Foremost architect behind National Stadium, ‘1004 Flats’, Fola Alade, dies at 87

Architectural masterpieces bearing his insignia are the 1004 Housing Estate, Victoria Island, Lagos, defunct Federal Secretariat building, Ikoyi, Lagos and the National Stadium

One of Nigeria’s first four architecture graduates, Fola Alade, known for the 1004 Flats Housing Estate in Lagos, has died.

He died on Saturday, aged 87, family sources in Aramoko-Ekiti said.

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Architectural masterpieces bearing his insignia are the 1004 Housing Estate, Victoria Island, Lagos, defunct Federal Secretariat building, Ikoyi, Lagos and the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

Others are the Remembrance Arcade, Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, Satellite Town, Lagos, Nigerian Air Force Base, Ikeja and the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies building, Kuru, near Jos.

Yet others are the National Judicial Institute, Abuja and Nigerian Embassy buildings in 11 countries.

President Muhammadu Buhari has condoled with the family of Alade, 87, saying the designer’s imprint on the nation’s iconic structures will continue to inspire younger architects from within and outside the country.

The president in a condolence message by his spokesman, Mr Femi Adesina, in Abuja on Sunday, noted that Alade left behind a legacy of brilliance and diligence.

Buhari joined the Nigerian Institute of Architects, Royal Institute of British Architects and Architects’ Registration Council of the United Kingdom in mourning the first architect to become a Permanent Secretary in Nigeria.

Late Alade also served as Pro-Chancellor and Chairman Governing Council of the University of Port Harcourt.

The president commiserated with government and people of Ekiti over the loss, believing that Alade’s contributions to development of the country in design, building and administration would always be remembered by posterity.

Fola Alade graduated from the Nigerian College of Arts & Sciences and Technology, Zaria (now Ahmadu Bello University) in 1961as one of the first four Architecture graduates.

Thereafter, he completed his post-graduate studies at the Architectural Association School of Tropical Studies, London in 1965, on a Commonwealth scholarship.

He was the first Architect to become a Federal Permanent Secretary in 1976, a post he held until his retirement in 1979 after which he established his private practice Fola Alade Associates in 1979.

After his post-professional training, he became an associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects and Architects’ Registration Council of the United Kingdom in 1963.

He joined the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing as a Resident Architect in the old Western Region and later Lagos City Council.

In 1969, he became the first Registrar of the Architects Registration Council of Nigeria.  He served as the General Secretary of the Nigerian Institute of Architects.

He was appointed as Pro-Chancellor and Chairman Governing Council of the Federal University of Port Harcourt in 1990.

Speaker, Ekiti House of Assembly, Mr Funminiyi Afuye, in his condolence message described Alade’s demise as a great loss to Ekiti State in particular and to Nigeria in general.

This is contained in a statement by Afuye’s Special Adviser on Media, Mr Tai Oguntayo, on Sunday in Ado-Ekiti.

The Ekiti Assembly speaker eulogised the architectural professionalism of Alade in his life time.

He described the foremost architect as the giant pillar behind the various physical structures of many institutions in Nigeria today.

He said the late architect was a “patriot in the real sense who left his mark on the sands of time.’’

Afuye prayed to God to grant the family the fortitude to bear the loss. (NAN)