A brief introduction
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Late 18th century
a spanish migrant looking for greener pastures
Everything about Ilojo Bar's first owner seemed to have been forgotten, but his name. The house used to be known as Casa do Fernandez.
Fernandez was generally assumed to have been an Afro-Brazilian returnee, until recent research showed it was actually a Spaniard from the impoverished region of Galicia.
19th century
the returnees from brazil who changed lagos
The hands that designed and built Ilojo Bar were those of the returnees from Brazil. They came back to the homeland after the Brazilian abolition of slave trade.
Many of them were highly skilled craftsmen, and quickly became the go-to people for new and impressive architecture. Much of Lagos' Brazilian heritage was lost over time, but the stories remain.
1900
a vip from abeokuta visits fernandez’ house
Just imagine Yoruba royalty standing on one of the balconies, looking out on the square that he danced on that afternoon. The records show that on an official visit in 1900 the Alake of Abeokuta, the traditional leader of that nearby city, slept under the roof of the Fernandez house.
This traditional ruler of Egbaland managed to keep Abeokuta independent for quite some time after the British has started colonising many parts of what now is called Nigeria.
1907 - 1913
the macaulay connection
If only the walls of Ilojo Bar could talk, then maybe they could tell us about the political debates heard under its roof. When Herbert Macaulay, one of the founders of Nigerian nationalism, ran his restaurant from there, the discussions must have been plentiful.
Macaulay was the child of returnees from Sierra Leone and would make name as a politician, surveyor and journalist.
1950’s
a family house for the Olaiyas
Often forgotten in the story of Ilojo Bar is the fact that it was a family house to the Olaiyas for over 80 years. The family patriarch bought the house at an auction in 1933 but sadly passed away soon after.
Since then, his offspring used the house to live in and for business, bringing music to the house on Tinubu Square.
19th century
a dark past
The darkest period of the site dates from before Fernandez had his house built. In the mid 19th century, white slave traders from Brazil used the location on Tinubu Square: the Martins Jambo brothers.
Even after the Brazilian abolition of slave trade in 1850, they kept dealing in human beings through that route.
1950's
botched dreams for ilojo bar
Kenneth C. Murray, a former art teacher from the West Midlands, stood at the cradle of Ilojo Bar as a National Monument. The colonial antiquities officer was smitten with Ilojo Bar, which he called 'the greatest architectural interest of all buildings in Lagos'.
He and his colleague Bernard Fagg were instrumental in giving the structure its monumental status in 1956.
2016
the story of the angel
The lone statuette on the parapet of Ilojo Bar used to rise high above Tinubu Square. Lagosians lovingly called the white glazed ceramic figurine 'the Angel', even though she did not have wings.
It was one of the few artefacts saved during the building's demolition in 2016.
2016
illegal demolition
11 September 2016, the day of the illegal demolition of Ilojo Bar, would become 'an ugly reference point in heritage management'. These were the words of Director General of Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments, the heritage organisation responsible for such sites.
Decades of neglect, dispute and decay would precede the building's tragic demise.