**1. Introduction**

In most parts of the world, colonialism left behind footprints of legacies and heritages with amazing lessons and inspirations to learn and draw from. Although it can be argued that Africa had always had her indigenous knowledge that are mostly anchored on what is considered as 'intangible heritages' [1], colonial heritage features have however had great influence on the social, economic, political and cultural development of most African nations. Ever since then most scholars have tended to model African nations' sociocultural landscapes including the explanation for their causes along the heritages left behind by their colonial masters.

 Britain, for example, has a number of bodies and commissions that ensure the preservation of heritage resources and sites. As part of environmental assessment in Britain, developers are mandated to investigate whether or not their development will affect any heritage site, ancient monument or listed buildings [2]. Analysts have often than not based their arguments on the logic that the landscape of a place gives an insight of what has happened there over a given time frame. According to Peter Benton, a principal preservation planner and a member of the American Institute of Architects, he argued that by looking at the geology and landscape of communities and other materials around, you can piece together the history of a place [3]. It is these perceptions that have caused governments across the world to initiate policies and programmes aim at preserving heritage resources and sites.

The heritage of a place, be it material or immaterial and whether indigenous or foreign, is highly valued because it provides invaluable insights into the changing dynamics [4]. In Britain, these bodies and commissions include the English Heritage, National Trust, Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission and English Nature. In many cities of the countries that were colonised, a number of structures were built for administrative and economic convenience by the colonial authorities and are labelled as the memorials of their past [5].

For Nigeria, the heritage landscape is replete with several features both (temporal and in-temporal cum spiritual). In this case the major tangible structures as stated by [6] include Presbyterian Church, Calabar (1846); First storey building, Badagry, Lagos (1845); Egedege N'okaro residence, Benin (1906); and Gobirau minaret in Katsina (Habe dynasty, 250 years ago); others are Tafawa Balewa Square and the National Theatre completed in 1976 for the Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC) of 1977. The old secretariat building of Lagos is considered the signature tune for the English colonial/revivalist architectural heritage conservation of the late nineteen and twentieth century and currently one of the listed building in Lagos state [7] (**Table 1**).

There are several other unique heritage sites, buildings and monuments that abound in Nigeria worthy of careful study. Buildings, monuments and sites features are a major part of our national heritage; therefore, could serve as important tourist attractions that reaffirm the need for this study in Kaduna metropolis.

 Said et al. [8] argued that post independent Africa seems to have their colonial features ignored just as the colonialists did to those of Africa's past. For heritage documentation, some activities are critical: identifying heritage values, describing them and incorporating the often conflicting principal stakeholders [9, 10]. The identified heritage experts include specialists in social and economic values, tourism experts, environmentalists, historians, planners and developers [11, 12]. Kaduna being the main colonial town of the Northern Nigerian Protectorate had several buildings and monuments that left their mark on the townscape [13]. The colonial heritage features left behind in Kaduna needed to be conserved as has been done in most developed countries of the world since doing so is not only important because they provide a sense of identity in a fast-changing world for future generations but also represent the past history of a nation. Between 1999 and 2006, a number of English historic buildings were lost to the several infill activities that destroyed historic sites and buildings together with their value and the information they contained in Kaduna Government Residential Areas [14]. Although not all of these could have been conserved, most of them were products of high levels of sophistications, knowledge, tradition and history that in many instances took hundreds or thousands of years to develop. The destruction of these properties in most cases came with irreversible losses of the critical heritage identity (design, specifications and construction techniques) contained in them; it would be imperative to designate some of them as being historic and thereby could enable the enactment

 *Assessment of Selected English Colonial Heritage Features for Sustainable Conservation… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.85759*  **S/nos. Heritage feature Pictorial schemes Brief background Remarks**  Gobirau Gobirau Minaret is a There is this Minaret, historical monument and continuous debate Katsina landmark in Katsina. It about whether this (1348–1408 as earliest date) was reported to have been built during the reign of Sarki Muhammadu Korau (1348–1408 AD) who was the first Muslim king during the Habe dynasty. Other account argued that it was built during later years, which is contestable considering the enormous support for the later date. The minaret is about 50 feet is the first storey building or the Badagry building. While the Gobirau was mainly as a minaret and watch tower, it was not for habitation unlike the Badagry building which was occupied in height and was originally built to serve for calling Muslim faithful to prayers. However due to its height, it served the strategic purpose of sighting approaching enemies forces Presbyterian Church (1846) First storey building, Badagry Lagos (1845) On 10th April, 1846, the pioneer missionary team arrived, Calabar, and set up the first Presbyterian Church under the leadership of Rev. Hope Masterson Waddel. It was then known as the Presbytery of Biafra. The Presbytery of Biafra evolved in 1921 into Presbyterian Synod of Biafra. By 1945, it was handed over to Nigerians, and the completed mission church integration was achieved on 16th June 1960. Thus becoming the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria It is worthy to note that this mission station came into being at the request of the local elders after some long period of interaction with the sea-faring European traders The first storey building in Nigeria had its foundation laid in 1842 and completed in 1845 located at Badagry, Lagos. The building was The first storey building in Nigeria has remained the oldest known inhabited building

 said to be built by a Church Mission Society (CMS) reverend gentleman named Henry Townsend. The challenge faced by the structure is the urgent need for rehabilitation towards conserving the heritage feature for future generation. Most visitors come to visit the building during important festival around August of each year

in Nigeria, while the Gobirau minerate is a monument of the past Habe dynasty in Katsina


14.5 hectares (35.8 acres) and was built in 1972 on 45/57 Massey Bamgboshe Street, Lagos. The major unique feature of the square is the four white horses and seven eagles hovering over the entrance façade columns and rooftop, respectively. The square was the venue for the Nigerian independence celebration

in 1960

place for festivals and ceremonies of note within the community

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*Assessment of Selected English Colonial Heritage Features for Sustainable Conservation… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.85759* 


#### **Table 1.**

*Selected heritage buildings across Nigeria.* 

of appropriate preservation ordinances to protect these significant buildings and monuments before a worst fate befalls them.

This study examined experts' judgement of perceptual values of key colonial structures in Kaduna metropolis which include offices, residences and symbolic monuments. The study takes into consideration key approaches to sustainable heritage conservation which includes preservation, repairs, maintenance, restoration, treatment, dismantling and relocation as well as reconstruction in consultation with users and local communities [15, 16]. Deterioration agents were associated with government neglect; tear and wear; poor level of awareness; vandalism; chemical, thermal, biological and condensational activities; and mechanical and electromagnetic solar effects [9, 12]. However, since value is an underlying rationale for heritage conservation, value perception was restricted to experts in arts history, archaeologist, architects and others who have been identified as critical fresh stakeholders or constituents [17].

Apart from the empirical need to conserve heritage buildings and monuments in Kaduna, studies of colonial features have not had their fair share in the post independent African heritage studies. The need to increase the city's building and monument profile in the country's stock of listed buildings has received attention in recent times. Zubairu et al. [18] opined that as historic as Kaduna metropolis is in the community of historic cities in Nigeria and Africa as a whole, only Lord Frederick Lugard Bridge in Kaduna was a listed structure for Nigeria. This leaves much to be desired considering the vast heritage features that abound in Kaduna as the main colonial town of Northern Nigeria [13]. All these realities call for concerted efforts to improve the image of heritage structures in Nigeria and Kaduna in particular including the necessary tools to make it work from the perspective of Nigerian realities.

 The lack of listed building and monument heritage particularly colonial features in Kaduna metropolis is of great concern. Therefore, value perception assessment of significant historic buildings and monuments is therefore a rational step towards sustainable conservation of these properties. The study similarly examined and tackled the fundamental issue of methodological challenges associated with value assessment of historic buildings and monuments as well as the need to contextualise the heritage conservation and tourism need of Kaduna metropolis as a colonial city.

## **1.1 Objectives of the study**

The specific objectives of the study are as follows:


### **2. Review of relevant literature**

A further review of relevant variables for this study is undertaken to aid in contextualising the specific variables of the study.

#### **2.1 Conservation of heritage**

Heritage and conservation are interrelated in a way, as heritage is considered an expression of the sociocultural value product of a people, its conservation ensures the bequeathal to posterity. The research team [19] stated that conservation serves as a medium for architectural and historical heritage revitalisation. Meanwhile, to revitalise the heritages, it is significant to identify and assess the various relationships involved. In this study the relationships are with respect to heritage value, deterioration and their prospect for sustenance. Similarly, [20] contended that conserving urban heritage is growing with better funding; however, he argued that the partial perception of heritage conservation equally has varied scopes. On the other hand, [15] contended that conservation is categorised based on the various physical buildings and spatial relationship. [15, 16] did affirmed that various approaches for sustainable heritage conservation are applicable and include preservation, repairs, maintenance, restoration, treatment, dismantling and relocation as well as reconstruction in consultation with users and local communities. Likewise, [21] maintained that cultural heritage features are made up of buildings, monuments, gardens, cemeteries, landscape and archaeological sites.

#### **2.2 Conservation and sustainability issues**

Conservation of heritage building or site is a process of catering for a place so that it can retain its significant historical, architectural, aesthetic and cultural value. Similarly, Gro Harlem Brundtland Commission Report 'our Common Future' in 1987 defined sustainable development that is succinctly paraphrased in [22] as '... meeting the needs of present generation without jeopardizing the ability of future generation to meet their needs'; [23] further reinforced the argument that conservation relates directly to sustainability, while [24] also averred that sustainability is centred around economic, social and environmental parameters.

Studies by [25, 12] as well as [26] variously argued that heritage conservation should incorporate public interest, sociocultural values, as well as environmental parameters. Often the terms sustainable development, conservation and sustainability emphasise connection amongst social equity, economic production and environmental quality, which should be adaptable to heritage setting.

 Kaduna as a main Gbagyi settlement was transformed into a major town for all Northerners that housed its colonial-built treasures. Kaduna metropolis was initially settled by mainly colonialist, their dependents, workers from within West Africa and Southern Nigeria Protectorate [5]. Towards entrenching a functional colonial system, structures were built that include private residences, offices, services and symbolic structures as bridges and entrance gates which form the fulcrum of this particular study.
