Ilojo Bar

Ilojo Bar & Restaurant
Location within Lagos
General information
Architectural style	Afro-Brazilian Architecture
Location	Lagos Island, Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria
Coordinates	6°27′14″N3°23′24″E / 6.45385°N 3.38997°E / 6.45385; 3.38997
Completed	1855
Demolished	11 September 2016
Technical details
Material	Burnt Bricks

a service advert on a 1939 publication of Daily Times of Nigeria

Ilojo Bar, also called Olaiya House or Casa da Fernandez, was a Brazilian-styled historic building located near Tinubu Square in Lagos Island, Lagos State, Nigeria. ^{[1] [2]} According to some sources, the building was originally built as a bar and restaurant in 1855 by the Fernandez family who employed returning ex-slaves who had mastered the art of building while in South America. ^[3] However, in her master's thesis at Leiden University, Dutch journalist Femke van Zeijl proved that the building consists of two different halves, built much later, between 1903 and 1914. The right-hand, slightly narrower half actually belonged to José Amoedo Fernandez, who came from Galicia and who was a trader, not a former slave. The left half, which was a bit wider and contained the future Ilojo Bar, belonged to a certain Vicente Guedes. In 1903, José Amoedo Fernandez acquired the second half of the building (the one that would become the Ilojo Bar) and remodelled it after its right half. According to van Zeijl, he sold the entire building to a certain Napoleon Rey Couto in 1914. ^[4]

Ilojo Bar was sold to Alfred Omolana Olaiya of the Olaiya family in 1933 and was declared a national monument in 1956 by the National Commission for Museums and Monuments. ^[5]

The name "Ilojo Bar"

After the house was sold to Alfred Omolona Olaiya in 1933, he renamed the building "Ilojo Bar" after his hometown of "Ilojo" in Ijesa Isu, Ekiti State. ^{[6] [7]}

Demolition

The building was pulled down on Sunday, 11 September 2016, in suspicious circumstances during the Eid weekend in Lagos. ^{[8] [9]} The matter is still being investigated. The land is now under the control of the Lagos State Government. ^{[10] [11] [12]}

References

1. Hakeem B. Harunah (2000). Nigeria's defunct slave ports: their cultural legacies and touristic value. First Academic Publishers. ISBN   978-978-34902-3-9.
2. Edvige Jean-François; Chris Giles (19 July 2017). "Lagos' Afro-Brazilian architecture faces down the bulldozers". Cable News Network. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
3. Alex Ikechukwu Okpoko; Pat Uche Okpoko (2002). Tourism in Nigeria. Afro-Orbis Publications. ISBN   978-978-35253-8-2.
4. van Zeijl, Femke (31 August 2021). "The Curious Case of Casa do Fernandez: Challenges of Heritage Management in Nigeria". Leiden University Student Repository: 25–27. Archived from the original on 3 February 2022.
5. Udemma Chukwuma (22 October 2014). "'Bring Ilojo Bar back to life'". The Nation Newspaper . Retrieved 5 September 2016.
6. "A Tragedy of Confusing Interests". ktravula - a travelogue!. 2 October 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
7. "Legacy protests against demolition of 161-year-old 'Olaiya House'". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 26 September 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
8. "161-year-old Ilojo Bar demolished - The Nation Nigeria". 13 September 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
9. "A Failure All Around". ktravula - a travelogue!. 3 October 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
10. "Update on the Demolition of Ilojo Bar". 18 September 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
11. Joseph Jibueze (28 September 2016). "Why Ilojo bar was demolished, by family". The Nation. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
12. Sunday Onen (28 September 2016). "Africa: 161 year old Monument "Ilojo Bar" Demolished in Lagos". ATQ News. Retrieved 23 July 2019.