Nigerian architect, Olajumoke Adenowo, during the international architecture congress Urban Controversies, on November 15, 2023 in Pamplona.Beatriz Lecumberri
Olajumoke Adenowo (Ibadan, 1968) takes the stage, takes the floor and silently concentrates the attention of the audience, made up of architects from all over the world. Sceptics, critics or admirers, no one is unmoved by the words of this overwhelming and self-confident Nigerian, who boasts of her success, but claims to have been rowing with the wind against her for a long time.
Adenowo, trained in African and foreign campuses and owner of her own architecture studio for 30 years, extols the heritage and possibilities of Africa, criticizes those who want to solve the continent's urban problems from afar, "without getting their hands dirty or putting on their boots," regrets that exile seems to be an indispensable condition for the success of her compatriots and repudiates the corruption and machismo that hinder her daily work.
"Africa must develop its own solutions," he insisted to this newspaper after his speech at the international architecture congress Urban Controversies, held in Pamplona last November.
In 2020, Adenowo received the Forbes African Women Entrepreneur Award. Colleagues and specialized publications define her as a "star architect" and consider her the most influential in Africa. He has carried out more than a hundred projects, from ministry headquarters in Nigeria to mansions and private studios. His monograph Neo Heritage: Defining Contemporary African Architecture (2023) is the first volume by a Black and African architect published by the prestigious Rizzoli publishing house.
Question. You have just told several dozen colleagues that when architecture is studied and taught, the African piece is always missing.
Answer. That's right, and it's an important piece. Our continent does not have a written history, but an oral and visual one, and in many cases we have been stripped of it. Where is a beautiful Yoruba panel of a door in the royal palace of Nigeria, with engravings that tell of our history? At the British Museum in London. The new generation of Africans must know all this. The legacy of the ancestors can provide an answer to today's challenges. For example, as early as 1691, the Portuguese sea captain Lourenço Pinto wrote: "Greater Benin, where the king lives, is bigger than Lisbon: all the streets are straight and end where the eye is lost. The houses are big, the city is rich and industrial." Living African architects must regain trust in the wisdom of the past and transform it into a bridge to the solutions we need today. But trying to put Africa on the table is like boxing with one hand tied behind your back.
Q. It's your idea of new heritage.
A. Yes. To solve the challenges of the present, we have to look to the past. It consists of looking at the success of previous generations in solving their own problems, for example in urban planning. When the current generation of Africans realizes that previous generations have already faced such problems, they will have more confidence in themselves. They will understand that they don't have to leave Africa, that Africa can function. By all this I am referring especially to my country, Nigeria, the largest black nation in the world.
Q. Nigeria is a good place to start.
A. My country will be one of the most populous states in the world in a few years' time. I think what hits Nigeria will hit everybody. What is happening in Nigeria is not just Nigeria's problem: it is our problem and also all of you's. My country has more than 500 ethnic groups, there is no other country in Africa with this diversity. That means more ideas, more strategies to bring to the table, more examples to inspire us to solve, for example, architectural design problems. The architecture responds to the cultural, ethnic and physical circumstances of each place. That is why the case of Nigeria can be useful for the whole of Africa.
The narrative is that Africa doesn't work, that you have to live somewhere else to succeed. That is why people will continue to cross the deserts and end up in small boats, because they have lost hope in their places of origin.
Q. You criticise the attempt to respond to Africa's challenges, and not just urban planning, without Africa.
A. Trying to solve the problems of Africans without Africans may not be the most effective. Africa must develop its own solutions. The challenge is to reach authentic voices, those who understand the essence of our continent. To fully understand Africa, you have to get your hands dirty and put on your boots. I have decided to do so.
Q. But a significant part of young Africans dream of leaving.
A. The narrative is that Africa doesn't work, that you have to live somewhere else to be successful. That is why people will continue to cross the deserts and end up in small boats, because they have lost hope in their places of origin. We have to start solving the problems so that people can stay in their own countries and succeed. And the key there is the fight against inequality. If young people, who are the majority of the African population, feel that they can access resources, that there are opportunities for all, they will consider staying. It is also important for local authorities to make decisions with the inhabitants, with what is important to them, so that citizens are committed to their own future. Should we build this road or is it more urgent to have a stadium? Decision-makers don't know.
Q. At a time when Africa's big cities are overcrowded, some places are opting to build new cities. Do you think it's the solution?
A. In my country, for example, no. There is already a relatively new city in Nigeria, Abuja, and work is still underway to make it really work, decades later. So why not strengthen what we already have? When people migrate, they leave the physical place where they belong, but also their relationships and a certain way of being in this world. If we build on something that already exists, we do not lose human relations or social cohesion, which are a good antidote to insecurity in big cities, for example.
Trying to put Africa on the table is like boxing with one hand tied behind your back.
Q. You are African, a woman, and you started in architecture at a very young age. She is an expert at jumping over obstacles.
A. I'm going to be very frank: in much of Africa, those who run countries are men and older men. Gerontocracy. I started practicing at the age of 25 and these men considered me too young. Also, I'm a woman and the decision-makers see us as some kind of appendage of a man and that's why they don't opt for us. A lot of women support their families today, I see it with my students, but the African ego means that all this is not valued and they are always prioritized.
Q. Are you still experiencing this type of situation today, 30 years later?
A. Corruption is everywhere. Decisions are made the night before and you arrive the next day in a boardroom, you make a presentation, but they have already decided how it is going to be because they want to share the money. It's not about the project at all. It's not about who's the best. Also, in Africa, a lot of people don't even really understand what architecture is and you can't sell something for which there is no demand. Architecture is the art and science of building, it's identity and legacy, but people still want functional buildings that just work. So why not give it to your friend who is a man?
Q. Still, you work most of your time in Africa.
A. Of course, I try to advocate and get people to understand the difference between architecture and construction engineering. I work with a few demanding clients who do make that distinction and know that my studio is going to give them the best answer for very specific projects and they choose me.
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