a Divine will made possible by the
Servant of God, Dr. David Oyedepo. My first comment on
stepping the soils of Covenant University was that the instance of
the University was a miracle, a special wish of God, the Almighty.
I want to thank the Chancellor, Dr. David Oyedepo, a dedicated
Servant of God for making things happier in God's own special
way.
I also owe indebtedness to Vice Chancellor, Professor Aize

Obayan and the Registrar, Deacon Yemi Nathaniel who, through
unrelenting dedicated service have ensured the gradual
31
development of the University into an imminent world-class

University.
My colleagues, eminent Professors and the entire Faculty

continue to inspire me into making more contributions to the
development of the University and I want to thank them all.
Tomorrow's leaders of Nigeria and Africa, fledgling eagles, may
God continue to guide you to your chosen destinies.
Thank you and God bless.
Bibliography
1. Adeyemi, E. A., (1976) “Changing Traditional Culture
and Modern Architecture,” The Fourth in the 1975/76
Session University Lecture Series, Ahmadu Bello
University, Zaria.
2. Adeyemi, E. A., (1985) “National Variants in Modern

Architecture towards Evolution of a Nigerian
Architectural Vocabulary”, NIA Silver Jubilee
Anniversary.
3. Ade-Ajayi, J. F (1965) Christian Missions in Nigeria

(1841-1891) London.
4. Allsopp, Bruce (1977) “A Modern Theory of

Architecture”, Routledge & Keagan Paul, London.
5. Akinsemoyin, Kunle & Vaughan Richards, Alan (1976)

Building Lagos, F & A Services, Lagos.
6. Aradeon, Susan, (1982) “The Evolution of the

32
Architecture of A Talented Hausa Master – Mason”,

Centre for Cultural Studies, University of Lagos.
7. Aradeon, Susan, (1983),“Traditional Mud-Roofed

Architecture: A Provisional Classification of Hausa
Structural Systems and their Resultant Ceiling Patterns”,
Doctoral Dissertation (unpublished) Ahmadu Bello
University, Zaria.
8. Cantacuzino, Sherban (1984), Charles Correa, Mimar

Book, Concept Media, Singapore.
9. Curtis, William J., (1982) Modern Architecture since

1900, Phaidon Press Ltd. Oxford.
10. Davidson, Basil & et al (1965), The Growth of African

Civilization: A History of West Africa 1000 – 1800,
Longmans.
11. Dmochowski, Zbignew (1984), “An Introduction to

Traditional Nigerian Architecture”, Ethnographica
Publishers London. (3 Volumes)
Volume 1: “Northern Religious Architecture” (480 pages)
Volume 2:”Yoruba Architecture”. “Benin Architecture”.
“Architecture of the Plateau State”. (352 pages)
Volume 3: “Igbo Secular Architecture”. “Igbo Religious
Architecture” (320 pages)
12. Fathy, Hassan (1973) Architecture for the Poor. The

University of Chicago Press.
33
13. Gadzama, D.J.P., (1976) The Zaria City Old Friday

Mosque, MSc. Architecture Thesis (unpublished),
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
14. Godwin, John, “Architecture in Nigeria”, NIGERIA

Magazine: A Special Centenary Supplement 1861 –
1961.
15. Hull, Richard W, (1976) Africa Cities and Towns before

the European Conquest, W.W. Burton & Company Inc.
New York.
16. Jencks, Charles, (1978) The Language of Post-Modern

Architecture, Academy Editions, London.
17. Ling, Roth (1968) Great Benin 1903, Reprinted New

York.
18. Lloyd, P.C. (1967) Africa in Social Change, Penguin

Books.
19. Moughton J.C., (1972) “The Friday Mosque”, Zaria,

SAVANNA Volume 1 No. 2
20. Moughton, J.C. (1985), Hausa Architecture,

Ethnographica Publishers, London.
21. Ojo, Afolabi (1966) Yoruba Palaces: A Study of the Afin

of Yoruba land. University of London Press.
22. Oleskiewics, J. (1978) “Zaria Massalacci Juma'a: An

Example of Hausa Structures”, Public Lecture Series,
Ahmadu Bello University.
34
23. Olumuyiwa, O (1985) “The Role of the Nigerian Institute

of Architecture in Nation Building”, Inaugural
November Lecture, Silver Jubilee Anniversary.
24. Prussin, Labelle (1974) “An Introduction to Indigenous

African Architecture”, Journal of the Society of
Architectural Historians 33 Vol. 3.
25. Schwerdtfeger, F.W., (1982) Traditional Housing in

African Cities, John Wiley and Sons, Chichester
26. Schwerdtfeger, F.W., (1978) Housing in Zaria, in Oliver,

Paul (Ed.) Shelter in Africa, Barrie and Jenkins London.
27. Williams, Geoffrey J., (1972) “Notes and Comments of

the Juma'a (Friday) Mosque”, Zaria City, SAVANNAH:
A Journal of the Environmental and Social Sciences
Vol. 1 No. 1. Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
28. Willet, Frank, (1971) African Art, Thames and Hudson

London.
35
36

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Arc.

(Professor) Ekundayo Adeyinka Adeyemi

The first comprehensive work on the indigenous Nigerian

The Bias for the Monumental

Much as the study of monuments can hardly be ignored in

symbolise and epitomise a people's technological achievement

The African Heritage in Monumental Structures

Not all African traditional buildings lack the monumental

Fig. 6: Double Arch Formation in Mosque Construction

Richard Hall (1976) provides examples of monumental urban

Hindham was said to have described the Oba of Benin's

Traditional House Forms

Though not monumental in form, the traditional house-forms

In spite of the onslaughts of modern life, the family compound

European or American writers have often arrogated to indigenous

African indigenous Architecture is more than instinctive. It has

Nigerian Traditional Architecture

Professor Zibgniew Dmochowski's long-awaited corpus on the

Sir Bannister Fletcher, author of another monumental work on

The Study of indigenous Nigerian Architecture must assume a

The Yoruba Courtyard Houses

In the courtyard houses of the Yoruba, spaces are organised not

The layout plan of the indigenous house is significant for its

importance than the technology of the house construction. The

This cohesive plan composition of the Yoruba courtyard house is

the transient and almost rural. Such contrast is more profound in

Fig. 13: Decorations to Palace interior

The Islamic Connection and the Hausa Architecture

The Islamic connection in Hausa Architecture is generally

In Mosque building, the early similarities with the Mali and

The Malekite Common Law has implications in Hausa building

Babban Gwani, Mikailla the Hausa builder of the Friday Zaria

Professor Olieskiewicz one-time head of the Department of Civil

“...The arches are to carry the actual load in the first

The full explanation of the phenomenon could only be obtained

Traditional Monumental Master-Pieces

The lgbo Architecture, on the other hand was described to have

decorations in bright paints and the sculptural images. The

The Jabba Houses

The JABBA houses had been described by Dmochowski as the

Problems and Prospects of African Architecture

The future of any Architecture depends on the extent to which it

Cultural decadence may have had its root in the colonisation

The Future of Mud Structures

More than 50 percent of the world population live in mud

At a recent Conference on the “Study and Conservation of

The recent inclusion of earth material in the Nigerian National

alongside other industrial materials. Architectural Curriculum

A recommendation of that conference which has implications for

Traditional Building Methods as Source for Modern Design

Modern Architecture evolved from a progressive ethos, a

plurality of styles and features or elements rather than on the

An emerging question in the adaptation of traditional building

What stylistic features are identifiable in the Nigeria's building

Perhaps, a search for national vocabulary of architectural

modem Architecture with a distinctly Nigerian variant. Question

Technology as Hand-Maiden of Architecture

Technology is the tool that enables the translation of an

The much-famed Hausa Architecture of mud structure was made

patterns and pervading the decorations is a restrained aesthetic