OMINIRA: decolonizing contemporary Nigerian housing

Abstract

The growing socioeconomic divide in Nigeria is tied to culturally erasing urban development, owing in part to Nigerians’ internalized imposed colonial biases. This has led to the pursuit of a Western model of individualism that has contributed to a fragmented urban fabric, among other harmful manifestations. This thesis argues that it is necessary to unlearn the colonial mentality that devalues local traditions and to recenter African voices and traditional Nigerian spatial logics of community. It analyzes how Nigerian identity struggles manifest in the built environment and critically examines how current housing models in the capital city of Abuja are financially and culturally unsustainable. The thesis explores how design can contribute to reorienting collective consciousness and cultivating a more equitable society. Focusing on housing for underserved communities around the proposed Centennial City development in Abuja’s periphery, the design proposal serves as a test case for how architecture can foster decolonial unlearning.