The Façade Nigeria Periodical (April 2025).

In the waning years of the 1920s, Lagos stood at a crossroads. The city, still reeling from the devastating plagues of 1924 and 1928, needed a solution. That solution came in the form of an ambitious new development: the Yaba Garden Estate. Tasked with bringing it to life was the Lagos Executive Development Board, whose mission was clear-ease the overcrowding of Lagos Island and prevent another health catastrophe.

This edition of our periodical invites you on a vivid journey into the making of what we now know simply as Yaba. We uncover the deliberate planning and careful design that shaped the neighborhood. Historic maps from the early 1930s reveal Herbert Macaulay Way once carved into four distinct arteries: King George Avenue (named after King George V), Baddeley Avenue, College Street (a nod to the iconic Yaba Higher College), and Moorhouse Road (honoring H.

C. Moorhouse).

We bring these streets back to life with rare photographs-captured by a young Kelechi Anabaraonye in the early days of his journey as a historic architecture photographer.

These images showcase the now-lost Afro-Brazilian style residences that once graced the neighborhood, remnants of a cultural era slowly erased by time and bulldozers.

But that's not all. We also pay tribute to the remarkable life of Martha Bonifacia Lydia Payne (née Davies), a woman of quiet strength and enduring legacy. As the wife of John Augustus Otunba Payne and sister to the esteemed James Pinson Labulo Davies, her story is stitched deeply into Lagosian history. She now rests at Ikoyi Cemetery, in a shared grave with John's sister, Hannah O'mear.

In this issue, we also introduce a brand new series: Life on the Niger. Our first installment peers through the eyes of Church Missionary Society missionaries, capturing their encounters. The stories are as revealing as they are riveting.