Society & Culture

Goldberg Unveils Talking Drum Installation Atop Ibadan’s Cocoa House

By NowinAfrica Editorial Board • August 17, 2026 • Society & Culture

A tall modernist concrete tower in a Nigerian city with a large hourglass-shaped drum sculpture mounted on its rooftop against an amber sky. — S.aderogba / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A monumental talking drum installation has been unveiled atop Cocoa House in Ibadan by Goldberg Lager, according to AllAfrica reporting on a This Day story. The installation places one of Yoruba culture’s most recognisable symbols on one of the city’s most iconic landmarks.

A large hourglass-shaped talking drum installation mounted on the rooftop of a tall building against the Ibadan skyline.

Cocoa House, completed in 1965, holds a distinctive place in Nigerian architectural history. Built from the proceeds of regional cocoa farming, it is widely cited as the first skyscraper in tropical Africa, a multi-storey tower that long dominated the Ibadan skyline and came to symbolise the prosperity derived from the crop that gave the building its name. It remains one of the most photographed structures in southwestern Nigeria and a focal point of the state’s commercial centre.

The talking drum, known in Yoruba as the gangan, is an hourglass-shaped instrument traditionally used to convey messages across communities, mimic the tonal patterns of speech, and accompany celebrations, royal ceremonies and public announcements. Its prominent placement atop Cocoa House links a historic agricultural landmark with an enduring cultural emblem of the Yoruba people, the dominant ethnic group across much of southwestern Nigeria, including Oyo State.

Goldberg Lager, produced by Nigerian Breweries, is marketed as a brand rooted in Nigerian cultural identity and has frequently partnered with events celebrating heritage across the southwest. The installation forms part of that ongoing outreach, using a publicly visible structure to connect consumers with regional traditions.

The unveiling comes amid renewed interest across southwestern Nigeria in heritage tourism and the preservation of mid-century landmarks, as cultural institutions and private brands seek to draw attention to structures and traditions that helped shape the modern region.