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This frame from a Reuters newsreel covering the visit of Lord Mountbatten to the naval base in Lagos caught my eye.
The white painted building in the background used to serve as apartments for naval officers. We lived there for a short period after returning from England where my father's diplomatic posting as the Deputy Defence Advisor at the Nigerian High Commission came to an end in April 1973.
The building, which overlooked Lagos Lagoon, was located further up from the jetty from which Mountbatten alighted. Beyond it was a cove.
Our stay at the base was a little longer than that at the Excelsior Hotel where we had stayed for a week or two upon our return. We had arrived after Easter, and the school terms had already begun. My father had originally intended to enrol me at Command Children’s School, Ann Barracks, Yaba which my three older siblings had attended prior to our departure to England. It had been previously named Army Children’s School. However, since the quota of pupils for my age grade was filled, I was enrolled at its sister school at the cantonment in Ikeja.
The Navy School Buses which took the children of naval personnel to both schools in Ikeja and Yaba started at the base. It meant that we had to wake up earlier than most other children. Our father who had worked at the base during the 1960s -first as the Flag Lieutenant and the Flag Secretary to Wey- was deployed to the Ministry of Defence which was situated across the Lagoon on Lagos Island, and we arrived home early enough to see him return via a naval launch and alight from it at the aforementioned jetty.
Unsurprisingly, there wasn’t much playing space in a military establishment although we could roam a little on weekends. The base offered a range of delights such as viewing the lagoon at sunset and absorbing the cool breeze that often wafted our way. I also enjoyed looking at the various naval vessels berthed in their designated spaces. They included NNS Nigeria, a frigate which was the navy’s flag ship, and the twin corvettes NNS Otobo and NNS Dorina. Another enjoyable aspect of living at the base was of our father regularly ordering seasoned goat meat from the new officer’s mess which was built on sticks some metres away from the jetty.
It was an altogether enjoyable experience living at the base but it was something of a relief to finally get housed in a large two-storey home which had a very large balcony.
As for the block of flats, I recall that they were turned into administrative offices by the late 1970s, although I was recently informed that it has been converted to living quarters for junior officers.
© Adeyinka Makinde (2026).
Adeyinka Makinde is a writer based in London, England.
