Cocoa House

Cocoa House is a skyscraper in Nigeria. It was completed in July 1964 and commissioned in July 1965, by the government of Western Region, headed by Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola.^[1] At a height of 105 metres,^[2] it was the first skyscraper in West Africa,^[3][4] and was, from 1965 to 1979, the tallest building in Nigeria.^[5]

Cocoa House

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.^[6]

The building today houses offices for major firms and broadcasting companies.^[2] Odu’a Investment Company Limited occupies three floors of Cocoa House. The Odua Museum and Hall of Fame which was commissioned by Professor Wole Soyinka in 2013.^[2][7]

Name

The initial name given to the 26-storey building was 'Ile Awon Agbe', translating from Yoruba to 'House of Farmers' in English.^[8][9]

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.^[10] 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.^[11]

History

The 26-storey building was proposed by Obafemi Awolowo with allocations from the proceeds of cocoa exportation and commissioned by the National Investment and Property Company (NIPC), a property development company set up by the government.^[1]

The entire building was gutted by fire on January 9, 1985,^[1][2] which began in the top floors from malfunctioning electrical equipment. It was closed from public use until it was renovated in August 1992^[1][2][9] and re-opened for commercial use.

The building is managed by Wemabod Estates Limited, a subsidiary of O'dua group of companies.^[12] It is the property of Odu'a Investment Company Limited.