The National president of The Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG), Akinola George on Monday 25th March 2019 in a press conference at Ikeja, the Lagos State capital has called on the Nigerian government to address the menace of building collapse and sub-standard construction across the country to eliminate the incessant building collapse in the country.
The National President of the BCPG which comprises of professionals from seven bodies, including the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP), Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), Nigerian Institute of Surveyors (NIS), Nigerian Institute of Architect (NIA), Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB) and Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) made this call in response to the incessant cases of building collapse in the country.
According to Akinola George the major responsibility of the body is to instill safe building culture, eradicate building collapse and fight sub-standard construction works across the country, especially in Lagos. He added that some of the major causes of building collapse as witness in Nigeria are related to professional incompetence, nocturnal concrete works, greed on the part of landlord and developers, faulty design, copied design, pilfering, among others.
In suggesting a solution to incessant building collapse witness in Nigeria, he spoke on behalf of the body by advising government and all relevant stakeholders to ensure that qualified environment and building professionals are engaged in construction works across the country, as this according to the expert will ensure design and construction of “better quality buildings”.
Akinola George advised the government, especially the Lagos State government that there is need to promote skills transfer and shared experience in specialised building types in order to ensure that only Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) certified buildings are constructed in Lagos State. He also added that post-occupancy evaluation must be carried carry out for all buildings and ultimately ensure that professional institutes have oversight function on every building construction in Lagos.
He stated that while ensuring that standards are maintained in new building, he also suggested that a very thorough check of existing buildings must be carried out to prevent further disasters from collapsing of buildings. In his words, the stated that, “It may be a surprise to many that most buildings in Lagos State are not constructed by the people who are properly trained to do so.” He stressed that, “Architects, Civil, Structural, Mechanical, and Electrical Engineers, Quantity Surveyors, Builders and Land Surveyors are virtual on-lookers on the Building Construction and Procurement scene as they participate in less than 20 per cent of the total volume of construction activities going on in the state.”
The cited a survey of building constructed by professionals in Lagos State by stating that, “A survey revealed that over 45,000 sites existed at a time in Lagos state. Twenty per cent of this translates to 9,000. Hence by deduction, quacks and other faceless characters by whatever names called are responsible for the remaining 90 per cent. He said that it is that to know that “A whooping 36,000 potential collapses waiting to happen, on the average!”
According to the BCPG president, developers in Lagos have been identified in many of the weak constructions, adding that they are mostly businessmen with no professional qualifications in construction. He therefore advised that the Lagos State Government to pay attention to areas like Ebutte Meta, Mushin, Ajegunle, Lagos Island, Oworonshoki, Bariga and Somolu to identify precarious buildings with poor integrity. He reiterated that the Lagos Master Plan must be revisited and reviewed, adding that buildings that do not conform with the master plan must be removed to prevent further disasters from collapse buildings.
