Daily Independent (Lagos)
Dada Jackson
6 July 2009
Lagos — The incessant building collapse being witnessed in Lagos and its environs has been described as not only worrisome but most embarrassing to professionals in the built environment even as an appeal has gone to the all state governments and regulatory agencies to put into place, a machinery that would make owners of collapsed buildings to be sanctioned
This submission is coming on the heels of a two-storey building, which collapsed on the premises of the Nigerian Railways Corporation (NRC), Iddo,Lagos last Sunday and caused the death of about 11 persons with more than 30 people being rescued alive from the debris through the combined efforts of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority(LASTMA) and the Red Cross.
The building was a warehouse but partly converted into a residence. The ground floor was used as a warehouse while the top floor was occupied by employees of NRC. It was originally designed as a warehouse but due to the increasing demand for accommodation, more floors were added to it. This was in contravention of the state's physical planning regulations which stipulates that any additional floors to an existing structure should be with the express approval of the ministry.
Chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Lagos State chapter, Mr. Kunle Awobodu, in an interview with Daily Independent, said that most collapses witnessed in the state and other parts of the country could be attributed to the use of sub-standard building materials.
According to him, in the case of the building that collapsed on NRC premises, the foundation of the building was brittle, adding that the house could not weather the storm of the effect of the thunderstorm that occurred on the night preceding the collapse.
He noted that in order to stem the tide of building collapse in the state, the state government had earlier set up a Technical Committee on the physical development of the state He added that the committee had already come up with recommendations on to how to tackle the problem of incessant collapse of buildings in the state but that bureaucracy was stalling its implementation.
Awobodu posited that the way out of this quagmire was to engage professional builders to monitor construction so that when such a building collapes, the said builder would be held responsible.
He said that it was time building inspectors were brought back to construction sites to monitor projects, noting that in the past, the 'fear of building inspectors was the beginning of wisdom for any developer'
The NIOB chief was of the opinion that the recommendations of the Technical Committee should be implemented if the issue of incessant building collapse was to be fully addressed.
Speaking in similar vein, the immediate past chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), Lagos State chapter, Mr. Enyi Ben-Eboh, lamented the incessant collapse of buildings in the state.
According to him, the use of sub-standard building materials had been responsible for the collapses that were witnessed in the state in the last couple of years.
Ben-Eboh pointed out that another factor that might have contributed to the development could be the arbitrary conversion o residential buildings to commercial outlets.
He frowned at a situation where buildings were arbitrarily converted from their original use to other uses without obtaining the necessary approval from the planning authority, adding that this development has in no small way contributed to the collapse of buildings.
The former NIA helmsman said that government should view the use of sub-standard building materials as a serious offence which should be heavily sanctioned.
According to him, the way out of the mess is that only qualified professionals in the construction industry should be allowed to supervise construction. He was quick to add that in that case, the reputation of the said professional would be at stake if anything happens to the project he is supervising.
Chairman of the Nigeria Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Lagos State chapter, Mr.Silas Ovesuor, said that the issue of involving professionals in construction has all along been advocated by professional bodies in the built environment.
According to him, all hands should be on deck to ensure that relevant professionals are involved in the monitoring of on-going construction work n order to ensure that quality jobs are underwertaken.
The newly elected helmsman of NIESV added that need to engage professionals in monitoring construction cannot be over-emphasised if only to stop the menace of building collapses.
He called for stiff sanction to be imposed on developers, whose buildings go down, adding that unless this was done, the issue of collapsed buildings would continue to assault our national psyche.
Chairman of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Lagos State chapter Dr.Tunde Olatunji, noted that the incessant collapse of buildings in the country and in Lagos State in particular was fast turning into a national embarrassment.
According to him, in the case of engineers, who are in any way connected with a collapse would be sanctioned by the Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria (COREN).
He said that COREN has set up a tribunal to deal with erring engineers. He was quick to add that the issue of building collapse has assumed a very embarrassing dimension to professionals and stakeholders in the built environment.
Olatunji pointed out that although there had been incidence of building collapse in other parts of the country, Lagos remains the most affected.
According to him, it was saddening that some developers continue to take advantage of deficient operational environment within which building control was regulated in Lagos State to carry out their nefarious activities.
A property consultant, Fred Isoh, ascribed the incessant collapse of buildings not only in Lagos State but in other parts of the country to the neglect of the regulatory bodies responsible for monitoring development as the bane of the construction processes
According to Isoh, who is also a maritime expert, the absence of a very strong monitoring body has been largely responsible for this ugly development, adding that the use of sub-standard building materials though an integral part of the problem, could not be singled out as the main cause of building collapse.
He admonished the planning authority in Lagos State to employ more Physical development Inspectors (PDIs) so that a greater part of on-going constructions could be monitored. He was however quick to add, that there was no way all the on-going construction in the state could be effectively monitored but at least in his words, those that would be supervised may not be vulnerable to collapse.
He said that until a developer whose structure collapses is made to face serious sanction, buildings would continue to fall not just in Lagos but in other parts of the country.
Governments at all levels should wake up to their responsibilities especially in the area of building control.
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