By Kingsley Adegboye

The President of Africa Union of Architects, AUA, Tokunbo Omisore has urged Nigerian young architects to be innovative and emphasize on indigenous architecture if they must survive in their chosen profession.

This call is premised on the high level of unemployment in the country and lack of jobs for practising architects in Nigeria.

Omisore who made this charge last week in Lagos at a prize awards ceremony for winners of the “Africa Union of Architects/Nigerite Prize for Young Architects and Students’ Competition tagged “Beyond Housing,” criticized the emphasis on foreign architecture by Nigerian architects.

He noted that emphasis on foreign architecture have led to construction of mansions by Nigerians that cannot be maintained all over the country.

File Photo: NGA’ s Cultural Hall, Lagos

The AUA President who said he believes in cultural buildings that can easily be maintained by their owners, added that such buildings are cheaper to build because the raw materials can be sourced locally unlike foreign designs which depend largely on imported materials for construction. He therefore called on upcoming Nigerian architects to focus on cultural designs reflecting various cultural heritages to boost housing provision in the country.

Commending Nigerite for sponsoring the competition, Omisore said the company which is about 53 years old in Nigeria, needs to be encouraged for its efforts at housing  Nigerians.

“Nigerite is giving people employment in the country and helping to discourage capital flight from Nigeria. We borrow money from abroad because we are going through economic slavery. The more we buy from foreign countries, the more we make their economies bouyant. It is better to patronise our local products. Nigeria cannot become an emerging market if Nigerite is not encouraged.

Responding, Mr. Toyin Gbede, an architect and Nigerite’s director of marketing explained that the passion the company has for Nigeria made it to sponsor the competition.

“We need to ensure that what our leaders before us could not do, we should be able to do them. We have been investing in youth programmes because we believe in the growth of the youths. If we patronise made in Africa goods, we are actually encouraging the sustainability of Africa. But if we patronise foreign goods, we make their economies grow at the detriment of our market,” he said.

On behalf of the three University of Lagos students as a group that won the first cash prize of 3,000 dollars, the Head of the Department of Architecture, Mr. Mike Adebamowo thanked Nigerite and AUA for organising the competition.

19 entries were received for the competition. Out of the entries, Malawi, Kenya, Uganda and Ivory Coast had one entry each while Nigeria had 15. The first prize of 3,000 dollars was won by Miss Adedoyin Babalola, Master Akinyemi Olalekan and Ordia Efosa of Unilag, while consolation of 1,200 dollars was won by five people.