Still on collapsed buildings

THERE is no doubt that the issue of collapsed buildings has become recurrent in Nigeria. Indeed, the frequency of collapsed buildings has lately caused stakeholders to begin to grow grey hair. It is a menace that causes weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth and which imposes a duty on the government to ensure institutional safeguards. A few weeks ago, a three-storey building collapsed in the Oyingbo area of Lagos State, leading to the death of at least five people, including a woman and her son. Many others were feared trapped in the rubble. An emergency response team belonging to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said that 23 people were initially rescued alive, a number that included seven children and 16 adults.

Last year, the same city of Lagos recorded five incidents of building collapse, one of which was the infamous Ikoyi skyscraper, a 21-storey building. The event occurred in November and caused the death of more than 40 people. The building collapsed in the process of construction, trapping workers on site, the owner of the building and visitors. The next day, another two-storey building collapsed in the Lekki area of the city. In February this year, a three-storey building also collapsed in the Yaba area of Lagos. In January this year, a church building belonging to the Salvation Ministries also collapsed in Asaba, Delta State, killing three people, including two children, and wounding many others. The state police command told reporters that 18 people were initially rescued from the rubble and taken to hospital, and that three of the victims were in very critical conditions. Worshippers numbering hundreds were said to have converged on the church to conduct an evening service when the incident occurred.

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The incidence of building collapse in Nigeria, which is fast becoming an epidemic, is attributed mainly to the decline in building standards, a factor that has been under the spotlight for years. Authorities in charge of approvals for constructions have faced accusations of failure to enforce building regulations, thereby ensuring the safety of people. The subversion of construction rule and the incubus of graft, leading to lack of thoroughness in the process of approvals, have grossly exacerbated the incidence. Besides, there is no doubting the fact that lack of integrity test on old buildings and conformity with the rules also account for the collapse of buildings. And so do lax supervision of buildings, disregard for extant laws and the use of quacks for buildings.

Buildings will continue to collapse for as long as the factors of compromise by regulatory agencies and the use of poor and inadequate materials are not addressed. To stem the tide, therefore, there must be strict adherence to building rules and sanctions must be imposed on violators. Of necessity, the integrity test here proposed must be carried out by people of integrity appointed by the government. That way, the lives of Nigerians are not endangered in the course of their interface with buildings. The rules must be respected if the country is to end the perennial calamities that building collapse brings.

There must be synergy between government  agencies, including the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and affiliate agencies. This is to ensure that compromised building materials are taken off the shelves of dealers in building materials. By ensuring that substandard materials are not used in construction, the country would be actualising the safety of buildings. Ultimately, the government must deliberately ensure that inflation is reduced drastically so that the cost of raw materials is not beyond builders’ reach. When the cost is prohibitive, procuring substandard commodities becomes the preferred option for many.