Cocoa House

Cocoa House, completed in 1965 at a height of 105 metres,[1] was once the tallest building in Nigeria and the first skyscraper in West Africa.[2][3] It is located in Dugbe, a major commercial area in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. It was built from proceeds of Agricultural commodities (e.g., Cocoa, Rubber, Timber) of the then Western State of Nigeria.[4]

Cocoa House

The initial name given to the building was ‘Ile Awon Agbe’, translating from Yoruba to ‘the house of farmers’ in English. The name was later changed to Cocoa House because it was built with proceeds from cocoa exportation and also because there was a cocoa tree planted in front of the building just beside a water fountain. The building, belonging to the Odua Investment Company Limited, became a source of joy and pride for the residents of Ibadan and Nigeria as a whole.[5]

History

The Building was proposed by Obafemi Awolowo with allocations from the proceeds of cocoa exportation. The contractors were Cappa and D’Alberto. It was commissioned use in August 1965 by the defunct Western Region government.

Ile Awon Agbe

Cocoa House, the 26-storey building was formerly known as "Ile Awon Agbe"-translates as the "House of Farmers".[6][7] This building is managed by Wemabod Estates Limited, a subsidiary of O'dua group of companies.[8] It is the property of Odu'a Investment Company Limited.

Fire Incident

The entire building was gutted by fire on January 9,1985, which began in the top floors from a malfunctioned electrical equipment. It was closed from the public use until it was renovated in August 1992.[9] and opened for commercial use.

References
  1. Anthony Nkem Ede (2014). "Challenges Affecting the Development and Optimal Use of Tall Buildings in Nigeria". 3 (4). The International Journal of Engineering and Science: 12–20. ISSN 2319-1813. Retrieved April 4, 2014. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-02-04. Retrieved 2009-04-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Cocoa House: Tropical Africa's first skyscraper (Includes first-hand account)". www.digitaljournal.com. 2011-12-23. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  4. "Cocoa House: Nigeria's 1st skyscraper is decaying even though it rakes in millions of naira for 6 states [Special Report]". Pulse Nigeria. 2020-01-04. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  5. "Explore the history of Nigeria's Cocoa House, the first skyscraper in West Africa". Face2Face Africa. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  6. "Whither Odu's group: The rot in Cocoa House". Vanguard News. 2018-04-06. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  7. http://connectnigeria.com/articles/2016/08/4-things-not-know-cocoa-house/
  8. L. Denzer, Folayegbe M. Akintunde-Ighodalo: a public life. Ibadan: Sam Bookman Publishers, 2001.
  9. http://connectnigeria.com/articles/2016/08/4-things-not-know-cocoa-house/


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