Lagos: Why more buildings may collapse

• Building professionals, regulators point way forward

By Ngozi Nwoke 

On October 14, occupants of a two-storey building located at Amusu Street in the Orile Iganmu area of Lagos narrowly escaped death. The building, which had six lock-up shops and four units of three bedroom flats, suddenly came crashing down.

Image of the building at Amusu Street captured as it was going down

According to Mrs. Chioma Sunday who operated two shops on the ground floor of the building before it collapsed, there were obvious signs that the building was going to fall. The signs were bad enough that the occupants rushed out of the building in the morning of October 14, and together with a large crowd of onlookers, they watched the building as it crumbled. In shock and disbelief, the crowd roared as everyone ran for safety in different directions.

Although she was making plans to vacate the building on the day it finally collapsed, Chioma and other occupants did not know that the tragedy was coming sooner than they had estimated.

“We had two shops in the collapsed building. One was for wines, and the other was for foodstuffs. When the building collapsed, I couldn’t pack most of our goods. So, I lost some valuable goods worth thousands of naira.”

Speaking to Saturday Sun from a nearby shop where she currently operates from; Chioma told Saturday Sun that “This shop where we are now staying to sell the remaining goods doesn’t belong to me. The owner just allowed me to stay here for two months so I can sell and make some money and get another shop.”

Investigation also revealed that the owners of the property were aware of the cracks and weakness of the building. They had, therefore, asked the occupants to vacate the building as its   collapse became imminent.

When Saturday Sun visited the site of the collapsed building earlier this week, it was discovered that the rubble had been cleared, paving the way for residents in the neighbourhood to put the tragedy behind and return to business as usual.

Although there were no casualties in the building collapse, the Orile-Iganmu incident is one of the recent occurrences in Lagos that have raised concerns in the building industry.

On May 27, 2024, an unspecified number of worshippers died in a mosque that collapsed in the Papa Ajao, Mushin area of Lagos. Indeed, in the last few years, Lagos has experienced a significant number of building collapse, leading to loss of lives, property, and disruption of economic activities.

Experts in the industry attribute these collapses to various factors, which include inadequate supervision, the use of inferior materials and the conversion of residential buildings to commercial use, thereby putting pressure on the structure. It was also discovered that in some parts of the city, there are cases where old buildings had been adjusted despite their weak foundations.

Kunle Awobodu, a former president of the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), and pioneer president of the Nigerian Building Collapse Prevention Guild (NBCPG), explained that the issue of building collapse is a task for all heads and stakeholders in the building industry.

He said: “The image and reputation of those of us in the Nigerian building industry are at stake before the whole world. What excuses are we going to offer for the latest imponderable building collapse?

“It is unfortunate that nobody has been successfully prosecuted for building collapse offences in Nigeria. Quackery, compromise, and impunity proceed unchecked. When human beings are not subjected to the law of consequence, misdeeds are absolved in sentiments. Alas, loss of lives and property becomes a continuum.”

Also, Maxwell Ighodaro, a member of the Lagos State chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), noted, “The state government has fantastic laws and regulations. The state government is ensuring that things are done properly to the good of every resident. But the government cannot do it alone. The number of staff in the regulatory agency is not enough to cover the state.

“So, until the government attends to this insufficiency of man-power and human resources, the case will always be the same. Most of the collapses that have occurred are caused by clients and fake contractors who want to cut corners at the expense of other people’s lives. We have to address that issue and insist on using the services of professionals. Clients engage contractors who are not trained in construction.

“No one can be ignorant of the law. We make sure we train our members to that effect. The government has always set up enquiries to find out builders who are involved in cases of building collapse. It is impressive to find out that no builder has been involved in all the building collapse cases.”

John Wilson, an Associate Member of the Nigerian Building Collapse Prevention Guild, also disclosed that Nigeria is blessed with professionals who are competent to carry out quality building construction. He noted, however, that clients prefer to engage incompetent contractors which results in building collapse.

He said: “There are regulations and laws guiding all the building processes. The issue is that some people fail to adhere to these laws, which is not good for the image of the country, because internationally, it will be seen that Nigeria doesn’t have competent and quality professionals who are capable of delivering good jobs, and that is not true. We have lots of qualified engineers, architects and so on that can be fully engaged. It’s unfortunate that innocent people have to pay with their lives for the incompetence of builders who prefer to indulge in the use of inferior materials.”

He stressed that members of the Building Collapse Prevention Guild are compliant to the rules and guidelines of the guild concerning construction processes. And if any member is found guilty or culpable in any building collapse, disciplinary measures are applied as there are ethics and guidelines within the professional body.

“These are reputable agencies set up by the government to monitor and sanction professionals that are not doing the right thing. I am sure that the agencies are always available to take actions when cases are reported to them. It is one thing to take reports of erring professionals and another thing to take action on them if found guilty. Part of the sanctions is that the member is suspended, or his/her licence to practise is seized, depending on the gravity of the offence.”

Samuel Ngei, a Lagos based civil engineer alleged that some government regulatory agencies indulge in bribery to allow the rules to be subverted.

“Some of these government workers that are supposed to monitor and stop any construction that is illegal or that haven’t met the standards, are corrupt and accept bribes.

“It is when a building has collapsed that the government will tell us that the building was being built illegally and the work was suspended. The government should expose those bad eggs in the system that aid these clients and contractors who go behind the government’s approval or disobey government orders.”

To address the issue, the Director-General of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) Gbolahan Owodunni Oki emphasised the importance of collective inputs from building professionals to prevent building collapse. Such measures will include partnering with professionals to ensure quality construction and supervision, conducting detailed assessments of structures to identify potential risks, and mandating geotechnical reports for construction sites to ensure quality assurance.

He said: “LASBCA works together with developers/owners of buildings and professionals in the building industry to provide high quality services and make sure that building constructions are satisfactorily carried out.

“We aim to ensure that buildings in Lagos State are designed, constructed and maintained to high standards of safety so as to avoid loss of lives and properties through its building regulatory system. We aim to achieve zero per cent building collapse. We lead and transform the building construction industry by enhancing skills and professionalism as well as improving design and construction capabilities.

“We ensure enforcement of building regulations in all ramifications, issuance of authorisation to commence construction, stage inspection, and quality control, identification, and removal of distressed structures, issuance of certificate of completion and fitness for habitation, and identification and removal of contravening structures.”

Similarly, the General Manager of the Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory Agency (LSMTLA), Mrs. Olayinka Abdul, charged engineers to be intentional in their professional development and support the drive in averting building disasters across Lagos State.

Abdul admonished a working synergy amongst all construction professionals to curb mediocrity, resulting in buildings’ collapse in the state.

She said: “There is a need for systematic coordination amongst specialists in the building industry for all construction of structures. This enhances proficiency for optimal satisfaction. If all architects, geologists, civil engineers etc., have a streamlined dossier of collaborations, the episodes of buildings collapse will be effectively averted because they will all contribute towards ascertaining durable structures.”

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