Building collapse: Key stakeholders, professionals brainstorm on averting disasters

LAGOS, Nigeria – Professionals and other stakeholders in the building construction industry have called for the involvement and collaboration of all professionals in the built sector and related government agencies in putting up buildings to guide against building collapse in Lagos state. 

They also called for strict application of building regulatons by the state government and prosecution of developers, owners and builders who fail to adhere to the regulations as required by law.

They spoke on Tuesday at a-day public hearing on the collapsed buiding at 63 Massey Street, Ita-Faaji, Lagos Island, organised by the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Degelopment, which took place at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre. All the seven institutes in the industry as well as all relevant government Agencies were duly represented and made presentations at the hearing. 

They include: Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA); Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB); Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE); Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP); Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV); Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS) and Nigerian Institute of Surveyors (NIS).

They all agreed that most of the cases of collapsed building was because quacks and not professionals handled the buildings, they use substandard materials and without involvement of the relevant government building agencies. The stakeholders therefore called for synergy between all the professionals in the industry and the relevant government Agencies as well as owners or developers to ensure that the right things are done before, during and even after building to end the menace of collapsed buildings.

The Building Collapse Prevention Build, BCPG, in its presentation identified among others: Lack of comprehensive subsoil investigation before designs are done; Non-adherence to designs and professional advice during construction;

Lack of effectiveness of government agencies charged with the monitoring of the building procurement and production process; Quackery at both pre- & post-contract stages; Use of substandard materials; Poor workmanship; Professional incompetence; Lack of Maintenance; Greed by Developers and Contractors”. 

Still on the list are: Unrealistic construction timelines; Unrealistic desires of clients; Nocturnal concrete work; Improper, illegal or unprocessed and unapproved change in use; Lack of proper supervision during construction by relevant qualified professionals; Lack of coordinated phased inspection by relevant Government Development Control Agency; Inefficient handling of approval of building plans by relevant Government Development Control Authority; Non-compliance to Building Codes; Corruption by government, LASBCA, monitoring officials, etc. 

Proffering solution it called for the involvement of Architects, Civil, Structural, Mechanical and Electrical Engineers, Quantity Surveyors, Builders and Land Surveyors in all building construction work in the state. 

LASEMA General Manager, Tiammiyu Adeshina, said the government will from yesterday begin to take in displaced person’s from collapsed and marked buildings at its resettlement centre at Igando.

He, however, called for a law to empower LABSCA to demolish marked buildings within five months instead of leaving it for the owners who may not be willing to bring down the structure until it collapses and kill people.

Speaking on behalf of Lagos Anti-demolition Movement, Ayo Ademiluyi, Co-convener of the movement called for among other things Coroner’s Inquest into the Ita-Faaji collapse to determine the number of the dead and injured;  prosecution of government officials who are found negligent in their duty as regards timely demolition of the building; investigation into the quality of building materials by devrlopers and prosecution of the developer. 

He also called for application of urban renewal strategies to the crisis of dilapidated and decrepit buildings in Lagos Island as well as compensation for the families of the deceased and wounded pupils. 

In his remarks, Chairman of the occasion, Engineer Wasiu Olokunola, who is also Chairman of the ad hoc Committee on the Ita-Faaji building collapse, told stakeholders that the Committee would look into their submissions and report of all previous Committees on building collapse in the state and come up with a recommendation to the government to tackle the menace so as to save lives and property.