Chat 212 Reporting...
Report - In the last couple of weeks, many buildings have collapsed, killing scores of Nigeria. In Lagos, there have been about two reported cases in two weeks. In Kaduna, a building also collapsed.
And in other cities, many buildings have equally collapsed, raising fears that at the rate this is going, no day would pass without a building collapsing and killing Nigerians.Report - In the last couple of weeks, many buildings have collapsed, killing scores of Nigeria. In Lagos, there have been about two reported cases in two weeks. In Kaduna, a building also collapsed.
Indeed, the collapse of buildings in the country has assumed a worrisome dimension, to the extent that people are saying that the authorities in charge of physical planning and urban development should come up with pragmatic measures to arrest the slide before more harm is done to the sector. Virtually, no part of the country is free from the disturbing phenomenon of building collapse. From Lagos to Port Harcourt, Abuja to Maiduguri, Sokoto to Uyo, the story is he same: Building crumble like park of cards, in the face of rain of strong wind.
However, it appears that Lagos and Abuja are steadily recording more instances of building collapse than other parts of the country. For instance, on July 11, 2013, a three-storey building at Ebute Metta, Lagos collapsed and killed about six people. Similarly, another building in Surulere area of Lagos fell down on July 21, 2013, and left five persons dead.
In Abuja, building collapse has occurred at mostly construction stages. This includes the July 29, 2011 building collapse at Mararaba, a suburb of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which killed one person. Also, there was the August 19, 2011, Mpape building collapse that left two persons dead. Also on August 8, 2012, a three-storey building under construction at Dutse-Alhaji, a satellite town in the FCT, crashed and killed three persons.
Besides Abuja and Lagos, Kaduna and Port Harcourt have recorded some cases of building collapse. In 2006, a building along Abacha Road, in Port Harcourt Local Government Area, collapsed and killed five persons. A similar incident reoccurred some months later at Moscow Road in the same council.
Also, in 2012, there were two reported cases of collapse of two-storey buildings. They include that of Rubiakani/Rumuomasi, in Obiakpor Local Government Area and the one at Igwuruta, in Ikwerre Local Government Area, which led to destruction of other valuable property. On July 11, 2013, a storey building crashed and killed three persons and trapped many others in the rubble, in Kaduna State.
The question to ask is why do buildings collapse frequently in the country now more than ever before? There are indeed, many reasons buildings collapse in our environment. Apart from use of non-professionals in building constructions and use of poor quality building materials and lack of adequate supervision, most buildings that collapse in Lagos are too old. In fact, Lagos State government has recently marked some of those old buildings for demolition. Currently, the state has scores of buildings that have been designated unfit for human habitation, while the occupants have been asked to vacate them.
Speaking on the issue of incessant building collapse in the country, the President of the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Mr. Chuks Omeife, was recently quoted as saying that inadequate regulation by government is responsible for frequent building collapse in the country, stressing that the regulation in use today in Lagos is not different from what was used in 1938, called the Lagos City Council Building By-laws. Omeife surmises that the missing link between design and execution in building is among the reasons for recurring building collapse.
According to NIOB boss, the current approval criteria are outdated and deficient. He is of the view that there should be the inclusion of builders’ document, as a pre-condition for granting of approval or work permit or commencement of work on site, in addition to strict monitoring, to ensure that the requirement is satisfied. He believes that that if this is done, it will minimise the incursion of quacks in the system.
Building experts also point out that the use of non-professionals in the construction of buildings and lack of total quality management are also responsible for the current rot in the building sector. It is no longer secret that the handlers of most collapsed buildings are quacks, who, after some period of apprentice, assumed the toga of civil engineers and builders without being grounded in the theory and design of buildings. Also, the use of inferior rods and poor quality concrete, due to disproportionate mixing of sand and cement and poor quality blocks, also add to the problems of building collapse.
The Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) has a duty in ensuring that only good quality building materials are sold in Nigerian markets. SON should strictly monitor building materials on sale in Nigerian markets, including the locally manufactured ones and those imported into the country. Neglect, on the part of SON, will invariably, lead to more building collapse and unnecessary deaths.
Another major reason for building collapse in the country is that the authorities in charge of physical planning and development in practically all the states of the federation have apparently compromised their positions. What the inscription “stop work” at various building sites means is nothing but an invitation to settle the people concerned. These unscrupulous officials are never concerned about the quality of work going on at the various building sites. Once the developer pays the required amount and greased their palms, everything is good and fine. Apart from the personnel, the government should also be blamed, as most states have turned building inspection and quality control into an avenue to make revenue instead of insisting in maintaining the required standards.
There is yet another charge that most developers want to minimise costs, thereby compromising quality. It is public knowledge that they avoid conducting soil test, which is mandatory before any building can be erected, to determine the type of soil at the building site.
No doubt, the high demand for housing in the country, especially in urban areas, might be adding pressure on people to embark on building construction, without adhering to standards. Government should develop the nation’s mortgage sector, to enable Nigerians erect houses of their own, while efforts should be stepped up to ensure that building codes are strictly observed. The government should also bring to book developers and contractors that handle all collapsed buildings. Convicting erring builders and contractors should serve as a warning to others.
It is time state governments pull down all defective buildings in their domains, including those under construction. That is one of the ways to curb the recurring decimal of building collapse in the country.
