YET ANOTHER BUILDING COLLAPSE

The authorities must strive to enforce building regulations

In yet another avoidable tragedy, the Zaria Central Mosque recently collapsed killing eight people, and injuring many more while hundreds of worshippers were observing their evening prayers. The affected part of the mosque was reportedly built with mud more than 150 years ago. “We had earlier observed a crack on the wall of the mosque, and were planning to deploy a team of civil engineers to effect repairs when this unfortunate incident happened,” said the Emir of Zazzau, Mallam Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli.

 Building collapses are frequent and a regular feature across the country where regulations are poorly enforced and construction materials often substandard. Cases of building failures cut across business premises, residential areas, places of worship with the year 2022 chalking the worst numbers in 62 collapses across the nation. Last week’s report by the Building Collapse Prevention stated that 553 building collapsed between 1974 and April 13, 2023 with Lagos State accounting for 60 per cent of the cases.  One of the most tragic ones was the 21-storey building collapse in Ikoyi, Lagos in November 2021 which claimed the life of the owner among many other victims. Another occurred at Banana Island also in Ikoyi, Lagos, where a seven-storey building crumbled in April 2023. Findings by the guild blamed the anomalies squarely on professional ineptitude ranging from excessive loading, use of substandard materials to faulty design, and poor workmanship.

Indeed, too much blood is being spilled in Nigeria’s building industry for all sorts of reasons that even professionals in the sector recognise as avoidable. There are laid down procedures for building construction, including even on water. But in Nigeria, these regulations are often breached and hardly adhered to because of poor enforcement of laws. There is often the failure to comply with policies of regulating bodies in building, sharp practices to maximise profits as well as undue compromise by bodies saddled to ensure compliance with standards. Many property owners adopt a one- size fits it all approach sometimes by the use of an architect to design and build. A former President of the Nigerian Institute of Builders, Kunle Awobodu, blamed weak regulations for the incessant cases of building collapse in Lagos State, noting a huge manpower shortage for the effective monitoring of construction sites. In addition, many quacks have been emboldened by the fact that regulatory bodies and relevant organs of government have been unwilling or unable to prosecute and convict persons found culpable of professional ineptitude regarding incidents of building collapse.

The incessant collapse of buildings reflects badly on professionals in the industry who are struggling to wrest construction jobs from the few foreign companies operating in Nigeria. But they cannot compete if their building sites become killing fields.

After a recent meeting at the Lagos Building and Control Agency, experts in the industry proffered many solutions and recommendations to stem the ugly trend. They harped on implementation of regulations, particularly that of stage/phase inspection on basis of faults thrown up by years of investigation of various incidences of building collapse across the nation. For instance, it is observed that the regulations which compel every developer to submit the name of the structural engineering firm supervising their work is often ignored. Testing is another issue that should be addressed in the industry because of the influx and use of substandard building materials by developers who want to cut corners in the execution of their projects. This should include the design of buildings’ foundation to match the load they would carry. In addition, given the volume of work in the construction industry, it may also be necessary to engage external but trust-worthy certifiers to carry out construction site monitoring.  It is time to stem this dismal legacy.