Architects flay short life span of buildings in Nigeria
NInstitute of Architects (NIA) has frowned on the short life span of buildings in the country.
According to the builders, buildings around the country boast an average life span of 20 to 30 years, whereas buildings constructed with good materials last for at least 100 years.
Newly-elected president of the institute, Sunny Echono, stated this after his election on Saturday.
Nigeria cannot keep replacing the buildings every 30 years, he said, adding that the country had not been able to judiciously utilise its land resources.
The president warned that the contest for land was going to become fierce in the years ahead, stressing the need for the country to find ways to use its land more judiciously, more prudently and more productively. Disclosing that NIA was trying to adjust to the changing needs of the younger generation, technology among others, he said the body wanted to ensure that the services of architects were available at every nook and cranny of the country, particularly the rural communities.
“We don’t want our rural communities to fail before we begin to demolish with so much resources,” he added.
Echono promised to project the important role that architects play in every society to help to galvanise resources channel them properly towards national development.
He said, “Architects are the ones that provide the infrastructure like the hotels, hospitals, schools and offices with which we work. Any programme aimed at sustainable development, we will lead that programme because we are not talking about energy efficiency only, we are taking about local content, use of local materials, sustainable materials.
Mof Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, has appealed to youths to be more patriotic, as the destiny of the nation lies in their hands.
Onu stated this during the Musical Festival and Award Night of Caleb Group of Schools at the weekend in Lagos.
According to him, there is need to accord priority to the rewarding system in schools, to spur healthy competition and excellent performance among students.
The minister said the country needed the best hands among the youths to transform from a resource-based to a knowledge and innovation-driven economy.
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