Oduduwa hall/Amphi theatre, Obafemi Awolowo University

A beauty to behold even when its colour is already facing away. Anyone that has schooled, is schooling, working, or has had a reason to visit Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria cannot miss the infamous 2-in-1 building - Oduduwa hall/Amphi theatre building.

I call it 2-in-1 not because it houses only two spaces, but because Oduduwa hall and Amphi theatre are the 2 major parts of the building. In addition, there are 2 major lecture halls that are part of the structure - auditorium lecture 1 and auditorium lecture 2.

Both lecture auditoria are located directly below the amphi theatre. I remember vividly how the noise of the audience (during events) from amphi theatre use to disturb those of us trying to study in either of the auditoria at night.

Other accessory structures of the building include offices, storerooms, and snack cafes. I am, however, unsure whether the snack cafes as they exist now are part of the original designs. Or, perhaps, they are just makeshift cafes designed to address the present needs. Most of these accessory rooms are located below Oduduwa hall.

Entering the university premises from the popular road 1, the building lies to the left of the soon to be old senate building, with the motion ground separating them. I call the present Senate building "soon-to-be-old" because a new one is already under construction. Will dedicate a post to that in this coming weeks.

The first half of the building from the front lies Oduduwa Hall, while the second half at the back lies the amphi theatre. Oduduwa hall is an enclosed with 3 openings - 2 for the audience and 1 for event's officials (like a stage door)

Amphi theatre has a population capacity of over three thousand five hundred. Oduduwa hall, on the other hand, can take up to one thousand four hundred people. Unfortunately, due to the fact that Nigerian federal universities have been on strike for the past 6 months now, both halls are closed for accessibility. Otherwise, a few shots of the inside will not be bad at all.

Like I mentioned earlier, amphi theatre is primarily meant for student's related events such as musical shows, dramas, religious activities, etc. Oduduwa hall is reserved more for official university events such as academic inaugural lectures, special symposia, convocation lectures, etc. Sometimes, the functions of the two do overlap.

The amphi theatre also has 3 entries/exits that can be opened locked as necessary. During shows that require subscriptions, all the gates are locked except one. The opened one is where attendees are screened for their subscription status. Once shows get halfway, all the access gates are thrown opened. This is when those of us who could not afford subscriptions back then usually gain out entry.

The entire building at a glance is a masterpiece and one of the numerous exquisitely designed architectural edifice in the university. It was designed by Harold Rubin and Eldar Sharon and was constructed between 1972 and 1976. That's some years before I was given birth to, yet the building still stands very strong. This underlines the extent of the strength of the concrete reinforcement that makes up the bulk of the structure.