What about our famous groundnut pyramids? What informed their creation? We have seen their photos and read about them in journals where they were compared with the pyramids in Egypt and the sphinx in Giza. But why the groundnut pyramids?

The pyramids were created because the massive production of groundnut in the 50s led to acute shortage of storage facilities. All the big European companies involved in the trade had their storages filled completely. To address this gaping need of storage, the decision to step up storages in the open was taken. Outside storage depots were then created in the form of the now famous pyramids.

The other reason which necessitated the creation of the pyramids was the inability of rail and sea transportation system of that era to efficiently and effectively transport the crop in a timely manner. The Nigerian Railway Corporation operated a single track based on narrow gauge, which moved slowly, and at the ports in Lagos, there were not enough vessels to transport the crops to Britain.