PHOTO: Nigeria's First State House, Old Residency, Calabar

This imposing ornate building with beautiful old European architecture, served as the seat of the government during the colonial era. Today it is part of the National Museum, run by the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, housing artefacts and relics of historical interest. It is situated near the Mariana Beach Resort and is housed in the Old Government House building - the former residence of the Colonial Governor when Calabar was the capital of pre-independent Nigeria. Like the Lugard House, Lokoja, the Old Residency was designed and built in the United Kingdom (Glasgow) and shipped over to Nigeria in pieces.

Unlike the Lugard House in Lokoja, situated inside the Kogi State Government House, where Lord Lugard lived, and a similar house now used as the Kogi State Ministry of Culture and Tourism, where Lugard and his team used as office, the Old Residence in Calabar was used as both office and residence.