Susanne Wenger: On Ibokun Road

Susanne Wenger outside her house - aptly called “Ilé Abolubode” which can be interpreted as “the house of a wealthy, generous person who has returned”.
Susanne Wenger - whose local name was Àdùnní Olórìṣà, (“the beloved" or “the one you like to have around you” and “one who is initiated in òrìṣà”) - lived here from 1957 until her death in 2009.

This beautiful stone building was probably built in the early 20th century in a style which is in Nigeria commonly called ‘Brazilian’ – a legacy of the so-called Àgùdà people - thousands of freed slaves and their descendants who returned to West Africa from Brazil and Cuba during the 19th century. Many were technically skilled artisans who introduced the architecture from the trans-Atlantic diaspora to their homeland.
The intricate cement screen fences are the first commissioned (by Ulli Beier and Susanne Wenger) works of art by New Sacred Art artist Adebisi Akanji in the late 1950s.
Susanne Wenger’s House is one of the most impressive and best maintained examples of this style of architecture in the city of Òṣogbo.