Mr Chucks Omeife, former President of the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), is the Managing Director/CEO, Build Consult Ltd. In this interview with DAYO AYEYEMI, the astute professional spoke about the incessant building collapse in Nigeria and failure of government to bring to book perpetrators. He also gave insights into current Nigeria’s economic crisis and how it has impacted the sector; and what it takes to invest in UK property by Nigerians.
It has been 10 years since a five-storey building in Synagogue Church of All Nations collapsed. Can you boldly say that stakeholders and the government have learnt from the incident?
This is a reminder of one very sad incident that put the country in a very bad light when it happened because of the involvement of visiting foreigners who were on spiritual pilgrimage at the Synagogue Church. The sad thing to note here is that no lesson seems to have been learnt as more buildings are still collapsing across Nigeria. One of the major challenges that the built environment sector suffers from in Nigeria is man-made complications in terms of policy implementation and enforcement. There are lots and lots of compromises because of the different interests involved that have pushed the value of a human life to zero in Nigeria. When a building collapses, there are always casualties and waste in terms of resources. However, it is expected that the agencies of government and individuals at the various levels of policy formulation and implementation should be more concerned about safe guarding and preventing loss of lives and all associated waste to the national economy than any mundane interest. It is this change of mind-set that can change the prevailing negative image associated with incidences of building collapse, and especially, the perception of people regarding professionals in the sector. Without mincing words, Nigeria has top-notch professionals in the built environment that can confidently and professionally compete and deliver the expected deliverables in the value chain of projects delivery in Nigeria, and can stand shoulder to shoulder with any professional anywhere in the globe. Our problem is the twisting mindset, moral decadence and corruption attributed to interests and compromises taking too far above best practices. The situation in the sector is such that individuals, quacks and non professionals are so brazen, fearless of the law and with strong connivance with some agents of government traverse the sector killing and maiming people without consequences. This is the state of the sector where building collapse has become the norm, the standard instead of an exception. It is only criminalising the actions of these quacks, pretenders, and impostors that can to some extent restrict or limit their activities. These irresponsible individuals are ready to sacrifice lives for pecuniary gains as they seem bigger than the law. The weak enforcement and possibly connivance with some people at the corridor of power, has made them to always have their way. This is the reason the enabling law expected to be put in place by the National Assembly, that should be punitive and can serve as deterrent, is long overdue. The way it is right now, there is no consequence for undertaking a building that eventually collapses, killing people. The reason why not a single person in all these years of building collapse cases across the country has been brought to book or jailed.
Why has it been difficult to arrest building collapse in Nigeria?
Like I said earlier, it is the human problem in us that makes it difficult. Unlike in the past, many states in the federation today has enacted building regulations domesticated from the National Building Code to guide the operations of the sector in their respective states. This domestication has been done not without the different mindsets of those managing the agencies of government in those states.
This accounts for lack of uniformity in the building regulation across the country. The National Building Code captures very clearly the process and procedures with shared professional roles and responsibilities that if adopted in whole can bring a new narrative in the operations and expectations in the built environment. Unfortunately, this is not so as individuals representing government at agency levels bring to bear personal idiosyncracies and sentiments thereby selectively adopting what they want from the National Building Code. I like to refer this set of individuals as politicians in professional garbs who will do everything to elevate the relevance of their profession far and above others despite the set professional boundaries and the division of roles and responsibilities in the industry. Until these individuals have a change of mindset and see the product of the industry as manifestation of a team work, the problem of collapse may be with us for a long time. The difficulty in arresting the menace of building collapse is not for lack of expertise, knowledge and experience but for individuals who throw decorum away and act unfortunately as if they will remain in that position forever. For every building that collapses in this country, these individuals who compromise, twist and refuse to implement the building regulation in their domain are subtly and collaterally responsible and therefore culpable.
How have the current economic challenges affected Nigeria’s real estate/ construction sector?
Nigeria is an interesting country with development indices that cannot be comprehended or based on global economic statistical data on ranking of expectations going by the prevailing economic situation and hardship. Giving the economic situation, there is valid expectation in terms of its high impact on development and sundry issues across board.
Unfortunately, this is not so. While the effect of economic hardship is biting hard on the citizenry, there are still some physical development projects going on across the country. Despite the daily rising cost of building materials as a result of declining naira value, construction projects litter the crane and crannies of the country. The interpretation of the situation beats all economic indices and cannot be supported by any economic principle or postulation. Is it possible that the volume of money in circulation and used for such transactions on daily basis might not be within the banking or financial system. This will be a good case study as the real estate sector is going on as if all is well. In saner climes, the source of such fund would have been a matter of investigation to ensure that the real estate is not being used as a conduit for money laundering. However, it is possible some of the funds used in financing real estate developments are from Nigerians in diaspora who are taking advantage of the exchange rate. Despite this, most individual development has been greatly affected as purchasing power has been seriously depleted sadly due to galloping cost of building materials and cost of living.
How has it affected construction practitioners?
A country’s economy and its growth determine the level of economic activities in every sector of that economy. The prevailing economic situation in the country has impacted negatively on professional services in the built environment sector. When we look at Maslow Hierarchy of needs and progress to its three basic universal needs, we have food, clothing and shelter. It is only when a man is able to comfortably feed and cloth himself that he can start thinking of shelter. Shelter in this case refers to housing. Even before this economic problem, a lot of people do not appreciate professional services in the built environment because of the low level of implementation and enforcement. This has given quacks an upper hand in the Industry to the detriment of professionals. In most ongoing development, professionals are seldom involved both at the design stage and at the construction stage. Lots of clients always think engaging a professional is expensive but they do not realise that their involvement will guarantee the project and enable them get value for their investment. It is true that some professionals are involved in hanky-panky game but that is not enough to classify all professionals as the same. It is the same set of clients that express a lot of regrets when a mishap happens because those quacks are not responsible nor accountable and cannot be sanctioned by any regulatory body because they are not known, neither are they on any register where they can be traced. No doubt the prevailing economic situation impacts negatively on construction professionals. Even before this time, it is always a tug of war getting clients to engage professionals except for the statutory requirement. Most clients want to use professionals for critical stage of the work and thereafter abandon them. There is a lot of work to be done by both regulatory bodies and government agencies to ensure that professional engagements are not treated shabbily by clients who want to cut corners by setting aside the engagement’s agreement midway in the project execution. This is why I have always said that the design stage has been regulated by law to an extent but construction stage has been left unregulated except for recent attention being giving to it because of continuous collapse. That the construction stage where building collapse is not fully and effectively regulated by government agencies beats my imagination. This is where people are maimed, some lives lost and resources are wasted on a regular basis and still we are arguing over who does what in the industry. Sad indeed.
Many Nigerians are now investing in UK properties. What’s influencing this?
The reason for this shift in investment location is very obvious to a discerning mind and business-minded individuals. Investors go to places where return on investment is not only high but guaranteed. Added to this is the current free-fall of the naira compared to other currencies. The instability of the naira is a major factor for flight of investment portfolio to other stable economy by individuals and organisations. The current Nigeria economic situation is anti-investment and except the investor has a way of benefitting from the system, there is no added value that can be derived from investing here so it seems. The problem of insecurity and power are major issues to consider.
What does it take to invest in property abroad?
Investment everywhere is a projection of possible returns against prevailing environmental and other associated risk. Once the risk assessment indices indicates positive outcome, investors are encouraged to gravitate towards such location and create an investment portfolio. Investing abroad is not a complicated process as one’s concern is always tenor of investment and predictable returns. Buying property abroad has no legal impediments. However, there are specific processes and regulations that must be followed such as providing necessary documentation and understanding the country property law. In most cases, one will require the services of a solicitor to process necessary documentation and ensure the investment is secured, and in line with existing and prevailing laws and regulations.
The building of Dangote Refinery has triggered real estate development along the Ibeju-Lekki and Epe corridor of Lagos State. Currently, estate developers and land owners are doing as they like. What do you think can be done to promote orderly physical development and liveable environment along this axis?
What has been canvassed before now in the physical planning corridor is that planning should preceed development. Unfortunately in most urban centres in Nigeria, especially those that are experiencing serious influx of migration like Lagos, Abuja, maybe Port Harcourt and Kano, the story is the same.
Development and human habitation moves far ahead before government wakes up to start physical and development planning. This is exactly the scenario that is playing out along the Ibeju-Lekki and Epe corridor where Dangote Refinery is located. Just as you said real estate developers and family land owners are kings in that corridor now, creating and establishing layout as they want in defiance of physical development laws and layout considerations. The unfortunate thing is that unwary individuals can be sold roads as plots of land and its extension. The deceit will only show up when government eventually wakes up and decides to do its own layout putting into consideration all requirements for such area. This is when some individuals will realize that they have lost their supposed investment because their land is an access road. This is not good for the government or the people as government must be seen to protect the interest of the people at all time hence the need for proactiveness on the issue of physical planning. Lagos state a reference state for that matter is expected to have done a global layout planning for the entire state taking into consideration its emerging smart city status.
What is your take on the FG’s Renewed Hope cities and estates programme?
The government’s initiatives on housing intervention are not new, the challenge however is the level of sincerity of government to see the delivery of the housing programmes to the end. The current Renewed Hope initiative- estate programme is looking encouraging because of the way the programme has been presented and implemented/handled so far. My take from the flag-off is that it is conceived as a strategic initiative that will address multiple facets of development covering urban planning and economic growth to social inclusion and environmental sustainability. The high hope that successive governments have come up with as part of their contract with the people when they come into office at the beginning has always ended up as failed promises at the expiration of their tenure. It is my hope that this administration will consider this initiative as one of the very important dividend of democracy that is within the purview of government’s responsibility to the people. As we watch the implementation of the policy driving this initiative, we are hoping that those who have been entrusted with this responsibility, being professionals will live up to this task and sustain the trust that people are gradually reposing on this administration.
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