It is highly unfair to castigate houses with so-called brown roofs as being somehow bad, or automatically signifying poverty.

If anyone should be blamed, it's the colonial British who introduced such a foolish roofing material as zinc, which they should have known would rust away in the African sun and humid temperatures in no time.

And so we have the situation whereby today, otherwise perfectly fine houses are written off as ''brown roof dwelling''.

Sometimes these houses are less than 60 years old!

But you can go to Europe today, and most of the houses on the street are over 100 years old!

In places like UK, some residential houses are over 200 years old!

The only difference is that they were not built with zinc roof, so there is no brown roof!

Some are sold for millions of pounds!

So we need to chill with the way we insult these so-called brown roof houses..

Perhaps we can advocate for them to be given some TLC via a mass re-roofing campaign.

A dash of paint on the walls wouldn't hurt either.

But there's no need to tear them down. There's nothing wrong with the houses!

this is an excuse. The british brought zinc to all of Nigeria. It's insulted because it shows a lack of willingness or ability to renovate. You can see that in the fact that all the windows are busted, and none of them have been painted since 1980. Though I think paint is optional, when the indigines of these places moves to Lagos, they paint their houses, so I know it's not a deliberate style choice.

Rusted zinc creates Zinc oxide and inhaling zinc oxide can make you sick. I bet if these towns changed their roof style 50% of their annual 'malaria' cases will disappear

Topman7:
It is highly unfair to castigate houses with so-called brown roofs as being somehow bad, or automatically signifying poverty.

If anyone should be blamed, it's the colonial British who introduced such a foolish roofing material as zinc, which they should have known would rust away in the African sun and humid temperatures in no time.

And so we have the situation whereby today, otherwise perfectly fine houses are written off as ''brown roof dwelling''.

Sometimes these houses are less than 60 years old!

But you can go to Europe today, and most of the houses on the street are over 100 years old!

In places like UK, some residential houses are over 200 years old!

The only difference is that they were not built with zinc roof, so there is no brown roof!

So we need to chill with the way we insult these so-called brown roof houses..

Perhaps we can advocate for them to be given some TLC via a mass re-roofing campaign.

A dash of paint on the walls wouldn't hurt either.

But there's no need to tear them down. There's nothing wrong with the houses!

ok oo Oga Op we don hear

Its time to stop criticizing houses with brown roofs and instead focus on the real issue the poor choice of roofing material introduced by colonial British, which has unfairly labeled these perfectly fine houses as brown roof dwellings. Lets show them some love and give them a makeover instead of tearing them

Chinkoalhaji34:
Its time to stop criticizing houses with brown roofs and instead focus on the real issue the poor choice of roofing material introduced by colonial British, which has unfairly labeled these perfectly fine houses as brown roof dwellings. Lets show them some love and give them a makeover instead of tearing them

Excellent summary!

Topman7:
It is highly unfair to castigate houses with so-called brown roofs as being somehow bad, or automatically signifying poverty.

If anyone should be blamed, it's the colonial British who introduced such a foolish roofing material as zinc, which they should have known would rust away in the African sun and humid temperatures in no time.

And so we have the situation whereby today, otherwise perfectly fine houses are written off as ''brown roof dwelling''.

Sometimes these houses are less than 60 years old!

But you can go to Europe today, and most of the houses on the street are over 100 years old!

In places like UK, some residential houses are over 200 years old!

The only difference is that they were not built with zinc roof, so there is no brown roof!

Some are sold for millions of pounds!

So we need to chill with the way we insult these so-called brown roof houses..

Perhaps we can advocate for them to be given some TLC via a mass re-roofing campaign.

A dash of paint on the walls wouldn't hurt either.

But there's no need to tear them down. There's nothing wrong with the houses!

They are also built with real red bricks (not decorative sidings) you will find in newer builds these days in the UK, and you dare not demolish them. They are heritage buildings just like the ones with brown roofs in your attached pictures. Most of the old red bricks house in the UK are not sold for millions of pounds..it's just ancestral homes that people still live in.

Below is an area in Manchester.. red brick dingy houses with chimney. These houses are around 130 years old.

Mod should just close the thread or move in to properties section. We know the intent of OP.

Else all the Nairaland tribalists will invade the thread. And creat more tribal threads.