Towards preventing building collapse in Nigeria (I)
The built environment is vital to any nation, as it is a broad mechanism for the provision of one of the most important basic human needs that is absolutely indispensable – shelter. It is regarded as one of the most significant sectors of the economy of any country in the world in view of the […]
The built environment is vital to any nation, as it is a broad mechanism for the provision of one of the most important basic human needs that is absolutely indispensable – shelter. It is regarded as one of the most significant sectors of the economy of any country in the world in view of the fact that it is a strong determinant of the nature and pace of national development and the quality of life. However, the Nigerian construction industry just like any construction industry in the world is not without some problems. A major problem faced by the construction industry in Nigeria, is building collapse. The perennial problem of building collapse has resulted in the loss of lives, injuries, permanently disabilities, destruction of properties worth millions of Naira, waste of resources and environmental degradation.
According to experts, Nigerian construction industry is not an exception. Building collapse occur all over the world. However, what is disturbing is that the frequency of occurrence and the magnitude of damage are relatively high in Nigeria when compared with developed nations where there is strict enforcement of standards. To really appreciate the severity of the problem, one needs to examine the record of the number of lives and properties lost, as a result of building collapse. For example, according to Kingsley Dimuna, between 1975 and 1995, about 226 lives were lost while from 1982 to 1996, in Lagos State alone, about 64 people died due to building collapse. Also, in just two years, 2004 to 2006, building collapse claimed the lives of approximately 243 people. As a matter of fact, experts observed that not less than 200 people die every year as a result of building collapse. Many factors were identified as the causes of building collapse in Nigeria; much as the discoveries of such factors are important, knowing the solution to such problem is much more important.
In view of the fact that the role of government, professionals and the general public in building production are complimentary, persistent building collapse in Nigeria is a challenge to them and each of these three groups has a vital role to play in solving the problem of structural failure of buildings in Nigeria.
GOVERNMENT
Any unbiased mind that is closely following events in the Nigerian construction industry will agree with me that government has, over the years, made concerted effort to put in place important proactive measures that will promote professionalism in the construction industry and hence, guard against building collapse. For instance, the federal government has enacted laws establishing agencies charged with the responsibilities of regulating various professions in the construction industry in Nigeria. It has also given the necessary support for such government agencies to perform their function. In addition, governments at various levels have established Urban and Regional planning laws. For example, Decree No. 88 of 1992 establishing, The Nigerian Urban & Regional Planning Law. Also, governments at both federal and state levels have made effort to enforce such laws. The Town Planning Laws requires that qualified professionals must prepare designs and drawings within the scope of their specialist fields, and that, those designs and drawings must be approved by the government agencies. However, the problem is, such effort is not extended to the construction sites as building control regulations is yet to be given the desired attention. In other words, Building Code is not enforced and this made the management of building production to be an all comers’ affairs. Thus, leading to the participation of unqualified professionals in building production. It should be noted that two very important conditions for structural stability, is that the building must be proficiently designed as well as religiously and precisely constructed on site. Buildings fail not only due to design faults but also because of construction flaws.
There is no doubt that, failure to ensure that the management of building production is placed simply and squarely on the hands of the professional builder, is the major cause of so many problems; foremost among them is the production of defective building which, in many cases, leads, to building failure. As a matter of fact, there is the need for government to also re-examine the way and manner planning authorities both at the federal and state levels perform their duties. It should be noted that construction work, is a team work, likewise most of the activities related to it, requires the input of various professionals. If some of the professionals are not included, there will be problems. For example, the study and approval of building drawings is not the responsibility of single professional likewise carrying out of Environmental Impact Assessment, EIA, as a vital prerequisite for getting planning permission, is not the responsibility of a single professional. If government wants to achieve best results, the urban and regional planning agency at both federal and state levels should adopt multi-disciplinary approach in discharging their duties. As such, there should be proper constitution, strengthening and support given to such an important government agency. This is because, if an application for planning permission is required for, say, a high-rise building, quite apart from architectural drawing, there is need for structural drawings and calculations, services drawings (electrical and mechanical, in some cases specialist drawings), builder’s documents etc. That means various professionals must vet such designs, drawings and documents before approval can be given. In this regard, the present effort by Kaduna State government of expanding and improving Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Agency, KASUPDA, by employing architects, professional builders and engineers is commendable and worthy of emulation.
Enforcement of building code and enacting laws that will assist in the proper implementation of Building Code are reliable ways that government can drastically reduce the problem of persistent building collapse and most other problems faced by the construction industry in Nigeria. Also, government should put more effort to enforce other legislations that are linked to some important issues in the construction industry, such as labour legislations on the health, safety and welfare of construction workers. Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity should put more effort in enforcing safety regulations on construction sites. In view of the fact that use of defective construction materials, is one of the major causes of building collapse, government should put in place measures for the strict regulation, control and monitoring of construction materials through its agencies such as the Standard Organization of Nigeria, SON, just like the way that the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, perform similar function on food and drugs. In addition the same support should be given to Building Survey so that experts can meticulously examine existing buildings. So as to establish structural integrity of the building, current condition of the building, problems or defects, which may not be conspicuous to a layman, etc.
BUILT ENVIRONMENT PROFESSIONALS
Built environment professionals are the ones that any country depends on, for the provision of buildings as well as other infrastructural facilities, and they are the most important resource used in building production, as such, any effort towards addressing the perennial problems facing the industry, must start with sanitizing the professional practice in the construction industry. There are a number of problems in the building industry that are associated with the built environment professionals that need to be addressed, in order to permanently solve the existing problems facing the industry.
To be continued…
Danwata is an Associate Professor at the Department of Building, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; [email protected], 08022601115.