Bower Tower stands on Oke-Are, the highest of Ibadan's eight distinctive hills, and from the top you get the definitive view of the city — an ocean of rust-colored corrugated rooftops stretching to the horizon in every direction, punctuated by minarets, churches, and the occasional high-rise. The tower is 60 feet tall, built in 1936 in honor of British colonial administrator Captain Robert Lister Bower.
The climb involves a tight spiral staircase and is not suitable for those with vertigo. The view justifies the effort: Ibadan is one of the largest cities in sub-Saharan Africa, and from here you get a genuine sense of its scale — a traditional African city that grew outward rather than upward, filling a vast hillscape with dense, low-rise settlement. The surrounding Oke-Are area has a quieter, older character than the commercial centre below.