‘Partially demolished buildings risk collapse’

Lagos orders recertification, new approvals Concerns are mounting on the structural integrity and efficiency of buildings that some parts have been pulled down in the course of road construction or urban renewal projects. But Lagos officials say, property

DEEPLY worried about ongoing improvements in old buildings or partially demolished buildings across the country, experts have warned that living in such structures pose risk of collapse, loss of life and property.

They told Theguardian, that building sliced into half to accommodate road development doesn’t have full integrity anymore, describing it as a recipe for disaster and contribute to high rate of building collapse in the country. Demolition, which is one of the most dangerous exercises in construction sector, comes by some natural or artificial forces like; storms, floods, fire accidents, as well as governments’ redevelopment efforts. In cities, because of the need to improve infrastructure, attempts are made by authorities to expand the scope of existing facilities most especially roads to accommodate more users. As a result, residential and public buildings are often modified.

For instance, in places like; Lagos, Ibadan, Abuja, Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Kano and others, major road projects ha ve taken place or on-going after officials partially demolished buildings. The aftermath of such efforts is that owners’ often embark on patching up of the affected parts to continue using the buildings. According to them, modifying partially demolished buildings contribute to defects in the structural integrity of building.

Speaking on the issue, a past president of the Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers, (NISTRUCTE); Mr . Kunle Adebajo, explained that modifying partially demolished building could be a major cause of structure collapse if existing occupants believe that the portion left standing can be satisfactorily be lived in without carrying out a test on the building by a certified structural engineer.

He said when the entire building is visually sliced into half to accommodate road development; the structure doesn’t ha ve full integrity anymore. According to him, some of the structural supports must have been removed and a lot of instabilities could have set in.

Adebajo who chaired the institution for two years said; “In the process some buildings are not just demolished fully but some parts are cut off expecting the owner to re-do the remaining. It’s almost like a person who goes into a room and because the room is filled, parts of the body is out of the room and somebody just comes and uses a knife to slice off that portion. There is no way the rest of the body won’t feel it, it would have an effect like structural weakness”. He said it is the responsibility of government and building owners to ensure that when some forms of