Expert Harps on Integrity Test to Curb Building Collapse

Mary Nnah

A professor of environmental geotechnics and  engineering geology, Mr. Clifford  Teme-Songo has said that to curb the frequent building collapse in Lagos, which has created grievous competency challenge among professionals, the government need to involve Geo-scientist to tackle integrity tests before citing any building in the State.

Teme-Songo, who was  the Chairman at the annual International Conference of the Nigerian Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment (NAEGE), and the  International Association for Engineering Geology, and the Environment, (IAEG), emphasised the role Geo-scientist played in the construction industry.

The 7th NAEGE and 3rd IAEG Africa Regional Congress was a three-day event, held  Lagos,  with the Theme: ‘Engineering Geology: Imperative for Infrastructural Development and Sustainability of Cities in Africa.’

According to him,  the problem of building collapse was man-made and could be overcome if there was a genuine interest to right the wrong, apart from the use of substandard materials and unqualified or unskilled builders as the major challenges of building collapse in Lagos, there is a need to investigate the soil types before citing a building.

“If the Lagos government can adhere to the national code of the building, geologists and Geoscientists should investigate before citing a building.

Other factors include non-adherence to the National Building Code, illegal conversion of existing structures and ineffective monitoring by regulatory agencies.

“The recent spate of building collapse in Lagos presents an opportunity for the government to get tough on the construction industry and prevent future incidents. Citizens also have a part to play.

In his acceptance speech, the President of NAEGE, Dr. Waliu Adeolu, said the recent spate of building collapses in Lagos presents an opportunity for the government to work with Geoscientists and other environmental experts to prevent future incidents of building collapse.

“It’s a critical time in terms of engineering geology and environmental sustainability, having witnessed building collapse at a rate of two every three months in the recent past, coupled with the general dearth of infrastructures for proper functioning cities in Nigeria and Africa.

Furthermore, Adeolu added that the surge in rural-urban migration and seismology is generating hazards begging for earthquake engineering, geological competencies and the need for codification of seismic geotechnical investigation, geostructural design and construction of earthquake resistance infrastructures for African cities.

In a bit of progress, NAEGE is receiving a boost with the recent advocacy on citing investigation and testing to prevent building collapse.