TRADITIONAL METHOD OF ARCHITECTURE IN NIGERIA

 The history of world architecture as a whole can be grouped into five major periods: ancient era, antiquity era, middle ages, industrial revolution (XIX century) era and modern (technological cum scientific) era. The Egyptian, Babylonian, Mesopotamian, Far East civilization of India and China are known to belong to the ancient era. The Greek and Roman civilizations are of antiquity, while the Byzantine, Christianity and Islamic civilization are of the middle ages as well as the monuments of Rokoko, Baroko, Renaissance, Gothic and so on that are all over Europe till this day. The Industrial revolution era are known with Classicism, Romanism, Neo-renaissance, Ecceleticism schools of architecture. The Modern era are known with Model, Modernism, Post-Modernism, and so on.

In this context, Nigerian National Architecture can be grouped into five periods as well in line with the history of World Architecture as follows: Nigerian Ancient Architecture (NAA), Nigerian Traditional Architecture (NTA), Nigerian Colonial Architecture (NCA), Nigerian Modern Architecture (NMA) and Nigerian Architecture Today (NAT).

The Nigerian Ancient Architecture (NAA) stands for Ancient era characterized by the prehistoric Nigerian civilization of Nok, the SO of Chad Basin, Prehistoric Yoruba and Prehistoric Igbo (fig. 3).

Fig. 3- Prehistorical Nigeria

In the real sense as at 900B.C. or a l   ittle earlier, Nok civilization had been in existence which of course had been more advanced that the other three (SO of Chad Basin, Prehistoric Yorubas and Prehistoric Igbos) civilizations. The Nok people were core of this civilization that can be found in the village of Nok in Zaria province of Kaduna state. The available information on these Nigerian Ancient Civilizations are from oral traditions and archeological data, some of which are dated back to 1000B.C.

The Nigerian Traditional Architecture (NTA) stands for the Antiquity periods characterized by the historical native kingdoms and empires. It must be noted that the first stage of penetration of foreigners in the middle ages is the Islamic/Arab cultural penetration from the North and the Europeans penetrations from the South by way of slave trading and much later by Christianity thereby ending the foundation of the original undiluted native kingdom civilizations. And of course the NTA, though this process later enriched the same in terms of durable building materials and building technologies, paving the way for Nigerian Colonial Architecture (NCA).

The second stage of this penetration was in XIX century i.e. in the North in 1804 by Fulani Jihad and A.D. 1861-1902 by British unholy wars in the South thus laying the foundation of Nigerian Colonial Architecture.

The Middle Ages stood for the Nigerian Colonial Architecture (NCA). Nigerian Modern Architecture (NMA) was from 1960-2000 while Nigerian Architecture Today (NAT) from 2000 till now is here with us.

Finally, we can say that Nigerian Traditional Architecture (NTA) can be equalized in principles with that World history of Architecture (antiquity era) while the first half of middle ages stood for the transitional period from NTA to Nigerian Colonial Architecture (NCA)