Seun Ayoade*
*Independent Researcher, University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria
*Correspondence: Seun Ayoade, Independent Researcher, University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. E-mail: seunAyoade@protonmail.com
Received date: 24 March, 2026; Accepted date: 13 April, 2026; Published date: 20 April, 2026
Citation: Seun, Ayoade. “Logistically Viable Homegrown Skyscrapers with Multimodal Escalators.” J Glob Entrep Manage (2026): 138. DOI: 10.59462/3068-174X.4.2.138
Copyright: © 2026 Ayoade S. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
I reside in Ibadan, Nigeria. Among the mid to high rise buildings in Ibadan are the following-
*Providence court [7 floors] [1]
*Femi Johnson Broking House [9 floors] [2-3]
*NEPA Building, Ring Road [6 floors] [4]
*Aje House [12 floors] [5-8]
*Cooperative Building [9 floors] [9-11]
*Agbowo Shopping Complex Tower [9 floors] [12-15]
*Cocoa House [24 floors] [16-17]
The lifts in the Aje House and Agbowo Shopping Complex Tower are completely kaput. The lifts in the Cocoa House and Femi Johnson broking house work haphazardly. The first ever skyscraper [by the definition of the time] in Nigeria was constructed in the late 1950s. It was designed and built by British and expatriate architects and engineers who transplanted foreign designs with little to no consideration for local situations. They probably assumed that Nigeria, upon independence, would have regular electrical power supply and a constant maintenance culture. They were wrong. Nigeria today has neither a regular supply of power nor a constant maintenance culture. This is why the elevators of the Ibadan high rises lie in ruins and many office spaces, sometimes entire floors of the high rises are totally unoccupied! The solution to this imbroglio is to look at the traditional architecture of the precolonial people. I now propose a “homegrown” skyscraper. I draw inspiration from the traditional houses of the Ijesa people of Osun state, as described by the American missionary William H. Clarke [18]. The houses consisted of several rooms forming a “U” or “O” shape. The central area was used for things such as lounging, weaving, cooking, horse grooming etcetera. The concept I propose is not too dissimilar to William Shakespeare’s “Wooden O”. I propose a new type of skyscraper for Nigeria and other third world countries that lack adequate infrastructure. Like in malls, a central area of escalators will open up to the surrounding offices and living spaces all through the escalator-only building. There will be no lifts/elevators. I propose a multimodal escalator that is rechargeable, hydraulic and is also capable of being hand cranked. A mechanism with a very high mechanical advantage will be employed when there is a power failure. It has been proven that up to 2844 Kg can be lifted manually using pulleys. An escalator holds 10 to 20 people at a time and the average Nigerian weighs less than 100 Kg. The arithmetic shows it is feasible. The present 7 storey high rise called Providence Court at Ajibade in Oyo State, Nigeria has the kind of shape I propose. It is a very good template for any architect interested in the idea. The hand cranked escalator is what is suitable with the present state of things in Nigeria. The use of elevators has been a total failure.
