Curbing the menace of building collapse

The continuous sad commentary of building collapse and unwarranted loss of lives and properties in our country is an embarrassment to the built environment professionals, and has negatively impacted on the building industry practice. Lack of collaboration by professionals in the building/construction industry, indiscriminate importation of substandard materials and lack of adherence to regulatory framework […]

The continuous sad commentary of building collapse and unwarranted loss of lives and properties in our country is an embarrassment to the built environment professionals, and has negatively impacted on the building industry practice.

Lack of collaboration by professionals in the building/construction industry, indiscriminate importation of substandard materials and lack of adherence to regulatory framework are some of the most visible problems and challenges which have often led to building collapse and attendant loss of lives and properties.

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It is important to note that quackery also remains one of the major problems in the built environment despite all the efforts being carried out by the institute and other professional bodies to address the issue.

The National Assembly has been called to pass the National Building Code (NBC) into law. While we continue to agitate for the passage of the National Building Code into law, we will continue our advocacy and public enlightenment activities. We wish to call on government and relevant stakeholders to rise up to the challenge and call on the National Assembly to expedite action with the passage of the NBC into law and enforcing it as it remains a key-gate to the production of safe buildings in Nigeria and a solution to this problem.

Professionals in the built environment will readily agree that one of the greatest challenges of the Nigerian built environment is the need for appropriate regulations, effective enforcement and the application of sanctions and punishments to erring offenders in the sector.

Until these are put in place and quacks are expelled from handling construction works, buildings may continue to collapse and the consequence of these is the continuous loss of valuable lives and property.

Bldr. Omale Peter Ameh, Chairman, NIOB, FCT Chapter