Experts rise to mitigate building collapse

Statistics show that between 2010 and 2020, an overwhelming number of buildings have collapsed in Nigeria, about 77 percent rise from the previous decade.

To address this menace, Lafarge Africa held the 2nd edition of its Concrete Ideas Thoughts Leadership series webinar with the theme “Addressing the root cause of buildingcollapse in Nigeria”, where stakeholders highlighted the causes of building collapse and proffered solutions.

The president of the Institute of Structural Engineers of Nigeria, Dr Babajide Kehinde Osifola, said the root cause of building collapse remains negligence.”Negligence manifest in several forms. Using of substandard building materials, illegal conversion of existing structure into bigger ones, inadequate concrete mix, inadequate structural analysis and inadequate supervision by professional engineers amongst others,” Osifola said.

Corroborating this, the President of Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), Engineer Ali Rabiu, said quackery has been identified as one of the leading causes of building collapse in Nigeria.

Rabiu, who was represented at the webinar by Head of COREN in Abuja, Engineer Dominic Akuboh, said when any engineer lacks knowledge and experience in any field,he should synergise or else is a quack.

On the use of substandard building materials, which was also identified as a major cause of building collapse, the Chairman Nigerian Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Engineer Joseph Makoju, said majority of building collapses is due to abuse of products and wrong practices.

“In our industry, we focus on health and safety. We have zero tolerance for fatalities. We collaborate to make sure products we put out in the market are good in terms of quality,” Makoju said.

The Director General of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Malam Faruk Salim, said 85 percent of substandard building materials come through the ports and the agency was asked to leave the Lagos Ports 10 years ago.

“We are doing our best to see that building materials are upto standard.The agency is buying efficient equipment to detect substandard materials,” Salim said.

The President Nigeria Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, Dr Mrs Bola Onigbogi, said many building developers involved in building collapse are small time players.