Building collapse: Time to stem the tide
The recent collapse of a 21-storey building that happened at the heart of the most populous city in Nigeria, Lagos, was the major topical issue of concern that dominated Nigeria discourse over the last week. The increase in building failure and collapse in Nigeria has reached an alarming stage and the stakeholders should wake up […]
The recent collapse of a 21-storey building that happened at the heart of the most populous city in Nigeria, Lagos, was the major topical issue of concern that dominated Nigeria discourse over the last week.
The increase in building failure and collapse in Nigeria has reached an alarming stage and the stakeholders should wake up to the reality and should no longer treat these continuous occurrences with levity. The incidents have on several occasions led to unnecessary loss of lives and destruction of peoples’ properties, thus becoming an issue of major concern since it poses a threat to national development of our great nation.
Building collapse, though a common phenomenon all over the world, is more rampant and devastating in developing countries. It is a major problem in Nigeria and mostly occurs in Lagos.
The rising status of Lagos as an emerging megacity and a commercial nerve centre in sub-Saharan Africa has come with a number of challenges. One of these is the safety of buildings.
In 2019, figures obtained from the Building Collapse Prevention Guild, an advocacy group of built environment professionals, indicated that Nigeria has recorded not less than 43 cases of building collapse. The report showed that Lagos had the highest figure with 17 cases, accounting for about 39.53 per cent of the total number of collapsed buildings.
Some of the most notable and devastating disasters in the country include the collapse of the guest house of the Synagogue Church of All Nations in 2015 that killed at least 115 people of which 84 of them were South Africans. It was also noted that the country reported 27 cases of building collapse in 2015 with no fewer than 175 deaths recorded. In 2019, another three-storey building in the Ita-Faaji area in Lagos Island collapsed which resulted in the death of about 20 people including primary school pupils.
Building collapses are common in Lagos and hardly a year passes without cases and each time, it results in the loss of many lives.
Many of the documented cases of building collapse in Nigeria are due to the use of defective or substandard building materials, lack of requisite technical knowledge, non-adherence to building codes, standards and regulations, lack of maintenance, use of non-professionals and the high level of corruption which has ravaged every sphere of the construction industry.
Citizens, building professionals and government must take a step to prevent the common problem of building collapse in Lagos, and Nigeria at large. The responsible government agencies and professional bodies must create awareness of the need to obtain planning permission before building. They must also insist on the need to engage professionals in the construction.
State governments must fund all the agencies in charge of building. They must also ensure that capable and qualified professionals are employed to ensure implementation of building code regulations.
Finally, punishments such as heavy fines, forfeiture of property and jail terms should be meted out to any professional or property owner who contravenes building control regulations or engage in unethical practices that could lead to the collapse of buildings. Erring individuals should also be made to fully compensate victims in the event of building collapse.
Mukhtar Ya’u Madobi sent this piece from Kano