Why Professionals in the Built Environment Should Adhere to Building Codes
ESV Leke H. Jide
Globally, building codes and regulations are basic and statutory requirements put in place by the relevant government authorities or agencies to ensure that the constructions of buildings are in agreement with certain standards.
In Nigeria, the building code is the code that guides building and construction practices that must be used by professionals in the built environment. Professional organizations in the built environment equally have a set of building codes that must be used by their members in the construction of houses and other forms of buildings like roads and bridges.
The major reasons for building codes are to promote professionalism, prevent hazards like building collapses, fire incidents and promote smart homes, energy efficiencies, prevent unplanned building plans amongst others. The aim of all these is to entrench a community of buildings that are in line with the current global standards.
In addressing the human development challenges that are ravaging the world, there is every need for communities, regions, countries, and the global building space to adhere to building codes, plans, and regulations as prescribed by the relevant government authorities. Even to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) number eleven of Sustainable Cities and Communities, building codes and regulations must be adhered to by both the developing and developed countries of the world. Sustainable cities and communities can only be a reality with planned building structures across the world.
Most collapsed buildings in Nigeria in recent times were as a result of non-adherence to the laid down building codes by the federal government and its relevant agencies. The major challenge here is the infiltration of quacks into the building industry. These quacks have no professional training, certifications, and ethical understanding of building codes, yet investors and builders keep patronizing them and this is causing a lot of damages in the Nigerian property market. To address this menace, only professionals who have the certifications to build in adherence to the relevant building codes and regulations should be given building jobs. The federal, state, and local governments have a pivotal role to play in this regard. Their relevant agencies in charge of buildings should intensify their supervisory efforts by ensuring that only building professions get building jobs and contracts.
The relevant professional bodies in the Nigerian built environment should also up their games. Professional ethics and codes must be maintained by their members to entrench smart buildings in line with the relevant building codes and regulations across Nigeria and even beyond.
ESV Leke H. Jide is a registered Estate Surveyor & Valuer. He is the Principal Partner of Leke Jide & Co. (Estate Surveyors & Valuers) with a corporate head office in Abuja. He sent this piece from Abuja.
