PROPERTY ARTICLES

A group, comprising professional builders and construction experts, Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG), in the wake of the latest case of building collapse in the country, has again called the attention of the government to the need to tackle the problem which has brought about the death of numerous individuals, as well as loss of property.

In a statement issued on this development by the chairman of the group, Mr Kunle Awobodu, BCPG stated that the magnificent building that collapsed at Maryland, Lagos, had brought back the fundamental question of ‘how many poorly constructed but well decorated buildings exist in this geographical sphere?’

"No affirmative response. Nobody knows. Yet some buildings are deficient in durability, accidents waiting to happen are within unidentified. It is just an evidence of our past lapses, negligence that will take time and commitment to overcome", the statement said.

According to BCPG, debris at the site of the Maryland collapse structure brings to the fore the persisting issue of substandard materials, poor workmanship and lack of professional inputs.

"Was the building designed to carry such massive billboards considering the debilitating wind pressure? What were the effects of the intermittent construction activities? Did the structure suffer any stress from the past bomb explosion in the neighbouring military cantonment?" professional builders queried in the statement.

When proffering the way forward, BCPG in the statement suggested a special supervision programme which must be devoted to high rise building construction.

"Government should not limit itself to building approval; it should endeavour to monitor the high rise building construction. Such magnitude of project should be limited to reputable construction firms. It should not be by direct labour.

Meanwhile, when speaking to Property and Environment on the latest building collapse at Maryland area of Lagos State, last week, the Media Relation Officer of the Nigerian Institute of Builders (NIOB), Mr Adegoke Alani, stated that it was time professionals and government came together to find an end to the menace.

"For this type of thing not to happen anymore, we need to put professionals in place, and Lagos State is also trying to ensure that all professionals come together to make their view known to the government and public.

The government can also help professionals in the way of bringing the procedure of settling the causes of collapse of building to bear.

He added that the management of NIOB had been working and would continue to work with the state government to address the problem of building collapse in the country. He, therefore, called for more collaboration between the government and all professional bodies within the built environment so as to checkmate the incessant cases of building collapse in the country. While being grateful that no life was lost in the incident, he insisted that there was no other way for the fight against building collapse to be won other than a positive collaboration between professional institutes in the built environment and the government in the area of monitoring of the construction of high-rise buildings in the country.