Indigenous efforts pay off handsomely in the reduction of building costs, making access easier for first time owners

Nigerians who wish to own their own houses but are scared because of high cost of building materials can now heave a sigh of relief. Thanks to Rufus Akinrolabu, managing director of Bolyn Construction Company, who recently manufactured low- cost equipment for moulding bricks, paving wall tiles and roofing sheets. He said the equipment were produced with laterite-mud and local materials which were available in the country in large quantity, and would bring down the overall cost of building a house.

Akinrolabu told Newswatch during an exhibition tagged "2003 Solo Exhibition" held in Lagos recently that owing to the ailing economy and the high cost of building materials, many Nigerians were not able to own their own houses. He said his company went out of its way to find solutions to the housing problems of Nigerians by introducing the equipment called "Bolyn Brick Presses".

"For many years, Federal and state governments have embarked on elephant projects to build low-cost houses which are later abandoned because of high cost of building materials. This was what motivated my company to manufacture the low-cost equipment for buildings," said Akinrolabu. He said he first became interested in the use of laterite-mud to build houses, 40 years ago. During the time, he said family houses were built with mud and some of them have remained standing till today. Said he: "I took part in moving soil during the building of my father's house at Ondo, 40 years ago. The house is still standing among others built with mud in the town."

As a result of this early experience, Akinrolabu formed his company in 1982 and started researching into the use of laterite-mud and other locally-sourced materials to produce building materials. The company has designed and manufactured 13 varieties of low-cost housing equipment that could mould laterite-mud with and without cement into bricks at affordable prices. One of these equipment include standard brick presses that could mould laterite-mud into single or double bricks. There are also interlocking paving wall tiles presses that could mould laterite-mud into floor walk tiles and fences. The company has also designed Bolyn Roman Tiles vibration table to adopt sand and local materials to fabricate Bolyn roofing sheets.

Akinwale Akinseye, one of the engineers of the company, said the equipment were available at their head office and many of their sales outlets throughout Nigeria . He said the Bolyn brick presses were supplied with accessories and could be operated manually. He said, "once an individual buys the machine the company is obliged to train such a person free-of-charge on how to use them."

Asked whether laterite-mud bricks could be used to build multi-storey buildings, Akinseye assured buyers of the equipment that they could build any type of house. He said: "Once buyers of the equipment use the machines to specification, the bricks and interlocking wall tiles can be used for any type of building, like concrete cement blocks."

Akinrolabu advised Nigerians to acquire the equipment. "Don't die homeless, refuse to die without your own house. If your father's house built many years with mud could still stand, why don't you look inwards," he advised.

Akinrolabu said individuals who could not acquire the machines could form themselves into cooperative societies. Said he: "Although house building is a one-man business, individuals could form cooperative societies to acquire the machines to mould bricks of their dreamed houses."

Several structures have been constructed, using these low-cost housing equipment, in Lagos , Ondo , Ibadan , Lokoja and Abuja . The company has sold more than 5,000 machines to state housing corporations, educational institutions, cooperative societies and individuals throughout Nigeria .