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If you say the price is out of this world, you may not be far from the truth.
But for the affluent who can afford a piece of such a super-exclusive neighbourhood, paying N250,000 per square metre is not too much for the comfort, luxury and security of living on Banana Island.
A typical resident of this Island with need a minimum of N250 million for a plot of land measuring 1000 square metres, at the rate of N250,000 per square metre, to build their the architectural master-pieces which adorn this exclusive enclave on the Lagos waterfront in Ikoyi.
Even at that, price of land on this exclusive Island, which has only one road leading to it, has continued to rise.
Speaking with New Telegraph in his office, Lagos-based real estate practitioner, Chief Kola Akomolede, said two fac-on Banana Island means higher price as a few number of people have continued to jostle for land in the area.
Akomolede said that in terms of security, only one road leads to Banana Island.
This, according to him, makes it exclusive from other adjoining communities with many entrance roads that put security of residents in doubt. Currently, he stated that lagoon is being sand filled to create more land for more people to build their dream houses in the area.
He listed oil workers, managing directors of banks, telecoms executives and politicians as major residents of the estate.
Justifying the high land value in Banana Island, another real estate practitioner based in Ikoyi, Mr Mutiu Balogun, said the estate is has stateof- the-art infrastructure, including a good roads network, drainage system, electricity, planned layout, among others.
According to him, all electric and telecoms cables in the estate are laid underground, saying there is no overhead electrical cable in the estate.
He pointed out that people are jostling to get land in Banana Island due to the lapses they discovered with Old Ikoyi area, adding that majority of residents of Banana Island relocated from Old Ikoyi, when there security could no longer be guaranteed due to influx of people.
According to him, most of the houses in Old Ikoyi have been converted to commercial, which has triggered more traffic congestion, noise pollution and degradation of the environment in the area, adding that people that could not cope have no option that to relocate to Banana Island.
He said: “The price of land in Banana Island goes up due to limited land available, while more people are still demanding to have their dream home there. Also the Old Ikoyi is too porous and unsecured as Banana Island.
This estate has one entrance gate .
There is serenity, it has the best infrastructure and it is well planned.”
Inside Banana Island, the neighbourhood of the super-rich in Lagos
A visit to Banana Island will leave no one in doubt that that this artificial island off the foreshore of Ikoyi, Lagos is probably the most expensive residential environment in Nigeria.
With a serene and unique environment that differentiate it from other private estates in Lagos, Banana Island got its name from its shape.
Connected to Ikoyi by a dedicated road linked to the existing road network near Parkview Estate, this exclusive neighbourhood of the super-rich is considered to be on par with the Seventh Arrondissement in Paris, La Jolla in San Diego, and Tokyo’s Shibuya and Roppongi neighbourhoods.
According to Bola Gidado, an estate surveyor, it occupies a sand-filled area of approximately 1,630,000 square metres and is divided into 536 plots (of between 1000 and 4000 square metres in size) mainly arranged along culde- sacs, so designed to enhance the historically residential nature of Ikoyi.
Residents are provided with world class facilities including underground electrical systems (as against the overhead cabling common throughout Lagos), an underground water supply network, a central sewage system and treatment plant, street lighting and satellite telecommunications networks.
He said the Island is a planned development with dedicated areas for residential, commercial and recreational activities.
The developer said there is plan to develop a piazza and club-house. It will also have a primary and secondary school, a fire and police stations, and a medical clinic.
She told New Telegraph that a flat for Let, goes for as high as $100,000 per annum, while flat for sale goes for $1million. “These prices vary. It depends on the type of structure on ground,” she said.
According to a developer within the estate, rent for a small duplex in the estate goes for N13 million per annum, an average duplex, N25million and a big duplex with boys quarter, helipad and a hanging swimming pool goes for N45million.
The security on this Island is very tight. It could be due to the nature of residents, mostly billionaires! Before a visitor could gain entrance into the estate, there must be clarification as to the destination, and a tag would be issued.
One would think that since the estate is very serene and nobody seems to pay attention to another person, as such, one is free to do as one likes.
Impossible, as there are patrol vans roaming around the environment, speed boats patroling the ocean, while most of the houses (if not all), have Closed Circuit TV (CCTV) cameras.
New Telegraph observed that a large portion of the country is represented there.
Nassarawa, Sokoto, Ondo, Ogun, Delta states all have streets named after them inside the estate. For anyone to work on this Island, they must have a work permit renewable monthly with N500. The service charge cost residents N150,000 monthly, while a car sticker goes for N1000 per vehicle.
New Telegraph also observed that most of the houses are not only tastefully built, they are tagged “To let.” They are also built, either on the lagoon or just by its edge.
A worker with a construction company inside the estate said, “Banana Island is a place that you come to relax and enjoy the fruit of your sweat after you have made the money.
It is not place for the poor,” he said. New Telegraph saw some fine structures like Ocean Parade Towers, a sequence of 14 luxury tower blocks overlooking the lagoon, strategically situated at an end close to the main entrance of the island and is adjacent to Etisalat, the headquarter of a telecommunication office.
This is typical of many of the developments on the island. It also possesses facilities like private health club with tennis courts, squash courts and a swimming pool surrounded by extensive gardens.
Notable residents of Banana Island include Dr. Mike Adenuga, billionaire owner of Globacom and Conoil; Iyabo Obasanjo, daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo; Saayu Dantata, oil magnate; Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God; and Mr. Kola Abiola, son of late billionaire businessman, publisher and politician, Chief M.K.O Abiola.
Some leading Nigerian companies, including Etisalat Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria and Ford Foundation Nigeria, have their corporate headquarters on the Island.
Banana Island, according to a source in the Ministry of Environment, Alausa, Ikeja, is a man-made island in Lagos State, Nigeria that is slightly curved in shape like a banana.
She said that the island was constructed by the Lebanese- Nigerian outfit, the Chagoury Group, in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing.
The source narrated a story that the original Banana Island construction project, entitled Lagoon City, was the brainchild of a Late Chief Adebayo Adeleke, a University of London-trained Civil Engineer (MICE), and CEO of City Property Development Ltd.
She said Chief Adeleke wanted to create a development that would “Make Nigeria Proud”, and engaged Minoru Yamasaki, the architect of Manhattan’s Twin Towers, to design replica twin towers as the flagship iconic buildings on the main island.
Unfortunately for the Chief, as soon as he had reclaimed the land and the essence of the idea was unveiled, he was allegedly cheated.
She said the project was ‘acquired’ again with no consideration being paid to him or his company.
“From what my dad told me, the ‘acquisition’ is currently being challenged in various courts, and there are Caveat Emptor warnings in place to warn prospective buyers that their investment could be at risk in future.
There is also litigation pending in the UK and European courts,” she said
Source: New Telegraph
