Architects are like writers. They strive for immortality through creating the unimaginable work of beauty, artistry and sublimity. Just imagine the engineer and architect who designed and constructed the Eiffel Tower, a monument that immortalizes his name, an intricate metal giant, standing phallic tall, shooting straight into the heavens and standing timelessly proud in the “City of Light.”
I remember the first time I stood atop the Eiffel Tower, looking down at Paris sprawling below in beauty and in glory. I looked down and pondered on the myriads of skyscrapers in all the cities of the world—architectural masterpieces designed by world-famous architects. Indeed, architects are the makers and builders of our modern societies—Nigeria inclusive.
Chief Isaac Fola-Alade, one of the greatest Nigerian architects that ever lived died on June 19, 2021 leaving behind monumental works such as the 1004 Housing Estate on Victoria Island, the old Federal Secretariat Building, Ikoyi, the National Stadium, Surulere, Remembrance Arcade, Tafawa Balewa Square, Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies.
As a biographer who had interviewed Fola-Alade while researching my book on the business guru Dr. Mike Adenuga (GCON), I feel a great sense of loss for this great but humble architect who was one of Adenuga’s mentors in the early years of his entrepreneurial journey. On hearing that I was writing the biography of Mike Adenuga, he sent me an autographed copy of his memoirs, Remember Whose Son Thou Art, which devoted a whole chapter to his encounter with Adenuga titled: DID I BUILD A GLO-GURU OF INTERNATIONAL FAME? In it, he remembers in 1977 when “a young chap with bushy hair” walked into his office in Dodan Barracks accompanied by an ex-military governor David Ikpeme who had come to introduce him.
“David introduced a Mike to me as his friend, who would be happy to participate in one of my projects,” Fola-Alade recalls. The then military head of state Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo who had succeeded the assassinated Gen. Murtala Mohammed had a long list of projects he hoped to accomplish before October 1, 1979 when he would hand over to civilian rule. They included building about 40 new army barracks, army depots, military hospitals and other strategic military infrastructure. Fola-Alade was the arrowhead of the construction projects. At age 24, Mike Adenuga had come with his ex-military governor friend David, asking to be given part of the construction project. Fola-Alade recalls:
“I queried both of them as to what made them think that such a young chap (with bushy hair) could deliver the projects on schedule. David said he trusted his ability and capacity for hard work. I asked him to register with my Chief Q.S. (Mr. Liong) for the next batch of tenders after showing me his FMWH registered certificate in Category D. However, I warned him, ‘if you tender and win something, I will not accept your tender age as an excuse for incompetence, as I would promptly sack you and give your project to better contractors.’
“He humbly promised to perform if given a chance. I had totally forgotten all about him when, some weeks later, he appeared in my office in March 1977. He bowed and said: ‘thanks for giving me the chance sir.’ Not recalling him, I queried what he was thanking me for, and he said he was Mike from Gov. Ikpeme, thanking me for his official letter of award and half of Kachia Barracks project. I advised him to leave his Ibadan base and compete with the expatriate contractors on the same site in Kaduna State. To cut a long story short, by September 1977, when I landed without notice on their site for inspection, I met him on site. He had performed so well to my utter surprise, while the other expatriate firm next door was lagging far behind in his project. I took a silent note of the progress situation and later sent my QS and an engineer to reassess and appraise the true situation. As I noted, my expatriate Site Supervisor was not reflecting the true progress development on his site in his regular monthly reports. It was reported that the expatriate contractor (Alladin Co) could not cope with his work schedule. He owed his workers and was hardly on site. My Tenders Board promptly reviewed the whole site works, withdrew the stalling contract of the foreign firm, offering them to the young (Mike Adenuga’s) Consolidated Co. Ltd to take over and complete.
“They did it and handed over on schedule. I saw him only casually later while consulting with my QS. Next Christmas, he dropped a carton of Champagne at my house but never waited. I drank and enjoyed it with friends. Since March 1979 however, I have neither set my eyes on, nor even spoken to this rare enigma of a whiz-kid up till today, January 20th 2005.”
Many years after he was assisted to come up in business, Adenuga had not forgotten to say thank you to those who helped him the past. Adenuga has this philosophy: Never burn your bridges and never fail to thank those who help you to be where you are today. Chief Fola-Alade says on three occasions, he invited Adenuga to some of his social functions and he “responded promptly with donations.” The three occasions are “N50,000 cheque to Aramoko Day in October, 1991; N500,000 to Ekiti Parapo launching in April 1997 and lastly he was the highest donor to my project, The Fola-Alade Computer Center for the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Department of Architecture.”
For the project, Fola-Alade had promised the university five million naira to be paid within five years in appreciation of being given an honorary doctorate degree. Then came a miracle: “By God’s miracle and providence, Mike Adenuga sent me his huge helping hand with a N5 million cheque via his letter dated December 13th, 2003. This made us to execute and complete the whole project within four months instead of five years.”
Chief Fola-Alade said what he valued most was the nice appreciative letter from Adenuga accompanying the N5million cheque. The letter partly read: “I have through the years been fortunate and indeed privileged to benefit from your wise counsel, generous spirit and your all-embracing disposition. Thanks in a large part to the catalytic dimensions of your influence on me, I have managed to make some fairly notable achievements of which I am sure you will be proud of. The occasion of your 70th birthday gives me rare opportunity to thank you for the highly positive role that your mentorship has played in my development.”
Chief Fola-Alade was so moved that he wrote in his memoirs: “Honestly, reading such kind words from such a casual young man after 27 years, simply dazed and overwhelmed my emotions. He was only one of the scores who got small contracts from me then. Many did get bigger jobs but never said a word of thanks. If this wasn’t a miracle, I don’t know what else is. It was all to God’s glory…I regard Mike Adenuga as the greatest of Nigerian patriots, lifting the nation to the highest pedestal in Africa today. May God continue to keep and bless him. I keep asking, what of many others like him? Just as Jesus did ask, many were healed but where are the others?”
Adieu, great architect! Well done! God gave you a special talent and you used it well for God and country.
