Expert kicks as 341 buildings collapse in Lagos within 50 years

Lagos State has recorded 341 incidents of building collapse from 1974 till date.

This figure, according to the Pioneer President of Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG), Mr. Kunle Awobodu, represented 57.3 percent of the national figure, which is in the tune of 595 incidents since 1974.

He decried the latest failed structure at Isale Gangan, Lagos Island, saying the incident occupied the 595th position in the updated BCPG record of collapsed buildings in Nigeria.

“The number of recorded buildings that collapsed in Lagos State since 1974 is now 341, which represents 57.3 percent of the national figure,” Awobodu said, expressing dissatisfaction over the latest incident.

In his article entitled: “Rain as a Test for Building Stability,” Awobodu explained rather than see rain as an agent of destruction, rain helps in the determination of building stability.

In what he described as a “worrisome coincidence,” he expressed shock that Lagos recorded its first building collapse in the year 2024 as members of Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG) were embarking on a Walk Against Building Collapse in Lagos. Worrisome coincidence!

“The four-storey building (having a ground floor and three suspended floors) under renovation located at No. 1, Isale Gangan Street, Lagos Island, fortuitously collapsed while members of Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria were holding REDAN 2024 Annual General Meeting at Ikeja in Lagos.

“It could be very disturbing when a well-planned sensitization walk scheduled for 8 am on Thursday, February 22, 2024, was welcomed by torrential rain in the dry season. Act of God!

“Can this walk hold again with this rain?” A message (SMS) was received from the Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Abiodun Olumide, who was to join the BCPG members for the Walk Against Building Collapse.

“Surprisingly, the undaunted, resolute BCPG members from different BCPG Cells in Lagos State defied the rain and assembled at the take-off point, Ikeja Local Government Headquarters.

“As the intensity of the rain reduced considerably, the BCPG gathering, mostly constituted by professionals in the built environment and building artisans, embarked on the long walk that would terminate at the Lagos State Government Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja. “The messages on the banners were to sensitize the public on the need to adhere to standard building construction in order to prevent building collapse,” he said.

According to him, the walk was also aimed at drawing the attention of the government to the astronomical rise in the prices of building materials that could tempt developers to compromise on standards.

He said: “Suddenly, the sad news of building collapse during the sensitization walk against building collapse doused the enthusiasm of BCPG members from Lagos Island Cell. That area has recorded the highest rate of building collapse in Lagos State, especially during the rainy season.”

ALSO READ: Lagos: Death toll rises to three in Ebute Meta building collapse

He raised the posers whether there is any scientifically proved correlation between rain and building collapse.

He said a developer that was operating on the Lagos Island once confessed to him that rain usually deprived him of sound sleep.

Why asking if rain be held responsible for the incessant collapse of buildings in a coastal region like Lagos, he pointed out that “Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) buildings are the most affected by rain in Lagos.

“A building that can withstand heavy rains will surely stand the test of time. Rain, therefore, helps subject the quality of materials and workmanship used in a building to unbiased verification.”

On lessons learned from the building that collapsed in the rain, he said the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, especially its agency, the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), still has a lot to do in identifying weak buildings and preventing the construction of substandard buildings.

He urged that BCPG, as a pressure group, should intensify its advocacy against the menace of building collapse and address, professionally, the causes of building collapse.

“As reiterated during my address at the REDAN 2024 AGM, the need to bring developers together in an association that promotes standard building construction will definitely add value to investment in the Nigerian housing sector.

“Building collapse, mostly, is a result of human error that could have been prevented. The latest collapsed building at Isale Gangan is a harbinger of metamorphosed inadequacies that plague the implementation of building regulations in Lagos State,” Awobodu said.