In this feature article, ENigeria Newspaper reveals the real owner of Banana Island, as well as the aesthetics and luxurious features of the wonder island seating in the center of Lagos Lagoon.
Banana Island is an artificial island off the beachfront of Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria. The name Banana is derived from the curvature of its banana shape. The island is a planned, mixed development with residential, commercial, and recreational buildings.
ENigeria Newspaper reports that the original Banana Island construction project entitled Lagoon City was the brainchild of a University of London-trained Civil Engineer and CEO of City Property Development Ltd. The one man who is both a genius, with foresight and a creative thinker
That one man who birthed the idea of Banana Island had originally developed and commissioned an urban development in Maroko, Victoria Island at the time, but the project was acquired by the Lagos State government.
Now, after a lengthy 10-year court case, the Lagos State government offered other parcels of land in exchange for the Maroko facility that was taken from him, that was the settlement.
This same one man who saw his future and that of his future generations many unborn at that time decided to select an Ikoyi Island perimeter, lying fallow and undeveloped.
Not many were able to appreciate that the genius engineer’s next line of action was shocking.
This one man promptly engaged the Westminster Dredging Company to dredge the foreshore and create six interlinked and symmetrical islands from the same Island perimeter that was given to him as compensation.
As a creative thinker who knew how to harness unprocessed raw materials and turn them into gold, his intentions were noble, he wanted to put Nigeria in the map with the wonder he was about to create from the small parcels of land given to him and what did he do? He engaged Minoru Yamasaki the architect of Manhattan’s World Trade Center building called the ‘Twin Towers’.
As soon as he successfully reclaimed the land and unveiled his idea, the establishment and its loyalists began to struggle with him again in an attempt to take the land from him forcefully. They succeeded again, and no compensation whatsoever was neither to this one man nor his company City Property Development Limited.
ENigeria Newspaper understands that Since 1983, the ‘acquisition’ has been challenged in various courts, and Caveat Emptor warnings are in place to warn prospective buyers that their investment could be at risk in the future. There is also litigation pending in the UK and European courts regarding this matter.
Subsequent developers who took over the construction of Banana Island were principally interested in maximizing the yield of the land at the expense of the aesthetic innovative design foreseen by the founder of the Island.
Aesthetics of Bana Island
First, you need to know that Banana Island, is an area of Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria, 8.6 kilometres east of Tafawa Balewa Square.
Part of the Lagos Local Government Area of Eti-Osa in Central Lagos.
Banana Island you may have read above is a man-made island in Lagos State, Nigeria that is slightly curved – like a banana.
It is located in the Lagos Lagoon and is connected to Ikoyi Island by a dedicated road which is linked to the existing road network near Parkview Estate.
The island was constructed by the Lebanese-Nigerian Chagoury Group in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Power, Works, and Housing, and is considered to be on par with the 7th arrondissement of Paris, La Jolla, California in San Diego, and Tokyo’s Shibuya and Roppongi neighborhoods. (EMPHASIZE) This was after it was forcefully taken from the original person who found the idea)
Banana Island occupies a sand-filled area of approximately 1,630,000 square meters and is divided into 536 plots of between 1000 and 4000 square meters in size, mainly arranged along cul-de-sacs (meaning a street that is closed at one end) – the idea was to enhance the historical residential nature of Ikoyi.
Residents are provided with utilities, including underground electrical systems (versus the overhead cabling common throughout Lagos), an underground water supply network, a central sewage system/treatment plant, street lighting, and satellite telecommunications networks.
The Island is a planned, mixed development, with dedicated areas for residential, commercial, and recreational activities.
On the residential side of the Island, planning permission is not granted for dwellings over 3 storey high.
The primary piazza, a clubhouse, a primary and secondary school, a fire and police station, and a medical center are currently being developed by the new developers. Along with a number of smaller guest houses that weren’t part of the island’s original approved plan, they are also negotiating to construct a five-star hotel there as well.
Banana Island hosts several high-end residential high-rise buildings such as Ocean Parade Towers – a series of 14 luxury tower blocks strategically situated at one end of the island to take advantage of 180-degree panoramic views overlooking the lagoon.
Similar to many of the developments on the island, there are dedicated leisure facilities such as a private health club – with tennis courts, squash courts, and a swimming pool surrounded by extensive gardens. Flats inside the Ocean Parade towers is sold for a minimum of over US$400,000.
Several leading Nigerian and International corporate entities like – Etisalat Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Ford Foundation Nigeria, and Olaniwun Ajayi & Co. – are also based on Banana Island.
Banana Island is known for its wealthy, multicultural community and has some of the most expensive Real Estate in Nigeria and Africa at Large.
From the beginning, you would have noticed the consistent mention of the phrase “one man”, well that one man is no other but Chief Adebayo Adeleke.
Now, many have been asking on the internet if Chief Adebayo Adeleke is related to Davido, and the answer is a big, YES.
Chief Adebayo Adeleke is, as a matter of fact, Davido’s grandfather.
By now you shouldn’t be doubting why it is said that the Adeleke family is one of the richest in the country. The family became wealthy following the vision of one man, their ancestor, and patriarch, Adebayo Adeleke.
NOTABLE CELEBRITIES WHO LIVE IN BANANA ISLAND INCLUDE:
Mike Adenuga – billionaire businessman
Aliko Dangote – billionaire businessman
Davido – Afrobeats artist
Linda Ikeji – model and blogger
Iyabo Obasanjo – former Nigerian senator, etc.
